•  Summary 
  •  
  •  Actions 
  •  
  •  Committee Votes 
  •  
  •  Floor Votes 
  •  
  •  Memo 
  •  
  •  Text 
  •  
  •  LFIN 
  •  
  •  Chamber Video/Transcript 

A08092 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          8092
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                   September 29, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  SEAWRIGHT  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on Transportation
 
        AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in  relation  to  requiring
          all persons in a city having a population of one million or more oper-
          ating a bicycle, electric bicycle or electric scooter to wear a helmet

          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 114-f to read as follows:
     3    §  114-f. Electric bicycle. Every bicycle equipped with fully operable
     4  pedals and an electric motor with an output of less than  seven  hundred
     5  fifty  watts  whereby such electric motor engages only when the operator
     6  is pedaling and disengages or ceases to  function  when  such  bicycle's
     7  brakes  are  applied,  the  operator  stops  pedaling,  or  such bicycle
     8  achieves a speed of twenty miles per hour or more.
     9    § 2. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding  a  new  section
    10  1242-b to read as follows:
    11    §  1242-b.  Helmet  requirement  for  operators of a bicycle, electric
    12  bicycle or electric scooter in a city having a population of one million
    13  or more. 1. This section is applicable to all persons in a city having a
    14  population of one million or more for the operation of a bicycle,  elec-
    15  tric  bicycle or electric scooter upon any public highway or any private
    16  road open to public motor vehicle traffic, and within a  park  or  other
    17  area under the jurisdiction of the commissioner of parks and recreation.
    18    2.  No  person  shall  operate a bicycle, electric bicycle or electric
    19  scooter unless such person is wearing a helmet meeting the standards  of
    20  the  American  National  Standards Institute (ANSI Z 90.4 bicycle helmet
    21  standards), the Snell Memorial  Foundation's  standards  for  protective
    22  headgear for use in bicycling, the American Society of Testing and Mate-
    23  rials  (ASTM) standards for bicycle helmets, the Safety Equipment Insti-
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02938-01-3

        A. 8092                             2
 
     1  tute standards for bicycle helmets, or the United States Consumer  Prod-
     2  uct Safety Commission standards for bicycle helmets.
     3    3.  It  is  a  traffic  infraction  to  violate the provisions of this
     4  section punishable, upon conviction, by a civil penalty of not more than
     5  fifty dollars. Such traffic infractions shall be heard and determined in
     6  accordance with article two-A of this chapter.  For a violation of  this
     7  section  by  a  person less than sixteen years of age, a hearing officer
     8  shall waive the civil penalty for which the  parent  or  guardian  of  a
     9  person  who  violates  the provisions of this section would be liable if
    10  such parent  or  guardian  supplies  proof  that  between  the  date  of
    11  violation  and  the  appearance  date  for such violation such parent or
    12  guardian purchased or rented a helmet that  meets  the  requirements  of
    13  this  section.  A  hearing officer may waive the civil penalty for which
    14  the parent or guardian of a person who violates the provisions  of  this
    15  section  would  be  liable  if  he  or  she finds that due to reasons of
    16  economic hardship such parent or guardian was unable to purchase or rent
    17  a helmet. A waiver of the civil penalty shall not apply to a  second  or
    18  subsequent conviction under this section.
    19    4.  The  parent or guardian of a person less than sixteen years of age
    20  shall be liable for a violation of this section by such person less than
    21  sixteen years of age. A summons for a violation of  this  section  by  a
    22  person less than sixteen years of age shall only be issued to the parent
    23  or  guardian  of  such person if the violation occurs in the presence of
    24  such parent or guardian and where such parent or  guardian  is  eighteen
    25  years  of  age or more. Such summons shall only be issued to such parent
    26  or guardian and shall not be issued to  the  person  less  than  sixteen
    27  years of age.
    28    5.  The  failure  of  any person to comply with the provisions of this
    29  section shall not constitute contributory negligence  or  assumption  of
    30  risk,  and shall not in any way bar, preclude or foreclose an action for
    31  personal injury or wrongful death by or on behalf of such person, nor in
    32  any way diminish or reduce the damages recoverable in any such action.
    33    § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    34  have become a law.
Go to top