Bill Text: NY A00811 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Allows for the use of green lights or alternating green and amber lights on municipal vehicles being used for snow removal; relates to the operation of vehicles when approaching such a parked, stopped or standing hazard vehicle.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2022-08-17 - signed chap.504 [A00811 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A00811-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         811--A

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 6, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. WALLACE, NORRIS, McMAHON, LUPARDO, TAGUE -- read
          once and referred to the  Committee  on  Transportation  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        AN  ACT  to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the use of
          green lights on municipal hazard vehicles designed for  ice  and  snow
          removal  and in relation to the operation of vehicles when approaching
          such a parked, stopped or standing hazard vehicle

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Paragraph 5 of subdivision 41 of section 375 of the vehicle
     2  and  traffic law, as added by chapter 197 of the laws of 1970, the open-
     3  ing paragraph as amended by chapter 349 of the laws of 2004, is  amended
     4  to read as follows:
     5    5.  Green light. (a) One green light may be affixed to any motor vehi-
     6  cle owned by a member of a volunteer ambulance service, or  on  a  motor
     7  vehicle  owned  by  a  member  of such person's family, or by a business
     8  enterprise in which such person has a proprietary interest or  by  which
     9  he  is  employed, provided such member has been authorized in writing to
    10  so affix a green light by the chief officer of such  service  as  desig-
    11  nated  by  the members thereof. Such green light may be displayed exclu-
    12  sively by such member of a volunteer ambulance service only when engaged
    13  in an emergency operation. The use of green lights on vehicles shall  be
    14  restricted  for use only by a member of a volunteer ambulance service as
    15  provided for in this paragraph  except  as  otherwise  provided  for  in
    16  subparagraph c of this paragraph.
    17    (b)  As used in this paragraph volunteer ambulance service means: [a.]
    18  (i) a non-profit membership corporation (other than a fire  corporation)
    19  incorporated under or subject to the provisions of the membership corpo-
    20  rations  law, or any other law, operating its ambulance or ambulances on

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02241-02-1

        A. 811--A                           2

     1  a non-profit basis for the convenience of the members thereof and  their
     2  families  or  of  the community or under a contract with a county, city,
     3  town or village pursuant to section  one  hundred  twenty-two-b  of  the
     4  general municipal law; or
     5    [b.] (ii) an unincorporated association of persons operating its ambu-
     6  lance  or  ambulances  on  a non-profit basis for the convenience of the
     7  members and their families or of the community.
     8    (c)(i) In addition to the  amber  light  authorized  to  be  displayed
     9  pursuant  to  paragraph  three  of  this  subdivision, one or more green
    10  lights or combination green and amber lights may be affixed to a  hazard
    11  vehicle  designed  for  ice  and  snow removal owned and operated by the
    12  state or by a county, city, town or village. Such green light or  lights
    13  may  be  displayed on a hazard vehicle designed for ice and snow removal
    14  owned and operated by the state or by a county, city,  town  or  village
    15  when  such  vehicle  is  engaged  in  a  hazardous operation and is also
    16  displaying the amber light or lights required to be displayed  during  a
    17  hazardous  operation  pursuant  to  paragraph three of this subdivision.
    18  Nothing contained in this subparagraph shall be deemed to authorize  the
    19  use of green lights on hazard vehicles designed for ice and snow removal
    20  owned  and  operated  by the state or by a county, city, town or village
    21  unless such hazard vehicles also display one or  more  amber  lights  as
    22  otherwise authorized in this subdivision.
    23    (ii)  The  commissioner  is  authorized  to promulgate rules and regu-
    24  lations relating to the use,  placement,  power  and  display  of  green
    25  lights  on  a hazard vehicle designed for ice and snow removal owned and
    26  operated by the state or by a county, city, town or village.
    27    § 2. Subdivision (b) of section 1144-a of the vehicle and traffic law,
    28  as amended by section 3 of part C of chapter 58 of the laws of 2020,  is
    29  amended to read as follows:
    30    (b) Every operator of a motor vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid
    31  colliding  with a hazard vehicle which is parked, stopped or standing on
    32  the shoulder or on any portion of such highway and such  hazard  vehicle
    33  is  displaying  one  or  more amber lights pursuant to the provisions of
    34  paragraph three of subdivision forty-one of section three hundred seven-
    35  ty-five of this chapter or, if such hazard vehicle is designed  for  the
    36  towing or pushing of disabled vehicles such hazard vehicle is displaying
    37  one  or  more  amber  lights or one or more blue or combination blue and
    38  amber lights pursuant to the provisions of paragraph three  or  subpara-
    39  graph  b-1 of paragraph four, as applicable, of subdivision forty-one of
    40  section three hundred seventy-five of this chapter or,  if  such  hazard
    41  vehicle  owned  and  operated by the state or by a county, city, town or
    42  village is designed for the removal of ice and snow such hazard  vehicle
    43  is  displaying one or more amber lights or one or more green or combina-
    44  tion green and amber lights pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  paragraph
    45  three  or subparagraph (c) of paragraph five, as applicable, of subdivi-
    46  sion forty-one of section three hundred seventy-five  of  this  chapter.
    47  For  operators  of motor vehicles on parkways or controlled access high-
    48  ways, such due care shall include, but not be limited to, moving from  a
    49  lane which contains or is immediately adjacent to the shoulder where (i)
    50  such  hazard vehicle displaying one or more amber lights pursuant to the
    51  provisions of paragraph three of subdivision forty-one of section  three
    52  hundred  seventy-five  of  this  chapter  or  (ii)  such  hazard vehicle
    53  designed for the towing or pushing of disabled vehicles  displaying  one
    54  or  more  amber lights or one or more blue or combination blue and amber
    55  lights pursuant to the provisions of paragraph three or subparagraph b-1
    56  of paragraph four, as applicable, of subdivision  forty-one  of  section

        A. 811--A                           3

     1  three  hundred seventy-five of this chapter or (iii) such hazard vehicle
     2  owned and operated by the state or by a county, city, town or village is
     3  displaying one or more amber lights or one or more green or  combination
     4  green  and amber lights pursuant to the provisions of paragraph three or
     5  subparagraph (c)  of  paragraph  five,  as  applicable,  of  subdivision
     6  forty-one  of  section  three  hundred  seventy-five of this chapter, is
     7  parked, stopped or standing to another lane, provided that such movement
     8  otherwise complies with the requirements of this chapter including,  but
     9  not limited to, the provisions of sections eleven hundred ten and eleven
    10  hundred twenty-eight of this title.
    11    §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    12  have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
    13  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
    14  this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
    15  on or before such effective date.
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