S.B. No. 488
AN ACT
relating to the operation of a motor vehicle in the vicinity of a
vulnerable 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. VULNERABLE ROAD USERS. (a) In this section,
"vulnerable 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 a vulnerable road
user operating on a highway or street shall:
(1) vacate the lane in which the vulnerable road user
is located if the highway has two or more marked lanes running in
the same direction; or
(2) pass the vulnerable 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 a
vulnerable road user who is approaching from the opposite direction
and 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 a
vulnerable road user traveling in the same direction and
subsequently make a right-hand turn in front of the vulnerable road
user unless the operator is safely clear of the vulnerable road
user, taking into account the speed at which the vulnerable 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
a vulnerable road user; or
(2) threatens a vulnerable road user.
(g) An operator of a motor vehicle shall exercise due care
to avoid colliding with any vulnerable 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 of 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 vulnerable 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, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 488 passed the Senate on
April 21, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 5;
May 23, 2009, Senate refused to concur in House amendments and
requested appointment of Conference Committee; May 29, 2009, House
granted request of the Senate; May 31, 2009, Senate adopted
Conference Committee Report by the following vote: Yeas 26,
Nays 5.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 488 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 19, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 140,
Nays 5, one present not voting; May 29, 2009, House granted request
of the Senate for appointment of Conference Committee;
May 30, 2009, House adopted Conference Committee Report by the
following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 0, two present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor