23 U.S.C. § 410 : US Code - Section 410: Alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures

Search 23 U.S.C. § 410 : US Code - Section 410: Alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures

(a) General Authority. -
(1) Authority to make grants. - Subject to the requirements of
this section, the Secretary shall make grants to States that
adopt and implement effective programs to reduce traffic safety
problems resulting from individuals driving while under the
influence of alcohol. Such grants may only be used by recipient
States to implement and enforce such programs.
(2) Maintenance of effort. - No grant may be made to a State
under this subsection in any fiscal year unless the State enters
into such agreements with the Secretary as the Secretary may
require to ensure that the State will maintain its aggregate
expenditures from all other sources for alcohol traffic safety
programs at or above the average level of such expenditures in
its 2 fiscal years preceding the date of enactment of the SAFETEA-
LU.
(3) Federal share. - The Federal share of the cost of
implementing and enforcing in a fiscal year a program adopted by
a State pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not exceed -
(A) in each of the first and second fiscal years in which the
State receives a grant under this section, 75 percent;
(B) in each of the third and fourth fiscal years in which the
State receives a grant under this section, 50 percent; and
(C) in each of the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth fiscal
years in which the State receives a grant under this section,
25 percent.
(b) Eligibility Requirements. - To be eligible for a grant under
subsection (a), a State shall -
(1) have an alcohol related fatality rate of 0.5 or less per
100,000,000 vehicle miles traveled as of the date of the grant,
as determined by the Secretary using the most recent Fatality
Analysis Reporting System of the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration; or
(2)(A) for fiscal year 2006 by carrying out 3 of the programs
and activities under subsection (c);
(B) for fiscal year 2007 by carrying out 4 of the programs and
activities under subsection (c); or
(C) for fiscal years 2008 and 2009 by carrying out 5 of the
programs and activities under subsection (c).
(c) State Programs and Activities. - The programs and activities
referred to in subsection (b) are the following:
(1) Check point, saturation patrol program. - A State program
to conduct a series of high visibility, statewide law enforcement
campaigns in which law enforcement personnel monitor for impaired
driving, either through the use of sobriety check points or
saturation patrols, on a nondiscriminatory, lawful basis for the
purpose of determining whether the operators of the motor
vehicles are driving while under the influence of alcohol -
(A) if the State organizes the campaigns in cooperation with
related periodic national campaigns organized by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, except that this
subparagraph does not preclude a State from initiating
sustained high visibility, Statewide law enforcement campaigns
independently of the cooperative efforts; and
(B) if, for each fiscal year, the State demonstrates to the
Secretary that the State and the political subdivisions of the
State that receive funds under this section have increased, in
the aggregate, the total number of impaired driving law
enforcement activities at high incident locations (or any other
similar activity approved by the Secretary) initiated in such
State during the preceding fiscal year by a factor that the
Secretary determines meaningful for the State over the number
of such activities initiated in such State during the preceding
fiscal year.
(2) Prosecution and adjudication outreach program. - A State
prosecution and adjudication program under which -
(A) the State works to reduce the use of diversion programs
by educating and informing prosecutors and judges through
various outreach methods about the benefits and merits of
prosecuting and adjudicating defendants who repeatedly commit
impaired driving offenses;
(B) the courts in a majority of the judicial jurisdictions of
the State are monitored on the courts' adjudication of cases of
impaired driving offenses; or
(C) annual statewide outreach is provided for judges and
prosecutors on innovative approaches to the prosecution and
adjudication of cases of impaired driving offenses that have
the potential for significantly improving the prosecution and
adjudication of such cases.
(3) Testing of bac. - An effective system for increasing from
the previous year the rate of blood alcohol concentration testing
of motor vehicle drivers involved in fatal accidents.
(4) High risk drivers. - A law that establishes stronger
sanctions or additional penalties for individuals convicted of
operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol
whose blood alcohol concentration is 0.15 percent or more than
for individuals convicted of the same offense but with a lower
blood alcohol concentration. For purposes of this paragraph,
"additional penalties" includes -
(A) a 1-year suspension of a driver's license, but with the
individual whose license is suspended becoming eligible after
45 days of such suspension to obtain a provisional driver's
license that would permit the individual to drive -
(i) only to and from the individual's place of employment
or school; and
(ii) only in an automobile equipped with a certified
alcohol ignition interlock device; and
(B) a mandatory assessment by a certified substance abuse
official of whether the individual has an alcohol abuse problem
with possible referral to counseling if the official determines
that such a referral is appropriate.
(5) Programs for effective alcohol rehabilitation and dwi
courts. - A program for effective inpatient and outpatient
alcohol rehabilitation based on mandatory assessment and
appropriate treatment for repeat offenders or a program to refer
impaired driving cases to courts that specialize in driving while
impaired cases that emphasize the close supervision of high-risk
offenders.
(6) Underage drinking program. - An effective strategy, as
determined by the Secretary, for preventing operators of motor
vehicles under age 21 from obtaining alcoholic beverages and for
preventing persons from making alcoholic beverages available to
individuals under age 21. Such a strategy may include -
(A) the issuance of tamper-resistant drivers' licenses to
individuals under age 21 that are easily distinguishable in
appearance from drivers' licenses issued to individuals age 21
or older; and
(B) a program provided by a nonprofit organization for
training point of sale personnel concerning, at a minimum -
(i) the clinical effects of alcohol;
(ii) methods of preventing second party sales of alcohol;
(iii) recognizing signs of intoxication;
(iv) methods to prevent underage drinking; and
(v) Federal, State, and local laws that are relevant to
such personnel; and
(C) having a law in effect that creates a 0.02 percent blood
alcohol content limit for drivers under 21 years old.
