New York Assembly Bill A08092 Latest Draft

   
  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.