Bill Text: NY S00997 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Defines the term "electric assisted bicycle" for purposes of the applicability of the vehicle and traffic law; requires persons sixteen years of age or older to wear a helmet when operating an electric assisted bicycle.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-2)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-06-17 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S00997 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S00997-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                          997
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                    January 8, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen.  DILAN  -- 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  defi-
         nition of electric assisted bicycle
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. The vehicle and traffic law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    2  section 102-c to read as follows:
    3    S 102-C. ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICYCLE. A BICYCLE WITH TWO OR THREE WHEELS
    4  WHICH  HAS  A SADDLE AND FULLY OPERATIVE PEDALS FOR HUMAN PROPULSION AND
    5  ALSO HAS AN ELECTRIC MOTOR.   THE ELECTRIC ASSISTED  BICYCLE'S  ELECTRIC
    6  MOTOR SHALL: HAVE A POWER OUTPUT OF LESS THAN SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY WATTS;
    7  HAVE A MAXIMUM SPEED OF LESS THAN TWENTY MILES PER HOUR ON A PAVED LEVEL
    8  SURFACE  WHEN POWERED SOLELY BY SUCH A MOTOR WHILE RIDDEN BY AN OPERATOR
    9  WHO WEIGHS ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY  POUNDS;  AND  BE  INCAPABLE  OF  FURTHER
   10  INCREASING  THE  SPEED  OF THE DEVICE WHEN HUMAN POWER IS USED TO PROPEL
   11  THE DEVICE AT OR MORE THAN TWENTY MILES PER HOUR.
   12    S 2. Section 125 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter
   13  365 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
   14    S 125. Motor vehicles. Every vehicle operated or driven upon a  public
   15  highway  which  is  propelled  by  any  power other than muscular power,
   16  except (a) electrically-driven mobility assistance devices  operated  or
   17  driven  by a person with a disability, (a-1) electric personal assistive
   18  mobility devices operated outside  a  city  with  a  population  of  one
   19  million  or  more, (b) vehicles which run only upon rails or tracks, (c)
   20  snowmobiles as defined in article forty-seven of this chapter, [and] (d)
   21  all terrain  vehicles  as  defined  in  article  forty-eight-B  of  this
   22  chapter,  AND  (E)  ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICYCLES AS DEFINED IN SECTION ONE
   23  HUNDRED TWO-C OF THIS ARTICLE. For the purposes of title  four  of  this
   24  chapter,  the  term motor vehicle shall exclude fire and police vehicles
   25  other than ambulances.  For the purposes of titles four and five of this
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD03026-01-5
       S. 997                              2
    1  chapter the term motor vehicles shall exclude farm type tractors and all
    2  terrain type vehicles used exclusively for agricultural purposes, or for
    3  snow plowing, other than for hire, farm equipment,  including  self-pro-
    4  pelled machines used exclusively in growing, harvesting or handling farm
    5  produce,  and self-propelled caterpillar or crawler-type equipment while
    6  being operated on the contract site.
    7    S 3. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding  a  new  section
    8  1238-a to read as follows:
    9    S  1238-A. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICY-
   10  CLES, OPERATORS AND PASSENGERS. 1. IN ADDITION TO COMPLYING WITH ALL  OF
   11  THE  RULES,  REGULATIONS AND PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO BICYCLES CONTAINED
   12  IN THIS ARTICLE, AN ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICYCLE AS DEFINED IN SECTION  ONE
   13  HUNDRED  TWO-C  OF THIS CHAPTER SHALL COMPLY WITH THE FOLLOWING REQUIRE-
   14  MENTS:
   15    (A) MEET THE EQUIPMENT AND  MANUFACTURING  REQUIREMENTS  FOR  BICYCLES
   16  ADOPTED  BY THE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION (16 C.F.R. 1512.1, ET
   17  SEQ.) OR THE REQUIREMENTS ADOPTED BY THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY
   18  ADMINISTRATION (49  C.F.R.  571.1,  ET  SEQ.)  IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH  THE
   19  NATIONAL  TRAFFIC  AND  MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY ACT OF 1966 (15 U.S.C. SEC.
   20  1381, ET SEQ.) FOR MOTOR DRIVEN CYCLES; AND
   21    (B) OPERATE IN A MANNER SO THAT THE ELECTRIC MOTOR  IS  DISENGAGED  OR
   22  CEASES  TO  FUNCTION WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED, OR OPERATE IN A MANNER
   23  SUCH THAT THE MOTOR IS ENGAGED THROUGH A SWITCH OR MECHANISM THAT,  WHEN
   24  RELEASED,  WILL  CAUSE THE ELECTRIC MOTOR TO DISENGAGE OR CEASE TO FUNC-
   25  TION.
   26    2.  NOTWITHSTANDING  THE  PROVISIONS   OF   SECTION   TWELVE   HUNDRED
   27  THIRTY-EIGHT  OF  THIS ARTICLE, NO PERSON LESS THAN SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE
   28  SHALL OPERATE OR RIDE AS A PASSENGER UPON AN ELECTRIC ASSISTED  BICYCLE,
   29  AND  NO PERSON SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER SHALL ALLOW ANY PERSON LESS
   30  THAN SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE TO OPERATE OR RIDE AS A  PASSENGER  UPON  SUCH
   31  BICYCLE.
   32    3.  NO PERSON SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER SHALL OPERATE OR RIDE AS A
   33  PASSENGER ON AN ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICYCLE UNLESS SUCH PERSON IS  WEARING
   34  A  HELMET  MEETING  STANDARDS  ESTABLISHED  BY THE COMMISSIONER. FOR THE
   35  PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, WEARING A HELMET MEANS HAVING A HELMET  OF
   36  GOOD  FIT  FASTENED  SECURELY ON THE HEAD OF SUCH WEARER WITH THE HELMET
   37  STRAPS SECURELY FASTENED.
   38    4. (A) ANY PERSON WHO VIOLATES THE PROVISIONS OF  SUBDIVISION  TWO  OR
   39  THREE  OF  THIS  SECTION  SHALL  PAY  A  CIVIL  FINE NOT TO EXCEED FIFTY
   40  DOLLARS.
   41    (B) THE COURT SHALL WAIVE ANY FINE FOR WHICH A PERSON WHO VIOLATES THE
   42  PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS SECTION WOULD BE LIABLE IF  SUCH
   43  PERSON  SUPPLIES THE COURT WITH PROOF THAT BETWEEN THE DATE OF VIOLATION
   44  AND THE APPEARANCE DATE FOR SUCH  VIOLATION  SUCH  PERSON  PURCHASED  OR
   45  RENTED A HELMET.
   46    (C)  THE  COURT MAY WAIVE ANY FINE FOR WHICH A PERSON WHO VIOLATES THE
   47  PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS SECTION WOULD BE LIABLE  IF  THE
   48  COURT  FINDS  THAT  DUE  TO REASONS OF ECONOMIC HARDSHIP SUCH PERSON WAS
   49  UNABLE TO PURCHASE A HELMET OR DUE TO SUCH ECONOMIC HARDSHIP SUCH PERSON
   50  WAS UNABLE TO OBTAIN A HELMET FROM THE STATEWIDE IN-LINE SKATE AND BICY-
   51  CLE HELMET DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM OR A LOCAL DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM.
   52    5. THE FAILURE OF ANY PERSON TO COMPLY WITH  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  THIS
   53  SECTION  SHALL  NOT  CONSTITUTE CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE OR ASSUMPTION OF
   54  RISK, AND SHALL NOT IN ANY WAY BAR, PRECLUDE OR FORECLOSE AN ACTION  FOR
   55  PERSONAL INJURY OR WRONGFUL DEATH BY OR ON BEHALF OF SUCH PERSON, NOR IN
   56  ANY WAY DIMINISH OR REDUCE THE DAMAGES RECOVERABLE IN ANY SUCH ACTION.
       S. 997                              3
    1    6.  A  POLICE  OFFICER  SHALL  ONLY ISSUE A SUMMONS FOR A VIOLATION OF
    2  SUBDIVISION TWO OR THREE OF THIS SECTION BY A PERSON LESS  THAN  SIXTEEN
    3  YEARS  OF  AGE TO THE PARENT OR GUARDIAN OF SUCH PERSON IF THE VIOLATION
    4  BY SUCH PERSON OCCURS IN THE PRESENCE OF SUCH PERSON'S PARENT OR GUARDI-
    5  AN  AND  WHERE SUCH PARENT OR GUARDIAN IS EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR MORE.
    6  SUCH SUMMONS SHALL ONLY BE ISSUED TO SUCH PARENT OR GUARDIAN, AND  SHALL
    7  NOT BE ISSUED TO THE PERSON LESS THAN SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE.
    8    S 4.  This act shall take effect immediately.