(7) Administrative license revocation. - An administrative
driver's license suspension or revocation system for individuals
who operate motor vehicles while under the influence of alcohol
that requires that -
(A) in the case of an individual who, in any 5-year period
beginning after the date of enactment of the Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century, is determined on the basis of
a chemical test to have been operating a motor vehicle while
under the influence of alcohol or is determined to have refused
to submit to such a test as proposed by a law enforcement
officer, the State agency responsible for administering
drivers' licenses, upon receipt of the report of the law
enforcement officer -
(i) suspend the driver's license of such individual for a
period of not less than 90 days if such individual is a first
offender in such 5-year period; except that under such
suspension an individual may operate a motor vehicle, after
the 15-day period beginning on the date of the suspension, to
and from employment, school, or an alcohol treatment program
if an ignition interlock device is installed on each of the
motor vehicles owned or operated, or both, by the individual;
and
(ii) suspend the driver's license of such individual for a
period of not less than 1 year, or revoke such license, if
such individual is a repeat offender in such 5-year period;
except that such individual to operate a motor vehicle, after
the 45-day period beginning on the date of the suspension or
revocation, to and from employment, school, or an alcohol
treatment program if an ignition interlock device is
installed on each of the motor vehicles owned or operated, or
both, by the individual; and
(B) the suspension and revocation referred to under clause
(i) take effect not later than 30 days after the date on which
the individual refused to submit to a chemical test or received
notice of having been determined to be driving under the
influence of alcohol, in accordance with the procedures of the
State.
(8) Self sustaining impaired driving prevention program. - A
program under which a significant portion of the fines or
surcharges collected from individuals who are fined for operating
a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol are returned
to communities for comprehensive programs for the prevention of
impaired driving.
(d) Uses of Grants. - Subject to subsection (g)(2), grants made
under this section may be used for all programs and activities
described in subsection (c), and to defray the following costs:
(1) Labor costs, management costs, and equipment procurement
costs for the high visibility, Statewide law enforcement
campaigns under subsection (c)(1).
(2) The costs of the training of law enforcement personnel and
the procurement of technology and equipment, including video
equipment and passive alcohol sensors, to counter directly
impaired operation of motor vehicles.
(3) The costs of public awareness, advertising, and educational
campaigns that publicize use of sobriety check points or
increased law enforcement efforts to counter impaired operation
of motor vehicles.
(4) The costs of public awareness, advertising, and educational
campaigns that target impaired operation of motor vehicles by
persons under 34 years of age.
(5) The costs of the development and implementation of a State
impaired operator information system.
(6) The costs of operating programs that result in vehicle
forfeiture or impoundment or license plate impoundment.
(e) Additional Authorities for Certain Authorized Uses. -
(1) Combination of grant proceeds. - Grant funds used for a
campaign under subsection (d)(3) may be combined, or expended in
coordination, with proceeds of grants under section 402.
(2) Coordination of uses. - Grant funds used for a campaign
under paragraph (3) or (4) of subsection (d) may be expended -
(A) in coordination with employers, schools, entities in the
hospitality industry, and nonprofit traffic safety groups; and
(B) in coordination with sporting events and concerts and
other entertainment events.
(f) Allocation. - Subject to subsection (g), funds made available
to carry out this section shall be allocated among States that meet
the eligibility criteria in subsection (b) on the basis of the
apportionment formula under section 402(c).
(g) Grants to High Fatality Rate States. -
(1) In general. - The Secretary shall make a separate grant
under this section to each State that -
(A) is among the 10 States with the highest impaired driving
related fatalities as determined by the Secretary using the
most recent Fatality Analysis Reporting System of the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration; and
(B) prepares a plan for grant expenditures under this
subsection that is approved by the Administrator of the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
(2) Required uses. - At least one-half of the amounts allocated
to States under this subsection may only be used for the program
described in subsection (c)(1).
(3) Allocation. - Funds made available under this subsection
shall be allocated among States described in paragraph (1) on the
basis of the apportionment formula under section 402(c), except
that no State shall be allocated more than 30 percent of the
funds made available to carry out this subsection for a fiscal
year.
(4) Funding. - Not more than 15 percent per fiscal year of
amounts made available to carry out this section for a fiscal
year shall be made available by the Secretary for making grants
under this subsection.
(h) Applicability of Chapter 1. - The provisions contained in
section 402(d) shall apply to this section.
(i) Definitions. - In this section, the following definitions
apply:
(1) Alcoholic beverage. - The term "alcoholic beverage" has the
meaning given such term in section 158(c).
(2) Controlled substances. - The term "controlled substances"
has the meaning given such term in section 102(6) of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(6)).
(3) Motor vehicle. - The term "motor vehicle" has the meaning
given such term in section 405.
(4) Impaired operator. - The term "impaired operator" means a
person who, while operating a motor vehicle -
(A) has a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher; or
(B) is under the influence of a controlled substance.
(5) Impaired driving related fatality rate. - The term
"impaired driving related fatality rate" means the rate of
alcohol related fatalities, as calculated in accordance with
regulations which the Administrator of the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration shall prescribe.