Bill Text: NY A07431 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relates to bicycles with electronic assist and electric scooters; defines terms; provides that every person riding an electric scooter upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle; makes related provisions.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 58-7)
Status: (Vetoed) 2019-12-26 - VETOED MEMO.280 [A07431 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A07431-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relates to bicycles with electronic assist and electric scooters; defines terms; provides that every person riding an electric scooter upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle; makes related provisions.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 58-7)
Status: (Vetoed) 2019-12-26 - VETOED MEMO.280 [A07431 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A07431-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7431 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 3, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROZIC, FAHY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to bicycles with electric assist and electric scooters The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 102 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by 2 chapter 931 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 102. Bicycle. Every two or three wheeled device upon which a person 4 or persons may ride, propelled by human power through a belt, a chain or 5 gears, with such wheels in a tandem or tricycle, except that it shall 6 not include such a device having solid tires and intended for use only 7 on a sidewalk by pre-teenage children. A bicycle includes a bicycle with 8 electric assist as defined in section one hundred two-c of this article, 9 provided that nothing in this article is intended to affect the ability 10 of a local authority to promulgate rules and regulations governing the 11 operation of bicycles with electric assist. 12 § 2. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section 13 102-c to read as follows: 14 § 102-c. Bicycle with electric assist. Every two or three wheeled 15 device upon which a person or persons may ride, propelled by an electric 16 motor system rated at not more than seven hundred fifty watts, equipped 17 with operable pedals, and meeting the requirements of one of the follow- 18 ing three classes: 19 (a) "Class one bicycle with electric assist" shall mean a bicycle with 20 electric assist equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when 21 the rider is pedaling, and that ceases to provide assistance when the 22 bicycle reaches the speed of twenty miles per hour. 23 (b) "Class two bicycle with electric assist" shall mean a bicycle with 24 electric assist equipped with a motor that may be used exclusively to EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11288-01-9A. 7431 2 1 propel the bicycle, and that is not capable of providing assistance when 2 the bicycle reaches the speed of twenty miles per hour. 3 (c) "Class three bicycle with electric assist" shall mean a bicycle 4 with electric assist equipped with a motor that provides assistance only 5 when the rider is pedaling, and that ceases to provide assistance when 6 the bicycle reaches the speed of twenty-eight miles per hour. 7 Bicycle with electric assist does not include a device specifically 8 designed for use by persons with disabilities. For the purposes of this 9 article, a bicycle with electric assist shall be subject to all the 10 provisions applicable to a bicycle and no other provisions. 11 § 3. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section 12 114-e to read as follows: 13 § 114-e. Electric scooter. Every device weighing less than one hundred 14 pounds that (a) has handlebars and an electric motor, (b) is powered by 15 the electric motor and/or human power, and (c) has a maximum speed of no 16 more than twenty miles per hour on a paved level surface when powered 17 solely by the electric motor. 18 § 4. Section 125 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 19 365 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows: 20 § 125. Motor vehicles. Every vehicle operated or driven upon a public 21 highway which is propelled by any power other than muscular power, 22 except (a) electrically-driven mobility assistance devices operated or 23 driven by a person with a disability, (a-1) electric personal assistive 24 mobility devices operated outside a city with a population of one 25 million or more, (b) vehicles which run only upon rails or tracks, (c) 26 snowmobiles as defined in article forty-seven of this chapter, [and] (d) 27 all terrain vehicles as defined in article forty-eight-B of this 28 chapter, (e) bicycles with electric assist as defined in section one 29 hundred two-c of this article, and (f) electric scooters as defined in 30 section one hundred fourteen-e of this article. For the purposes of 31 title four of this chapter, the term motor vehicle shall exclude fire 32 and police vehicles other than ambulances. For the purposes of titles 33 four and five of this chapter the term motor vehicles shall exclude farm 34 type tractors and all terrain type vehicles used exclusively for agri- 35 cultural purposes, or for snow plowing, other than for hire, farm equip- 36 ment, including self-propelled machines used exclusively in growing, 37 harvesting or handling farm produce, and self-propelled caterpillar or 38 crawler-type equipment while being operated on the contract site. 39 § 5. Section 159 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended to read as 40 follows: 41 § 159. Vehicle. Every device in, upon, or by which any person or prop- 42 erty is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices 43 moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or 44 tracks, bicycles with electric assist as defined in section one hundred 45 two-c of this article, and electric scooters as defined in section one 46 hundred fourteen-e of this article. 