Bill Text: NY A01798 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Defines "electric scooters" and implements additional requirements for operating such scooters.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to transportation [A01798 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A01798-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1798 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 17, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PERRY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, the highway law and the general municipal law, in relation to the regulation of electric scooters The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "The Innovative 2 Transportation Act of 2019". 3 § 2. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section 4 102-c to read as follows: 5 § 102-c. Electric scooter. A two-wheeled device that has handlebars 6 and a floorboard that is designed to be stood upon while riding, is 7 powered by an electric motor with an output of less than seven hundred 8 fifty watts, or one horsepower, and does not exceed fifteen miles per 9 hour. 10 § 3. Section 125 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 11 365 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows: 12 § 125. Motor vehicles. Every vehicle operated or driven upon a public 13 highway which is propelled by any power other than muscular power, 14 except (a) electrically-driven mobility assistance devices operated or 15 driven by a person with a disability, (a-1) electric personal assistive 16 mobility devices operated outside a city with a population of one 17 million or more, (b) vehicles which run only upon rails or tracks, (c) 18 snowmobiles as defined in article forty-seven of this chapter, [and] (d) 19 all terrain vehicles as defined in article forty-eight-B of this 20 chapter, and (e) electric scooters as defined in section one hundred 21 two-c of this article. For the purposes of title four of this chapter, 22 the term motor vehicle shall exclude fire and police vehicles other than 23 ambulances. For the purposes of titles four and five of this chapter the 24 term motor vehicles shall exclude farm type tractors and all terrain EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06688-01-9A. 1798 2 1 type vehicles used exclusively for agricultural purposes, or for snow 2 plowing, other than for hire, farm equipment, including self-propelled 3 machines used exclusively in growing, harvesting or handling farm 4 produce, and self-propelled caterpillar or crawler-type equipment while 5 being operated on the contract site. 6 § 4. Section 159 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended to read as 7 follows: 8 § 159. Vehicle. Every device in, upon, or by which any person or prop- 9 erty is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices 10 moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks 11 and electric scooters as defined in section one hundred two-c of this 12 article. 13 § 5. Section 1230 of the vehicle and traffic law, subdivision (b) as 14 amended by chapter 694 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as 15 follows: 16 § 1230. Effect of regulations. (a) The parent of any child and the 17 guardian of any ward shall not authorize or knowingly permit any such 18 child or ward to violate any of the provisions of this article. 19 (b) These regulations applicable to bicycles, electric scooters, or to 20 in-line skates shall apply whenever a bicycle or electric scooter is, or 21 in-line skates are, operated upon any highway, upon private roads open 22 to public motor vehicle traffic and upon any path set aside for the 23 exclusive use of bicycles, electric scooters, or in-line skates, or 24 [both] all three. 25 § 6. Section 1231 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chap- 26 ter 694 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows: 27 § 1231. Traffic laws apply to persons riding bicycles or electric 28 scooters or skating or gliding on in-line skates. Every person riding a 29 bicycle or electric scooter or skating or gliding on in-line skates upon 30 a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all 31 of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this title, 32 except as to special regulations in this article and except as to those 33 provisions of this title which by their nature can have no application. 34 § 7. Section 1232 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended to read as 35 follows: 36 § 1232. Riding on bicycles and electric scooters. (a) A person 37 propelling a bicycle shall not ride other than upon or astride a perma- 38 nent and regular seat attached thereto, nor shall he ride with his feet 39 removed from the pedals. 40 (b) No bicycle or electric scooter shall be used to carry more persons 41 at one time than the number for which it is designed and equipped. 42 § 8. Subdivision 1 of section 1233 of the vehicle and traffic law, as 43 amended by chapter 703 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as 44 follows: 45 1. No person riding upon any bicycle, electric scooter, coaster, 46 in-line skates, roller skates, skate board, sled, or toy vehicle shall 47 attach the same or himself or herself to any vehicle being operated upon 48 a roadway. 49 § 9. Section 1234 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chap- 50 ter 16 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows: 51 § 1234. Riding on roadways, shoulders, bicycle, electric scooter or 52 in-line skate lanes and bicycle or in-line skate paths. (a) Upon all 53 roadways, any bicycle, electric scooter or in-line skate shall be driven 54 either on a usable bicycle or in-line skate lane or, if a usable bicycle 55 or in-line skate lane has not been provided, near the right-hand curb or 56 edge of the roadway or upon a usable right-hand shoulder in such aA. 1798 3 1 manner as to prevent undue interference with the flow of traffic except 2 when preparing for a left turn or when reasonably necessary to avoid 3 conditions that would make it unsafe to continue along near the right- 4 hand curb or edge. Conditions to be taken into consideration include, 5 but are not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, 6 electric scooters, in-line skates, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards 7 or traffic lanes too narrow for a bicycle, or electric scooter or person 8 on in-line skates and a vehicle to travel safely side-by-side within the 9 lane. 10 (b) Persons riding bicycles or electric scooters or skating or gliding 11 on in-line skates upon a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast. 12 Persons riding bicycles or electric scooters or skating or gliding on 13 in-line skates upon a shoulder, bicycle or in-line skate lane, or bicy- 14 cle or in-line skates path, intended for the use of bicycles or in-line 15 skates may ride two or more abreast if sufficient space is available, 16 except that when passing a vehicle, bicycle, electric scooter or person 17 on in-line skates, or pedestrian, standing or proceeding along such 18 shoulder, lane or path, persons riding bicycles or electric scooters or 19 skating or gliding on in-line skates shall ride, skate, or glide single 20 file. Persons riding bicycles or electric scooters or skating or gliding 21 on in-line skates upon a roadway shall ride, skate, or glide single file 22 when being overtaken by a vehicle. 23 (c) Any person operating a bicycle or electric scooter or skating or 24 gliding on in-line skates who is entering the roadway from a private 25 road, driveway, alley or over a curb shall come to a full stop before 26 entering the roadway. 27 § 10. Section 1235 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chap- 28 ter 703 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows: 29 § 1235. Carrying articles. No person operating a bicycle or electric 30 scooter shall carry any package, bundle, or article which prevents the 31 driver from keeping at least one hand upon the handle bars. No person 32 skating or gliding on in-line skates shall carry any package, bundle, or 33 article which obstructs his or her vision in any direction. No person 34 operating a skate board shall carry any package, bundle, or article 35 which obstructs his or her vision in any direction. 36 § 11. Section 1236 of the vehicle and traffic law, subdivision (a) as 37 amended by chapter 16 of the laws of 2009 and subdivisions (d) and (e) 38 as added by chapter 887 of the laws of 1976, is amended to read as 39 follows: 40 § 1236. Lamps and other equipment on bicycles and electric scooters. 41 (a) Every bicycle or electric scooter when in use during the period from 42 one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise shall be 43 equipped with a lamp on the front which shall emit a white light visible 44 during hours of darkness from a distance of at least five hundred feet 45 to the front and with a red or amber light visible to the rear for three 46 hundred feet. Effective July first, nineteen hundred seventy-six, at 47 least one of these lights shall be visible for two hundred feet from 48 each side. 49 (b) No person shall operate a bicycle or electric scooter unless it is 50 equipped with a bell or other device capable of giving a signal audible 51 for a distance of at least one hundred feet, except that a bicycle or 52 electric scooter shall not be equipped with nor shall any person use 53 upon a bicycle or electric scooter any siren or whistle. 54 (c) Every bicycle or electric scooter shall be equipped with a brake 55 which will enable the operator to make the braked wheels skid on dry, 56 level, clean pavement, provided, however, such brake of an electricA. 1798 4 1 scooter shall also operate in a manner so that the electric motor is 2 disengaged or ceases to function when the brake is applied. 3 (d) Every new bicycle or electric scooter shall be equipped with 4 reflective tires or, alternately, a reflex reflector mounted on the 5 spokes of each wheel, said tires and reflectors to be of types approved 6 by the commissioner. The reflex reflector mounted on the front wheel 7 shall be colorless or amber, and the reflex reflector mounted on the 8 rear wheel shall be colorless or red. 9 (e) Every bicycle or electric scooter when in use during the period 10 from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise shall be 11 equipped with reflective devices or material meeting the standards 12 established by rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner; 13 provided, however, that such standards shall not be inconsistent with or 14 otherwise conflict with the requirements of subdivisions (a) and (d) of 15 this section. 16 § 12. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section 17 1242 to read as follows: 18 § 1242. Tampering with an electric scooter. 1. No person shall tamper 19 with or modify an electric scooter to: 20 (a) increase the output of such scooter to seven hundred fifty watts 21 or greater; 22 (b) engage the electric motor when: 23 (i) the operator of such scooter has applied the brakes; or 24 (ii) such scooter has achieved a speed of fifteen miles per hour or 25 greater. 26 2. A violation of the provisions of subdivision one of this section 27 shall constitute a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of up to one 28 hundred fifty dollars or a sentence of imprisonment for up to fifteen 29 days or both such fine and imprisonment. 30 § 13. Section 316 of the highway law, as amended by chapter 655 of the 31 laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows: 32 § 316. Entitled to free use of highways. The authorities having charge 33 or control of any highway, public street, park, parkway, driveway, or 34 place, shall have no power or authority to pass, enforce or maintain any 35 ordinance, rule or regulation by which any person using a bicycle, elec- 36 tric scooter or tricycle shall be excluded or prohibited from the free 37 use of any highway, public street, avenue, roadway, driveway, parkway, 38 park, or place, at any time when the same is open to the free use of 39 persons having and using other pleasure carriages, except upon such 40 driveway, speedway or road as has been or may be expressly set apart by 41 law for the exclusive use of horses and light carriages. But nothing 42 herein shall prevent the passage, enforcement or maintenance of any 43 regulation, ordinance or rule, regulating the use of bicycles, electric 44 scooters or tricycles in highways, public streets, driveways, parks, 45 parkways, and places, or the regulation of the speed of carriages, vehi- 46 cles or engines, in public parks and upon parkways and driveways in the 47 city of New York, under the exclusive jurisdiction and control of the 48 department of parks and recreation of said city, nor prevent any such 49 authorities in any other city from regulating the speed of any vehicles 50 herein described in such manner as to limit and determine the proper 51 rate of speed with which such vehicle may be propelled nor in such 52 manner as to require, direct or prohibit the use of bells, lamps and 53 other appurtenances nor to prohibit the use of any vehicle upon that 54 part of the highway, street, park, or parkway, commonly known as the 55 footpath or sidewalk.A. 1798 5 1 § 14. Section 180 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 2 668 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 180. Ordinances to regulate use of bicycles and electric scooters. 4 The governing boards of municipal corporations as defined in section two 5 of this chapter, may adopt local laws to regulate the use of bicycles 6 and electric scooters on the public highways, streets, avenues, walks, 7 parks and public places within their limits. Such local laws shall be 8 supplemental and in addition to the provisions of the vehicle and traf- 9 fic law relating to vehicles and not in conflict therewith. Provided 10 further that such local laws shall not impose any charge, tax or other- 11 wise not provide for the free use of bicycles, electric scooters and 12 tricycles. 13 § 15. This act shall take effect immediately.
