Bill Text: NY S01332 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to the operation of vehicles when approaching a parked, stopped or standing authorized emergency vehicle or hazard vehicle or vehicle displaying a blue or green light; provides for mandatory revocation of a driver's license for a period of six months where a person violates section 1144-a of the vehicle and traffic law and causes serious physical injury or death to another person; directs the division of criminal justice services to establish a public information campaign to instruct the public that operating a motor vehicle when approaching a parked, stopped or standing authorized emergency vehicle or hazard vehicle or vehicle displaying a blue or green light that results in physical injury, serious physical injury or death as a result of the operator recklessly failing to exercise due care to avoid a collision can result in serious criminal penalties.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION [S01332 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S01332-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1332 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 14, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. GALLIVAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the opera- tion of vehicles when approaching a parked, stopped or standing authorized emergency vehicle or hazard vehicle or vehicle displaying a blue or green light The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1144-a of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended 2 by chapter 458 of the laws of 2011, the section heading as amended and 3 subdivision (c) as added by chapter 97 of the laws of 2016, and subdivi- 4 sion (a) as amended by chapter 248 of the laws of 2013, is amended to 5 read as follows: 6 § 1144-a. Operation of vehicles when approaching a parked, stopped or 7 standing authorized emergency vehicle or hazard vehicle or vehicle 8 displaying a blue or green light. (a) 1. Every operator of a motor vehi- 9 cle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with an authorized emer- 10 gency vehicle which is parked, stopped or standing on the shoulder or 11 any portion of such highway and such authorized emergency vehicle is 12 displaying one or more red or combination red and white lights pursuant 13 to the provisions of paragraph two of subdivision forty-one of section 14 three hundred seventy-five of this chapter or is displaying one or more 15 blue, combination blue and red or combination blue, red and white lights 16 pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph b of paragraph four of subdi- 17 vision forty-one of section three hundred seventy-five of this chapter. 18 For operators of motor vehicles on parkways or controlled access high- 19 ways, such due care shall include, but not be limited to, moving from a 20 lane which contains or is immediately adjacent to the shoulder where 21 such authorized emergency vehicle displaying one or more red, blue or 22 white or any combination of red and white lights or blue or combination 23 blue and red or combination blue, red and white lights pursuant to the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00697-01-9S. 1332 2 1 provisions of paragraph two or subparagraph b of paragraph four, as 2 applicable of subdivision forty-one of section three hundred seventy- 3 five of this chapter is parked, stopped or standing to another lane, 4 provided that such movement otherwise complies with the requirements of 5 this chapter including, but not limited to, the provisions of sections 6 eleven hundred ten [of this title] and eleven hundred twenty-eight of 7 this title. 8 [(b)] 2. Every operator of a motor vehicle shall exercise due care to 9 avoid colliding with a hazard vehicle which is parked, stopped or stand- 10 ing on the shoulder or on any portion of such highway and such hazard 11 vehicle is displaying one or more amber lights pursuant to the 12 provisions of paragraph three of subdivision forty-one of section three 13 hundred seventy-five of this chapter. For operators of motor vehicles on 14 parkways or controlled access highways, such due care shall include, but 15 not be limited to, moving from a lane which contains or is immediately 16 adjacent to the shoulder where such hazard vehicle displaying one or 17 more amber lights pursuant to the provisions of paragraph three of 18 subdivision forty-one of section three hundred seventy-five of this 19 chapter is parked, stopped or standing to another lane, provided that 20 such movement otherwise complies with the requirements of this chapter 21 including, but not limited to, the provisions of sections eleven hundred 22 ten and eleven hundred twenty-eight of this title. 23 [(c)] 3. Every operator of a motor vehicle shall exercise due care to 24 avoid colliding with a vehicle displaying a blue light pursuant to the 25 provisions of paragraph four or a green light pursuant to the provisions 26 of paragraph five of subdivision forty-one of section three hundred 27 seventy-five of this chapter which is parked, stopped or standing on the 28 shoulder or any portion of such highway. For operators of motor vehicles 29 on parkways or controlled access highways, such due care shall include, 30 but not be limited to, moving from a lane which contains or is imme- 31 diately adjacent to the shoulder where such vehicle displaying a blue 32 light pursuant to the provisions of paragraph four or a green light 33 pursuant to the provisions of paragraph five of subdivision forty-one of 34 section three hundred seventy-five of this chapter is parked, stopped or 35 standing to another lane, provided that such movement otherwise complies 36 with the requirements of this chapter including, but not limited to, the 37 provisions of sections eleven hundred ten and eleven hundred twenty- 38 eight of this title. 39 (b) 1. An operator of a motor vehicle who causes physical injury as 40 defined under article ten of the penal law as a result of recklessly 41 failing to exercise due care in violation of subdivision (a) of this 42 section shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of 43 not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than five hundred 44 dollars in addition to any other penalties provided by law. A conviction 45 for a second or any subsequent violation, any of which were committed 46 within a period of eighteen months, shall constitute a class E felony, 47 punishable by a fine of not less than one thousand nor more than two 48 thousand five hundred dollars in addition to any other penalties 49 provided by law. 50 2. An operator of a motor vehicle (i) who causes serious physical 51 injury as defined under article ten of the penal law as a result of 52 recklessly failing to exercise due care in violation of subdivision (a) 53 of this section shall be guilty of a class D felony punishable by a fine 54 of not less than one thousand dollars nor more than five thousand 55 dollars in addition to any other penalty provided by law, or (ii) who 56 causes death as a result of recklessly failing to exercise due care inS. 1332 3 1 violation of subdivision (a) of this section shall be guilty of a class 2 C felony punishable by a fine of not less than two thousand nor more 3 than five thousand dollars in addition to any other penalties provided 4 by law, and by suspension of a license or registration pursuant to 5 subparagraph (xviii) of paragraph b of subdivision two of section five 6 hundred ten of this chapter. 7 (c) For the purposes of this section, the term "recklessly" shall have 8 the same meaning as defined in section 15.05 of the penal law. 9 § 2. Paragraph b of subdivision 2 of section 510 of the vehicle and 10 traffic law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (xviii) to read as 11 follows: 12 (xviii) for a period of six months where the holder is convicted of a 13 violation of paragraph two of subdivision (b) of section eleven hundred 14 forty-four-a of this chapter and the commission of such violation caused 15 serious physical injury to or death of another person. 16 § 3. The division of criminal justice services shall establish a 17 public information campaign to instruct the public that operating a 18 motor vehicle when approaching a parked, stopped or standing authorized 19 emergency vehicle or hazard vehicle or vehicle displaying a blue or 20 green light that results in physical injury, serious physical injury or 21 death as a result of the operator recklessly failing to exercise due 22 care to avoid a collision can result in serious criminal penalties. 23 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
