Bill Text: NY S08863 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Implements combination lap safety and shoulder harness seat safety belts; requires students use safety belts on school buses.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-30 - REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION [S08863 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S08863-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8863 IN SENATE May 30, 2018 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CARLUCCI -- 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 and the education law, in relation to implementing combination lap safety and shoulder harness seat safety belts and requiring students use safety belts on school buses The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 383 of the vehicle and traffic 2 law, as added by chapter 747 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 5. (a) Passenger seat safety belts for school buses. Every school bus, 5 as defined in section one hundred forty-two of this chapter, manufac- 6 tured for use in this state on and after July first, [nineteen hundred7eighty-seven] two thousand nineteen, shall be designed so that all 8 passenger seats on such vehicle are equipped with combination lap safety 9 and shoulder harness seat safety belts and increased seat back padding 10 on passenger seats of a type and specification as approved by the 11 commissioner of transportation through the adoption of rules and regu- 12 lations. Such rules and regulations shall provide that when any contact- 13 able surface of the school bus, as specified in the Federal Motor Vehi- 14 cle Safety Standard, 49 CFR Section 571.222, is impacted from any 15 direction at twenty-two feet per second by the head form, the axial 16 acceleration at the center of gravity of the head form shall be such 17 that the head form impact requirement shall not exceed eight hundred. 18 (b) Passenger combination lap safety and shoulder harness seat safety 19 belts for existing school buses. [Any] Every school bus, as defined in 20 section one hundred forty-two of this chapter, which is scheduled for 21 retrofitting pursuant to action by a board of education or board of 22 trustees under section thirty-six hundred thirty-five-a of the education 23 law not equipped with combination lap safety and shoulder harness seat 24 safety belts shall be retrofitted so that all passenger seats on such 25 vehicles are equipped with combination lap safety and shoulder harness 26 seat safety belts and additional padding of a type and specification as EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD16097-01-8S. 8863 2 1 approved by the commissioner of transportation through the adoption of 2 rules and regulations. Such rules and regulations shall provide that 3 when any contactable surface of the school bus as specified in the 4 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, 49CFR Section 571.222 is impacted 5 from any direction at twenty-two feet per second by the head form, the 6 axial acceleration at the center of gravity of the head form shall be 7 such that the head form impact requirement shall not exceed eight 8 hundred. Furthermore, the commissioner shall have the power through 9 rules and regulations to exempt certain design school buses from retro- 10 fitting. In granting such exemptions, the commissioner shall consider 11 safety factors, structural integrity of the school buses and any other 12 items deemed necessary to preserve the safety and welfare of the school 13 bus passengers. Provided further, however, that the commissioner of 14 transportation shall not authorize retrofitting of any school bus manu- 15 factured prior to April first, [nineteen hundred seventy-seven] two 16 thousand nineteen. 17 § 2. Section 3635-a of the education law, as added by chapter 747 of 18 the laws of 1986 and subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 474 of the laws 19 of 1996, is amended to read as follows: 20 § 3635-a. Safety belt usage. [1. A board of education or board of21trustees may, in its discretion, following a public hearing for the22purpose of determining whether a resolution shall be adopted, provide23for the use of seat safety belts on such school buses, in accordance24with regulations and standards established by the commissioner under25subdivision one of section thirty-six hundred thirty-eight of this chap-26ter.272. Such public hearing, conducted upon reasonable notice, shall be28held to consider: (a) whether the district shall install seat safety29belts on buses purchased and/or contracted for prior to the effective30date of this section and require their use; (b) when such installation31shall be provided, and (c) whether use of seat safety belts shall be32required on all school buses within the district so equipped after a33date to be determined by the board of education or board of trustees.343. Such hearings shall consider the effect of seat safety belts35installation on the total number of students that can be transported on36such buses.374. Within twenty days after the public hearing, the board of education38or board of trustees shall, by resolution, determine whether to require39installation and use of seat safety belts on some or all school buses.] 40 1. All students shall use safety belts while being transported on 41 school buses, in accordance with regulations and standards established 42 by the commissioner; provided, however, alternative accommodations shall 43 be made where a pupil with special needs is unable to utilize a safety 44 belt. 45 [5.] 2. This section shall apply only to vehicles owned or leased by 46 school districts and nonpublic schools, and to vehicles used to perform 47 contracts with such school districts and nonpublic schools for the 48 purpose of transporting school children for hire. 49 [6.] 3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose a duty 50 upon boards of education or boards of trustees to provide seat safety 51 belts on school buses purchased or contracted for prior to the effective 52 date of this section, nor shall any board of education or board of trus- 53 tees be held liable for failure to provide seat safety belts pursuant to 54 this section. A school board member or trustee shall have immunity from 55 any civil or criminal liability that might otherwise be incurred or 56 imposed as a result of the provisions of this section provided that suchS. 8863 3 1 person shall have acted in good faith. For the purpose of any proceed- 2 ing, civil or criminal, the good faith of any such person shall be 3 presumed. 4 [7.] 4. The provisions of this section shall not apply to school 5 districts which are using safety belts on school buses or have installed 6 or have contracted for the installation of seat safety belts prior to 7 the effective date of this section. 8 § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 of section 1229-c of the vehicle 9 and traffic law, as amended by chapter 448 of the laws of 2015, is 10 amended to read as follows: 11 (a) "motor vehicle" shall include all motor vehicles which are 12 required by section three hundred eighty-three of this chapter or regu- 13 lation or would be required if such motor vehicle were registered in New 14 York state to be equipped [by a safety belt but shall not include] with 15 safety belts, including those vehicles which are used as school buses, 16 as such term is defined in section one hundred forty-two of this chapter 17 [and]; provided, however, that the term "motor vehicle" shall not 18 include those vehicles which are authorized emergency vehicles, as such 19 term is defined in section one hundred one of this chapter, provided, 20 however, that for purposes of this section, "motor vehicle" shall also 21 include fire vehicles owned and/or operated by a fire company as defined 22 by subdivision two of section one hundred of the general municipal law 23 and ambulances owned and/or operated by a voluntary ambulance service as 24 defined by subdivision three of section one hundred of the general 25 municipal law; 26 § 4. Subdivision 11 of section 1229-c of the vehicle and traffic law, 27 as added by chapter 653 of the laws of 1989 and as renumbered by chapter 28 104 of the laws of 1991, is amended and a new subdivision 11-a is added 29 to read as follows: 30 11. [Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this31section, no] No person shall operate a school bus unless such person is 32 reasonably sure that all passengers under the age of four are restrained 33 in a specially designed detachable or removable seat as required by 34 subdivision one of this section, or another restraining device approved 35 by the commissioner. 36 11-a. No person shall operate a school bus equipped with seat safety 37 belts pursuant to subdivision five of section three hundred eighty-three 38 of this chapter or pursuant to section thirty-six hundred thirty-five-a 39 of the education law unless such person is reasonably sure that all 40 passengers are restrained by a seat safety belt, provided that the term 41 "passenger" shall not include school bus attendants or any other person 42 acting in a supervisory capacity for purposes of this section. Further- 43 more, in any action for personal injuries by a passenger on a school 44 bus, the provisions of subdivision four of section thirty-eight hundred 45 thirteen of the education law shall apply. 46 § 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019. Effective immediately, 47 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces- 48 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are 49 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.