,i #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #acga ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #af1 #bjae ,mr4 ,barletta introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure ,a ,,bill ,to improve the ,compliance1 ,safety1 ,accountability initiative of the ,federal ,motor ,carrier ,safety ,administration1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,safer ,trucks and ,buses ,act of #bjae4 #b4 ,compliance1 ,safety1 ,accountability initiative 7a7 ,data availability and use 7#a7 ,availability 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,transportation shall ensure that covered motor carrier data is not made available to the public4 7,b7 ,rule of construction ,subparagraph 7,a7 may not be construed to prevent covered motor carrier data from being made available to law enforcement personnel4 7,c7 ,termination ,subparagraph 7,a7 shall cease to have effect on the date on which the ,secretary submits to ,congress the report required under subsection 7e74 7#b7 ,use ,covered motor carrier data may not be admitted into evidence or otherwise used in a civil action for damages resulting from an incident involving a motor carrier4 7b7 ,study 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #cj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall enter into an agreement with the ,national ,academy of ,public ,administration to have the ,academy conduct a study on how to improve the ,compliance1 ,safety1 ,accountability initiative of the ,federal ,motor ,carrier ,safety ,administration1 including how to ensure that the initiative-- 7,a7 utilizes only safety data determined to be predictive of motor carrier crashes2 7,b7 appropriately addresses concerns relating to the age of utilized safety data1 including violations2 7,c7 does not unfairly harm small motor carriers as a result of limited safety data availability2 7,d7 appropriately addresses differences between motor carriers transporting passengers and motor carriers transporting freight2 7,e7 allows individual motor carriers to be effectively compared2 and 7,f7 utilizes accurate safety data1 including-- 7i7 by appropriately addressing variations between ,state- and self-reported data2 7ii7 by accounting for geographic differences with respect to enforcement2 and 7iii7 by not utilizing crash data from crashes with respect to which a motor carrier was free from fault4 7#b7 ,free from fault ,for purposes of paragraph 7#a77;,f77iii71 a motor carrier is free from fault with respect to a crash if-- 7,a7 the vehicle of the carrier was struck by another vehicle that-- 7i7 crossed the center line or median of a roadway2 7ii7 was driving the wrong way on a roadway2 7iii7 struck the rear of the carrier's vehicle while the vehicle was being lawfully operated2 7iv7 struck the carrier's vehicle while the vehicle was legally stopped at a traffic control device or off the traveled portion of a roadway2 or 7v7 was operated by an individual-- 7,i7 found to be driving under the influence of alcohol2 7,,ii7 found by a law enforcement officer or agency to be responsible for the crash2 or 7,,iii7 who was the sole party cited by law enforcement for an action that contributed to the crash2 7,b7 the crash was the result of an individual1 other than the driver of the carrier's vehicle1 committing suicide2 7,c7 the vehicle of the carrier was struck by an animal2 or 7,d7 the carrier is otherwise determined not responsible for the crash4 7c7 ,report ,not later than #a year after the date on which the ,secretary enters into an agreement under subsection 7b71 the ,national ,academy of ,public ,administration shall submit to the ,secretary1 the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure of the ,house of ,representatives1 and the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation of the ,senate a report on the results of the study conducted under subsection 7b71 including recommendations for improvement based on those results4 7d7 ,implementation of recommendations ,not later than #ij days after the date on which the ,national ,academy of ,public ,administration submits the report required under subsection 7c71 the ,secretary shall begin implementing the recommendations included in that report4 7e7 ,certification of implementation ,not later than #a year after the date on which the ,secretary begins implementing recommendations under subsection 7d71 the ,secretary shall complete the implementation of such recommendations and shall submit to ,congress a report that-- 7#a7 describes the implementation of such recommendations2 7#b7 contains a document in which the ,secretary certifies that such implementation is complete2 and 7#c7 contains a document in which the ,inspector ,general of the ,department of ,transportation certifies that such implementation is complete4 7f7 ,definitions ,in this section1 the following definitions apply3 7#a7 ,covered motor carrier data ,the term covered motor carrier data means the ,compliance1 ,safety1 ,accountability ,safety ,measurement ,system scores and performance data of the ,federal ,motor ,carrier ,safety ,administration4 7#b7 ,motor carrier ,the term motor carrier has the meaning given that term in section #acajb of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code4