Bill Text: NJ S552 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced

New Jersey Senate Bill 552 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Requires bicycle helmets for certain individuals.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee [S552 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2010-S552-Introduced.html

SENATE, No. 552

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

214th LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator SANDRA B. CUNNINGHAM

District 31 (Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

Requires bicycle helmets for certain individuals.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

An Act concerning bicycle helmets and amending P.L.1991, c.465

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 1 of P.L.1991, c.465 (C.39:4-10.1) is amended to read as follows:

1. a. A person under 17 years of age or a person delivering food or goods for a commercial business shall not operate, or ride upon a bicycle as a passenger, unless that person is wearing a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet which meets the standards of the [American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z90.4 bicycle helmet standard) or the Snell Memorial Foundation's 1990 Standard for Protective Headgear for Use in Bicycling] Consumer Product Safety Commission. This requirement shall apply to a person who rides upon a bicycle while in a restraining seat which is attached to the bicycle or in a trailer towed by the bicycle.

As used in this act, "bicycle" means a vehicle with two wheels propelled solely by human power and having pedals, handle bars and a saddle-like seat. The term shall include a bicycle for two or more persons having seats and corresponding sets of pedals arranged in tandem.

b. The [director] chief administrator shall publish a list of bicycle helmets which meet the standards described in subsection a. of this section and shall provide for its distribution in as many locations frequented by the public as the [director] chief administrator deems appropriate and practicable.

c. The requirement in subsection a. of this section shall apply at all times while a bicycle is being operated on any property open to the public or used by the public for pedestrian and vehicular purposes; however, a municipality may by ordinance exempt from this requirement a person operating or riding on a bicycle as a passenger when the bicycle is operated:

(1) on a road or highway closed to motor vehicle traffic and limited to pedestrian or bicycle use at all times or only during specified periods of time during which bicycles may be operated; or

(2) exclusively on a trail, route, course, boardwalk, path or other area which is set aside for the use of bicycles or for the use of pedestrians and bicycle operation is not otherwise prohibited. However, an exemption may not be granted under this paragraph for any portion of a trail, route, course, boardwalk, path or other area which is immediately adjacent to a road or highway used by motor vehicle traffic and which does not contain a barrier of sufficient height and rigidity to prevent the inadvertent or deliberate entry of a bicycle operator onto the road or highway.

d. An ordinance enacted pursuant to subsection c. of this section shall specify those roads, highways, trails, routes, courses, boardwalks, paths or areas within the municipality where helmets are not required during the operation of a bicycle.

e. When a bicycle is being operated in an area where bicycle helmets are not required, the operator or a passenger, except a passenger in a restraining seat or trailer, shall dismount from the bicycle and walk whenever it is necessary to enter a crosswalk or to cross a road or highway upon which motor vehicle traffic is permitted.

(cf: P.L.2005, c.208, s.1)

2. Section 2 of P.L.1991, c.465 (C.39:4-10.2) is amended to read as follows:

2. a. A person under 17 years of age who violates a requirement of this act shall be warned of the violation by the enforcing official. The parent or legal guardian of that person also may be fined a maximum of $25 for the person's first offense and a maximum of $100 for a subsequent offense if it can be shown that the parent or guardian failed to exercise reasonable supervision or control over the person's conduct. Penalties provided in this section for a failure to wear a helmet may be waived if an offender or his parent or legal guardian presents suitable proof that an approved helmet was owned at the time of the violation or has been purchased since the violation occurred. A person delivering food or goods for a commercial business who violates a requirement of this act shall be fined a maximum of $25 for the person's first offense and a maximum of $100 for a subsequent offense.

b. All money collected as fines under subsection a. of this section and subsection a. of section 2 of P.L.1997, c.411 (C.39:4-10.6) shall be deposited in a nonlapsing revolving fund to be known as the "Bicycle and Skating Safety Fund." Interest earned on money deposited in the fund shall accrue to the fund. Money in the fund shall be utilized by the director to provide educational programs devoted to bicycle, roller skating and skateboarding safety. If the director determines that sufficient money is available in the fund, he also may use, in a manner prescribed by rule and regulation, the money to assist low income families in purchasing approved bicycle helmets. For the purposes of this subsection, "low income family" means a family which qualifies for low income housing under the standards promulgated by the Council on Affordable Housing pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et seq.).

(cf: P.L.1997, c.411, s.11)

3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the second month following enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill requires individuals who use a bicycle to deliver food or goods for a commercial business to wear a bicycle helmet. Under current law, no such provisions exist. This bill also updates the helmet standard to the Consumer Product Safety Commission standard, as the standard referenced in the current law has been withdrawn.