47 § 6. Subparagraph b of paragraph 1 of subdivision (a) of section 1202 48 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 679 of the laws of 49 1970, is amended to read as follows: 50 b. On a sidewalk, except that a bicycle or electric scooter may park 51 on a sidewalk in a manner complying with the Americans with disabilities 52 act, provided that such bicycle or electric scooter does not interfere 53 with the normal and reasonable movement of pedestrian traffic; 54 § 7. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new article 55 34-D to read as follows:A. 7431 3 1 ARTICLE 34-D 2 OPERATION OF ELECTRIC SCOOTERS 3 Section 1280. Effect of regulations. 4 1281. Traffic laws apply to persons operating electric scooters. 5 1282. Lamps and other equipment. 6 1283. Operators subject to bicycle requirements for protective 7 headgear. 8 1284. Leaving the scene of an incident involving an electric 9 scooter without reporting in the second degree. 10 1285. Leaving the scene of an incident involving an electric 11 scooter without reporting in the first degree. 12 1286. Local authority regarding shared electric scooters. 13 § 1280. Effect of regulations. (a) The parent of any child and the 14 guardian of any ward shall not authorize or knowingly permit any such 15 child or ward to violate any of the provisions of this article. 16 (b) Regulations applicable to electric scooters shall apply whenever 17 an electric scooter is operated upon any highway, upon private roads 18 open to public motor vehicle traffic and upon any path set aside for the 19 exclusive use of bicycles, in-line skates, electric scooters, or all. 20 § 1281. Traffic laws apply to persons operating electric scooters. 21 Every person riding an electric scooter upon a roadway shall be granted 22 all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable 23 to the rider of a bicycle, except as to special regulations in this 24 article and except as to those provisions of this title which by their 25 nature can have no application. 26 § 1282. Lamps and other equipment. (a) Every electric scooter when in 27 use during the period from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour 28 before sunrise shall be equipped with a lamp on the front which shall 29 emit a white light visible during hours of darkness from a distance of 30 at least five hundred feet to the front and with a red light visible to 31 the rear for three hundred feet. 32 (b) No person shall operate an electric scooter unless such scooter is 33 equipped with a bell or other device capable of giving a signal audible 34 for a distance of at least one hundred feet, except that an electric 35 scooter shall not be equipped with nor shall any person use upon an 36 electric scooter any siren or whistle. 37 (c) Every electric scooter shall be equipped with a brake which will 38 enable the operator to make the braked wheels skid on dry, level, clean 39 pavement. 40 § 1283. Operators subject to bicycle requirements for protective head- 41 gear. Persons operating electric scooters shall comply with the helmet 42 requirements applicable to operators of bicycles as provided in section 43 twelve hundred thirty-eight of this title. 44 § 1284. Leaving the scene of an incident involving an electric scooter 45 without reporting in the second degree. (a) Any person age eighteen 46 years or older operating an electric scooter who, knowing or having 47 cause to know, that physical injury, as defined in subdivision nine of 48 section 10.00 of the penal law, has been caused to another person, due 49 to the operation of such electric scooter by such person, shall, before 50 leaving the place where such physical injury occurred, stop, and provide 51 his or her name and residence, including street and street number, to 52 the injured party, if practical, and also to a police officer, or in the 53 event that no police officer is in the vicinity of the place of said 54 injury, then such person shall report such incident as soon as phys- 55 ically able to the nearest police station or judicial officer.A. 7431 4 1 (b) Leaving the scene of an incident involving an electric scooter 2 without reporting in the second degree is a violation. 3 § 1285. Leaving the scene of an incident involving an electric scooter 4 without reporting in the first degree. (a) Any person age eighteen years 5 or older operating an electric scooter who, knowing or having cause to 6 know, that serious physical injury, as defined in subdivision ten of 7 section 10.00 of the penal law, has been caused to another person, due 8 to the operation of such electric scooter by such person, shall, before 9 leaving the place where such serious physical injury occurred, stop, and 10 provide his or her name and residence, including street and street 11 number, to the injured party, if practical, and also to a police offi- 12 cer, or in the event that no police officer is in the vicinity of the 13 place of said injury, then such person shall report said incident as 14 soon as physically able to the nearest police station or judicial offi- 15 cer. 16 (b) Leaving the scene of an incident involving an electric scooter 17 without reporting in the first degree is a class B misdemeanor. 18 § 1286. Local authority regarding shared electric scooters. Nothing in 19 this article shall prohibit a local authority from regulating electric 20 scooters within its jurisdiction. 21 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.
