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Senate Bill 488 |
Senate Author: Ellis et al. |
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Effective: Vetoed |
House Sponsor: Harper-Brown |
Senate Bill 488 amends the Transportation Code to make it an offense to operate a motor vehicle in the vicinity of a vulnerable road user as defined by the bill. The bill requires an operator of a motor vehicle passing a vulnerable road user operating on a highway or street to vacate the lane in which the vulnerable road user is located or pass the vulnerable road user at a prescribed distance. The bill requires an operator making a left turn at an intersection to 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. The bill prohibits an operator from overtaking a vulnerable road user traveling in the same direction and subsequently making a right-hand turn in front of the vulnerable road user unless the operator is safely clear of the vulnerable road user. The bill also prohibits the operator from maneuvering the vehicle in a manner that is intended to cause intimidation or harassment to a vulnerable road user or that threatens a vulnerable road user. The bill requires an operator of a motor vehicle to exercise due care to avoid colliding with any vulnerable road user on a roadway or in an intersection of roadways.
Senate Bill 488 establishes that a violation is punishable under the general penalty provision of the law governing rules of the road, except that if the violation results in property damage, the violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $500, or if the violation results in bodily injury, the violation is a Class B misdemeanor. The bill provides a defense to prosecution that at the time of the offense the vulnerable road user was acting in violation of the law. The bill provides that if conduct constituting an offense under the bill's provisions also constitutes an offense under another law, the actor may be prosecuted under either law or both laws.
Reason Given for Veto: "Senate Bill No. 488 would create a new class of users of roadways, called 'vulnerable road users,' which would require specific actions by operators of motor vehicles. These vulnerable road users would include pedestrians; highway construction and maintenance workers; tow truck operators; stranded motorists or passengers; people on horseback; bicyclists; motorcyclists; moped riders; and other similar road users.
"Many road users placed into the category of vulnerable road users already have operation regulations and restrictions in statute. For example, a person operating a vehicle being drawn by an animal is subject to the same duties as a motor vehicle, and a pedestrian is required to yield the right of way to a motor vehicle, unless he or she is at an intersection or crosswalk.
"While I am in favor of measures that make our roads safer for everyone, this bill contradicts much of the current statute and places the liability and responsibility on the operator of a motor vehicle when encountering one of these vulnerable road users. In addition, an operator of a motor vehicle is already subject to penalties when he or she is at fault for causing a collision or operating recklessly, whether it is against a 'vulnerable user' or not."