Bill Text: NJ S4149 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires certain commercial motor vehicles registered in State to be equipped with underride protection systems and requires Chief Administrator of MVC to establish underride public awareness campaign.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-11-30 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Transportation Committee [S4149 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-S4149-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires certain commercial motor vehicles registered in State to be equipped with underride protection systems and requires Chief Administrator of MVC to establish underride public awareness campaign.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning commercial motor vehicles and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before this Legislature as this bill):
"Commercial motor vehicle" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 1 of P.L.2013, c.48 (C.39:3-10.17b).
"Underride protection system" means a system consisting of devices installed on the front, rear, and sides of a commercial motor vehicle that reduces the possibility that a person or vehicle may travel underneath the commercial motor vehicle and prevents injuries to passenger automobile occupants, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists.
b. A person shall not operate a commercial motor vehicle registered in this State pursuant to R.S.39:3-20 on or after the effective date of this section unless the commercial motor vehicle is equipped with an underride protection system.
c. A person who violates this section shall be subject to a fine of not less than $50 or more than $100 for the first offense, and for any subsequent offense not less than $100 or more than $200.
2. a. The Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall establish a public awareness campaign to inform the general public about the dangers of crashes resulting in a vehicle sliding under a tractor trailer or other large bus or truck, known as underrides, and to improve public awareness of safe practices to avoid the risk of crashes involving underrides.
b. The public awareness campaign shall include development and implementation of public awareness and outreach efforts to inform the public on crashes resulting in a vehicle sliding under a tractor trailer or other large bus or truck, known as an underride, including, but not limited to, best practices to prevent underrides.
c. The chief administrator shall provide printed and electronic materials concerning underrides and shall disseminate those materials at public venues throughout the State and shall make the electronic materials available on the commission's Internet website.
3. Section 1 of this act shall take effect on the first day of the 12th month following enactment. Section 2 of this act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits a person
from operating a commercial motor
vehicle (CMV) registered in New Jersey unless the CMV is equipped with an
underride protection system. The bill defines "underride protection system" as
a system consisting of devices installed on the front, rear, and sides of a CMV
that reduces the possibility that a person or vehicle may travel underneath the
commercial motor vehicle and prevents injuries to passenger automobile
occupants, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists. A person who operates a
CMV registered in this State that is not equipped with an underride protection
system is subject to a fine of not less than $50 or more than $100 for the
first offense and not less than $100 or more than $200 for subsequent offenses.
The bill also requires the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to establish a public awareness campaign to inform the general public about the dangers of underrides and best practices to prevent underrides.
An underride protection system is designed to withstand the force of a crash to prevent a vehicle from sliding under a tractor trailer or other large bus or truck. From 1994 to 2015, there were 4,195 fatalities due to crashes involving underrides in the United States. The bill is intended to help decrease the risk of fatalities in crashes involving tractor trailers and other large buses and trucks.
