US HB3360

Secretary of Transportation must enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine within 3 months to study the effect of driver-controlled technology, particularly touch screen-based systems, on severe traffic injuries and fatalities involving pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users

Study will examine driver distraction impacts from replacing tactile controls (knobs, switches) with touch screens, compare safety outcomes between in-vehicle touch screen use and smartphone use while driving, and analyze how road conditions and time of day affect crash severity

Secretary must submit a report to Congress and publish findings publicly within 24 months of entering the study agreement, covering a period beginning no more than 10 years prior to the agreement date

Within 2 months after the report, Secretary must submit recommendations to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities, and propose changes to NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System and other federal crash data systems to better track touch screen and smartphone use in crashes

Recommendations must be categorized by those implementable under existing federal agency authority versus those requiring new legislation, and may not simply restate existing requirements