Bill Text: TX SB1515 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the operation of a motor vehicle in the vicinity of an unprotected road user; providing penalties.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-19 - Referred to Transportation [SB1515 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-SB1515-Introduced.html
By: Ellis | S.B. No. 1515 | |
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relating to the operation of a motor vehicle in the vicinity of an | ||
unprotected road user; providing penalties. | ||
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. (a) In this section, unprotected road user | ||
means: | ||
(1) a pedestrian, including a runner, physically | ||
disabled person, child, skater, highway construction and | ||
maintenance worker, tow truck operator, utility worker, other | ||
worker with legitimate business 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, | ||
or unprotected 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 or a commercial motor vehicle as defined by | ||
Section 522.003. | ||
(d) An operator of a motor vehicle that is making a left 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 traveling in the same direction and | ||
subsequently make a right-hand 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 vehicle | ||
making the right-hand turn. | ||
(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. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |