By: McClendon H.B. No. 2225
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operation of a motor vehicle in the vicinity of an
unprotected 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. (a) In this section, unprotected 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 an unprotected
road user operating on a highway or street shall:
(1) vacate the lane in which the unprotected road user
is located if the highway has two or more marked lanes running in
the same direction; or
(2) pass the unprotected 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 an
unprotected road user who 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 an
unprotected road user traveling in the same direction and
subsequently make a right-hand turn in front of the unprotected
road user unless the operator is safely clear of the unprotected
road user, taking into account the speed at which the unprotected
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
an unprotected road user; or
(2) threatens an unprotected road user.
(g) An operator of a motor vehicle shall exercise due care
to avoid colliding with any unprotected 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 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 unprotected 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, 2013.