Bill Text: TX HB383 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to unprotected road users; providing penalties; creating an offense.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-04-16 - Left pending in committee [HB383 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HB383-Introduced.html
84R2346 JXC-D | ||
By: McClendon | H.B. No. 383 |
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relating to unprotected road users; providing penalties; creating | ||
an offense. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subchapter I, Chapter 545, Transportation Code, | ||
is amended by adding Section 545.428 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 545.428. UNPROTECTED ROAD USERS. (a) In this section, | ||
"unprotected road user" means: | ||
(1) a pedestrian, including a runner, physically | ||
disabled person, highway construction and maintenance worker, tow | ||
truck operator, utility worker, other worker operating legally in | ||
or near the road or right-of-way, or stranded motorist or | ||
passenger; | ||
(2) a person on horseback; | ||
(3) a person operating equipment other than a motor | ||
vehicle, including a bicycle, handcycle, horse-driven conveyance, | ||
farm tractor, implement of husbandry, or self-propelled unit of | ||
farm equipment; or | ||
(4) a person operating a motorcycle, moped, | ||
motor-driven cycle, or motor-assisted scooter. | ||
(b) An operator of a motor vehicle passing an unprotected | ||
road user operating on a highway or street shall: | ||
(1) vacate the lane in which the unprotected road user | ||
is located if the highway has two or more marked lanes running in | ||
the same direction; or | ||
(2) pass the unprotected road user at a safe distance. | ||
(c) For the purposes of Subsection (b)(2), when road | ||
conditions allow, safe distance is at least: | ||
(1) three feet if the operator's vehicle is a passenger | ||
car or light truck; or | ||
(2) six feet if the operator's vehicle is a truck, | ||
other than a light truck, that is a commercial motor vehicle as | ||
defined by Section 522.003. | ||
(d) An operator of a motor vehicle that is making a turn at | ||
an intersection, including an intersection with an alley or private | ||
road or driveway, shall yield the right-of-way to an unprotected | ||
road user who is in the intersection or in such proximity to the | ||
intersection as to be an immediate hazard. | ||
(e) An operator of a motor vehicle may not overtake an | ||
unprotected road user and subsequently turn in front of the | ||
unprotected road user unless the operator is safely clear of the | ||
unprotected road user, taking into account the speed at which the | ||
unprotected road user is traveling and the braking requirements of | ||
the turning vehicle. | ||
(f) An operator of a motor vehicle may not maneuver the | ||
vehicle in a manner that: | ||
(1) is intended to cause intimidation or harassment to | ||
an unprotected road user; or | ||
(2) threatens an unprotected road user. | ||
(g) An operator of a motor vehicle shall exercise due care | ||
to avoid colliding with any unprotected road user on a roadway or in | ||
an intersection of roadways. | ||
(h) A violation of this section is punishable under Section | ||
542.401 except that: | ||
(1) if the violation results in property damage, the | ||
violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $500; | ||
or | ||
(2) if the violation results in bodily injury, the | ||
violation is a Class B misdemeanor. | ||
(i) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that | ||
at the time of the offense the unprotected road user was acting in | ||
violation of the law. | ||
(j) If conduct constituting an offense under this section | ||
also constitutes an offense under another section of this code or | ||
the Penal Code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section or | ||
both sections. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 547.602, Transportation Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 547.602. MIRRORS REQUIRED. (a) A motor vehicle, | ||
including a motor vehicle used to tow another vehicle, shall be | ||
equipped with a mirror located to reflect to the operator a view of | ||
the highway for a distance of at least 200 feet from the rear of the | ||
vehicle. | ||
(b) The following types of vehicles, when operated on a | ||
highway with a speed limit of at least 15 miles per hour, shall be | ||
equipped with a mirror located to reflect to the operator a view of | ||
the highway for a distance of at least 200 feet from the rear of the | ||
vehicle: | ||
(1) handcycle; | ||
(2) bicycle; | ||
(3) horse-driven conveyance; | ||
(4) farm tractor; | ||
(5) implement of husbandry; | ||
(6) self-propelled unit of farm equipment; and | ||
(7) motor-assisted scooter. | ||
(c) It is a defense to prosecution for an offense under | ||
Subsection (b) that the vehicle was purchased before September 1, | ||
2015. | ||
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |