Bill Text: NY S08196 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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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: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-04-17 - REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION [S08196 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S08196-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          8196
                    IN SENATE
                                     April 17, 2018
                                       ___________
        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
    24  provisions  of  paragraph  two  or  subparagraph b of paragraph four, as
    25  applicable of subdivision forty-one of section  three  hundred  seventy-
    26  five  of  this  chapter  is parked, stopped or standing to another lane,
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15100-05-8
        S. 8196                             2
     1  provided that such movement otherwise complies with the requirements  of
     2  this  chapter  including, but not limited to, the provisions of sections
     3  eleven hundred ten [of this title] and eleven  hundred  twenty-eight  of
     4  this title.
     5    [(b)]  2. Every operator of a motor vehicle shall exercise due care to
     6  avoid colliding with a hazard vehicle which is parked, stopped or stand-
     7  ing on the shoulder or on any portion of such highway  and  such  hazard
     8  vehicle  is  displaying  one  or  more  amber  lights  pursuant  to  the
     9  provisions of paragraph three of subdivision forty-one of section  three
    10  hundred seventy-five of this chapter. For operators of motor vehicles on
    11  parkways or controlled access highways, such due care shall include, but
    12  not  be  limited to, moving from a lane which contains or is immediately
    13  adjacent to the shoulder where such hazard  vehicle  displaying  one  or
    14  more  amber  lights  pursuant  to  the  provisions of paragraph three of
    15  subdivision forty-one of section  three  hundred  seventy-five  of  this
    16  chapter  is  parked,  stopped or standing to another lane, provided that
    17  such movement otherwise complies with the requirements of  this  chapter
    18  including, but not limited to, the provisions of sections eleven hundred
    19  ten and eleven hundred twenty-eight of this title.
    20    [(c)]  3. Every operator of a motor vehicle shall exercise due care to
    21  avoid colliding with a vehicle displaying a blue light pursuant  to  the
    22  provisions of paragraph four or a green light pursuant to the provisions
    23  of  paragraph  five  of  subdivision  forty-one of section three hundred
    24  seventy-five of this chapter which is parked, stopped or standing on the
    25  shoulder or any portion of such highway. For operators of motor vehicles
    26  on parkways or controlled access highways, such due care shall  include,
    27  but  not  be  limited  to, moving from a lane which contains or is imme-
    28  diately adjacent to the shoulder where such vehicle  displaying  a  blue
    29  light  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of paragraph four or a green light
    30  pursuant to the provisions of paragraph five of subdivision forty-one of
    31  section three hundred seventy-five of this chapter is parked, stopped or
    32  standing to another lane, provided that such movement otherwise complies
    33  with the requirements of this chapter including, but not limited to, the
    34  provisions of sections eleven hundred ten  and  eleven  hundred  twenty-
    35  eight of this title.
    36    (b)  1.   An operator of a motor vehicle who causes physical injury as
    37  defined under article ten of the penal law as  a  result  of  recklessly
    38  failing  to  exercise  due  care in violation of subdivision (a) of this
    39  section shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of
    40  not less than two hundred fifty  dollars  nor  more  than  five  hundred
    41  dollars in addition to any other penalties provided by law. A conviction
    42  for  a  second  or any subsequent violation, any of which were committed
    43  within a period of eighteen months, shall constitute a class  E  felony,
    44  punishable  by  a  fine  of not less than one thousand nor more than two
    45  thousand five  hundred  dollars  in  addition  to  any  other  penalties
    46  provided by law.
    47    2.  An  operator  of  a  motor vehicle (i) who causes serious physical
    48  injury as defined under article ten of the penal  law  as  a  result  of
    49  recklessly  failing to exercise due care in violation of subdivision (a)
    50  of this section shall be guilty of a class D felony punishable by a fine
    51  of not less than one  thousand  dollars  nor  more  than  five  thousand
    52  dollars  in  addition  to any other penalty provided by law, or (ii) who
    53  causes death as a result of recklessly failing to exercise due  care  in
    54  violation  of subdivision (a) of this section shall be guilty of a class
    55  C felony punishable by a fine of not less than  two  thousand  nor  more
    56  than  five  thousand dollars in addition to any other penalties provided
        S. 8196                             3
     1  by law, and by suspension of  a  license  or  registration  pursuant  to
     2  subparagraph  (xviii)  of paragraph b of subdivision two of section five
     3  hundred ten of this chapter.
     4    (c) For the purposes of this section, the term "recklessly" shall have
     5  the same meaning as defined in section 15.05 of the penal law.
     6    §  2.  Paragraph  b of subdivision 2 of section 510 of the vehicle and
     7  traffic law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (xviii) to  read  as
     8  follows:
     9    (xviii)  for a period of six months where the holder is convicted of a
    10  violation of paragraph two of subdivision (b) of section eleven  hundred
    11  forty-four-a of this chapter and the commission of such violation caused
    12  serious physical injury to or death of another person.
    13    §  3.  The  division  of  criminal  justice services shall establish a
    14  public information campaign to instruct  the  public  that  operating  a
    15  motor  vehicle when approaching a parked, stopped or standing authorized
    16  emergency vehicle or hazard vehicle or  vehicle  displaying  a  blue  or
    17  green  light that results in physical injury, serious physical injury or
    18  death as a result of the operator recklessly  failing  to  exercise  due
    19  care to avoid a collision can result in serious criminal penalties.
    20    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.