STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3616 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 29, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SIMONE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to injury of domestic and companion animals by motorists The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1146 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by 2 chapter 333 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 1146. Drivers to exercise due care. (a) Notwithstanding the 4 provisions of any other law to the contrary, every driver of a vehicle 5 shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any bicyclist, pedestri- 6 an, [or] domestic animal, or companion animal upon any roadway and shall 7 give warning by sounding the horn when necessary. For the purposes of 8 this section, the term "domestic animal" shall mean domesticated sheep, 9 cattle, and goats which are under the supervision and control of a 10 pedestrian; and the term "companion animal" means any dog or cat, and 11 shall also mean any other domesticated animal normally maintained in or 12 near the household of the owner or person who cares for such other 13 domesticated animal. 14 (b) 1. A driver of a motor vehicle who causes physical injury as 15 defined in article ten of the penal law to a pedestrian [or], bicyclist, 16 domestic animal or companion animal while failing to exercise due care 17 in violation of subdivision (a) of this section, shall be guilty of a 18 traffic infraction punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred 19 dollars or by imprisonment for not more than fifteen days or by both 20 such fine and imprisonment. 21 2. If such driver of a motor vehicle causes physical injury while 22 failing to exercise due care in violation of subdivision (a) of this 23 section, then there shall be a rebuttable presumption that, as a result 24 of such failure to exercise due care, such person operated the motor 25 vehicle in a manner that caused such physical injury. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01383-01-5
A. 3616 2 1 (c) 1. A driver of a motor vehicle who causes serious physical injury 2 as defined in article ten of the penal law to a pedestrian [or], bicy- 3 clist, or companion animal while failing to exercise due care in 4 violation of subdivision (a) of this section, shall be guilty of a traf- 5 fic infraction punishable by a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty 6 dollars or by imprisonment for not more than fifteen days or by required 7 participation in a motor vehicle accident prevention course pursuant to 8 paragraph (e-1) of subdivision two of section 65.10 of the penal law or 9 by any combination of such fine, imprisonment or course, and by suspen- 10 sion of a license or registration pursuant to subparagraph (xiv) or (xv) 11 of paragraph b of subdivision two of section five hundred ten of this 12 chapter. 13 2. If such driver of a motor vehicle causes serious physical injury 14 while failing to exercise due care in violation of subdivision (a) of 15 this section, then there shall be a rebuttable presumption that, as a 16 result of such failure to exercise due care, such person operated the 17 motor vehicle in a manner that caused such serious physical injury. 18 (d) A violation of subdivision (b) or (c) of this section committed by 19 a person who has previously been convicted of any violation of such 20 subdivisions within the preceding five years, shall constitute a class B 21 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars 22 in addition to any other penalties provided by law. 23 (e) Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the court from 24 imposing any other authorized disposition, including a period of commu- 25 nity service. 26 § 2. Section 601 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter 27 795 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows: 28 § 601. Leaving scene of injury to certain animals without reporting. 29 Any person operating a motor vehicle which shall strike and injure any 30 horse, dog, cat or animal classified as cattle shall stop and endeavor 31 to locate the owner or custodian of such animal or a police, peace or 32 judicial officer of the vicinity, and take any other reasonable and 33 appropriate action so that the animal may have necessary attention, and 34 shall also promptly report the matter to such owner, custodian or offi- 35 cer (or if no one of such has been located, then to a police officer of 36 some other nearby community), exhibiting [his or her] such person's 37 license and insurance identification card for such vehicle, when such 38 card is required pursuant to articles six and eight of this chapter, 39 giving [his or her] such person's name and residence, including street 40 and street number, insurance carrier and insurance identification infor- 41 mation and license number. In addition to the foregoing, any such person 42 shall also: (i) (A) produce the proof of insurance coverage required 43 pursuant to article forty-four-B of this chapter if such person is a TNC 44 driver operating a TNC vehicle at the time of the incident who was (1) 45 logged on to the TNC's digital network but not engaged in a TNC prear- 46 ranged trip or (2) was engaged in a TNC prearranged trip; and (B) 47 disclose whether [he or she] such person, at the time such incident 48 occurred, was (1) logged on to the TNC's digital network but not engaged 49 in a TNC prearranged trip or (2) was engaged in a TNC prearranged trip, 50 or (ii) (A) produce the proof of insurance coverage required pursuant to 51 article forty of the general business law if such person is a shared 52 vehicle owner or shared vehicle driver operating a shared vehicle during 53 a peer-to-peer car sharing period while the incident occurred; and (B) 54 disclose whether [he or she] such person, at the time such incident 55 occurred, was operating a shared vehicle during a peer-to-peer car shar- 56 ing period. Violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of
A. 3616 3 1 not more than [one] five hundred dollars for a first offense and by a 2 fine of not less than [fifty] two hundred nor more than [one] seven 3 hundred fifty dollars for a second offense and each subsequent offense; 4 provided, however where the animal that has been struck and injured is a 5 guide dog, hearing dog or service dog, as such terms are defined in 6 section forty-seven-b of the civil rights law which is actually engaged 7 in aiding or guiding a person with a disability, a violation of this 8 section shall be punishable by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty 9 nor more than [one] five hundred fifty dollars for a first offense and 10 by a fine of not less than [one] three hundred fifty dollars nor more 11 than [three] seven hundred fifty dollars for a second offense and each 12 subsequent offense. 13 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 14 have become a law.