12 2 STA T .48 8 6PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 4 3 2 —O CT. 16 , 2008 (b)LOC O M O TIVECABEN VI R ONMENT .—TheS e cr e ta r ym aya lso st ud y other eleme n tso f the locomot iv e cab environment and their effect on an em p loyee ’ s health and safety. (c) R E P ORT.— N ot later than 6 months after the completion of any study under this section , the Secretary shall issue a report on the study to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the H ouse of Representatives Committee on Transportation and I nfrastructure. (d) AU T H ORIT Y .— B ased on the conclusions of the study re q uired under (a), the Secretary of Transportation may prohibit the use of personal electronic devices, such as cell phones, video g ames, or other electronic devices that may distract employees from safely performing their duties, unless those devices are being used according to railroad operating rules or for other w or k purposes. Based on the conclusions of other studies conducted under sub - section (b), the Secretary may prescribe regulations to improve elements of the cab environment to protect an employee’s health and safety. SEC.406 . D E V E LOPM E NTA ND U SEO FR A I L SAFET Y TEC H NOLO G Y. (a) IN G ENERA L .—Subchapter II of chapter 201 , as amended by section 4 02 of this division, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section
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‘ §20164.Dev e lopm e nta n dus eo fr a i l safet y te ch nolo g y ‘ ‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after enactment of the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 200 8 , the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe standards, guidance, regulations, or orders governing the development, use, and implementation of rail safety technology in dark territory, in arrangements not defined in section 20 5 01 or otherwise not covered by F ederal standards, guidance, regulations, or orders that ensure the safe operation of such technology, such as— ‘‘(1) switch position monitoring devices or indicators
‘‘(2) radio, remote control, or other power-assisted switches; ‘‘( 3 )hotbo x , high water, or earthquake detectors; ‘‘(4) remote control locomotive z one limiting devices; ‘‘(5) slide fences; ‘‘(6) grade crossing video monitors; ‘‘( 7 ) track integrity warning systems; or ‘‘(8) other similar rail safety technologies, as determined by the Secretary. ‘‘(b) D AR K TERRITORY DE F INE D .—In this section, the term ‘dark territory’ means any territory in a railroad system that does not have a signal or train control system installed or operational.’’. (b) CONFORMIN G AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis for chapter 201, as amended by section 402 of this division, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 20163 the following: ‘ ‘ 20164.Dev e lopm e nta n dus eo fr a i l safet y te ch nolo g y. ’ ’. SEC. 40 7 . UNIFIED TREATMENT OF FAMILIES OF RAILROAD CARRIERS. Section 20102(3), as redesignated by section 2(b) of this division, is amended to read as follows: ‘‘(3) ‘railroad carrier’ means a person providing railroad transportation, except that, upon petition by a group of com- monly controlled railroad carriers that the Secretary determines is operating within the U nited States as a single, integrated 49USC201 02 .Deadlin e. S t anda r d s . Gu idan c e. R e g ulati o ns. O rders.
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