H.B. No. 378
AN ACT
relating to stationary tow trucks on a highway; providing a
penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 545.157, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(a) On approaching a stationary authorized emergency
vehicle using visual signals that meet the requirements of Sections
547.305 and 547.702, or a stationary tow truck using equipment
authorized by Section 547.305(d), an operator, unless otherwise
directed by a police officer, shall:
(1) vacate the lane closest to the emergency vehicle
or tow truck when driving on a highway with two or more lanes
traveling in the direction of the emergency vehicle or tow truck; or
(2) slow to a speed not to exceed:
(A) 20 miles per hour less than the posted speed
limit when the posted speed limit is 25 miles per hour or more; or
(B) five miles per hour when the posted speed
limit is less than 25 miles per hour.
(d) In this section, "tow truck" means a vehicle that:
(1) has been issued a permit under Subchapter C,
Chapter 2308, Occupations Code; and
(2) is operated by a person licensed under Subchapter
D, Chapter 2308, Occupations Code.
SECTION 2. Section 545.301(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) This section does not apply to an operator of:
(1) a vehicle that is disabled while on the paved or
main traveled part of a highway if it is impossible to avoid
stopping and temporarily leaving the vehicle on the highway; [or]
(2) a vehicle used exclusively to transport solid,
semisolid, or liquid waste operated at the time in connection with
the removal or transportation of solid, semisolid, or liquid waste
from a location adjacent to the highway; or
(3) a tow truck, as defined by Section 545.157(d),
that is performing towing duties under Chapter 2308, Occupations
Code.
SECTION 3. Section 547.305(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A motor vehicle lamp or illuminating device, other than
a headlamp, spotlamp, auxiliary lamp, turn signal lamp, or
emergency vehicle, tow truck, or school bus warning lamp, that
projects a beam with an intensity brighter than 300 candlepower
shall be directed so that no part of the high-intensity portion of
the beam strikes the roadway at a distance of more than 75 feet from
the vehicle.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 378 was passed by the House on March
30, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 378 on May 23, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 0, 2
present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 378 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 19, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays
1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor