By Gutierrez, Maxey, Kitchen, Villarreal H.B. No. 2204
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians; providing
1-3 criminal penalties.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 411.0175, Government Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 411.0175. ACCIDENT REPORTS. The department shall:
1-8 (1) tabulate and analyze the [motor] vehicle accident
1-9 reports it receives;
1-10 (2) annually or more frequently publish statistical
1-11 information derived from the accident reports as to the number,
1-12 cause, and location of highway accidents, including information
1-13 regarding the number of accidents involving injury to, death of, or
1-14 property damage to a bicyclist or pedestrian; and
1-15 (3) provide an abstract of the statistical information
1-16 for each preceding biennium to the governor and the legislature,
1-17 with its conclusions and findings and recommendations for
1-18 decreasing highway accidents and increasing highway safety.
1-19 SECTION 2. Chapter 22, Penal Code, is amended by adding
1-20 Section 22.12 to read as follows:
1-21 Sec. 22.12. THROWING OBJECT OR SUBSTANCE AT BICYCLIST OR
1-22 PEDESTRIAN FROM MOTOR VEHICLE. (a) A person commits an offense if
1-23 the person, while operating a motor vehicle or as a passenger in a
1-24 motor vehicle:
2-1 (1) drives past a bicyclist or a pedestrian who is on
2-2 a street or highway; and
2-3 (2) throws an object or substance from the motor
2-4 vehicle.
2-5 (b) An offense under Subsection (a) is:
2-6 (1) a Class C misdemeanor if:
2-7 (A) the operator or passenger acts with reckless
2-8 disregard as to whether the bicyclist would be struck by or placed
2-9 in fear of being struck by the object or substance; or
2-10 (B) regardless of the mental state of the
2-11 operator or passenger, the offense results in damage to property of
2-12 the bicyclist or pedestrian;
2-13 (2) a Class B misdemeanor if the operator or passenger
2-14 acts with the intent to:
2-15 (A) strike the bicyclist or pedestrian with the
2-16 object or substance; or
2-17 (B) place the bicyclist or pedestrian in fear of
2-18 being struck by the object or substance; or
2-19 (3) a Class A misdemeanor if, regardless of the mental
2-20 state of the operator or passenger, the offense results in bodily
2-21 injury to the bicyclist or pedestrian.
2-22 (c) In this section:
2-23 (1) "Bicyclist" includes a person operating an
2-24 electric bicycle.
2-25 (2) "Highway or street" has the meaning assigned by
2-26 Section 541.302, Transportation Code.
2-27 (3) "Passing," used in reference to a bicyclist, means
3-1 overtaking and proceeding past a bicyclist moving in the same
3-2 direction as the motor vehicle operated by the actor or in which
3-3 the actor was a passenger. The term includes an attempt to pass a
3-4 bicyclist or pedestrian.
3-5 (d) If conduct constituting an offense under this section
3-6 also constitutes an offense under another section of this code or
3-7 the Transportation Code, the actor may be prosecuted under either
3-8 section or under both sections.
3-9 SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 545, Transportation Code,
3-10 is amended by adding Section 545.0535 to read as follows:
3-11 Sec. 545.0535. PASSING BICYCLIST OR PEDESTRIAN ON HIGHWAY OR
3-12 STREET. (a) An operator passing a bicyclist operating on a
3-13 highway or street or driving past a pedestrian walking on a highway
3-14 or street:
3-15 (1) shall pass to the left of the bicyclist or
3-16 pedestrian at a safe distance; and
3-17 (2) may not move back to the right side of the roadway
3-18 until safely clear of the bicyclist or pedestrian.
3-19 (b) For the purposes of Subsection (a), the operator is
3-20 presumed to have passed the bicyclist or pedestrian at a distance
3-21 that was not a safe distance if the operator struck the bicyclist
3-22 or pedestrian with the vehicle or if:
3-23 (1) the operator failed to move to:
3-24 (A) the left side of the roadway, if the roadway
3-25 has only two lanes for moving vehicles and provides for two-way
3-26 movement of traffic; or
3-27 (B) a lane other than the lane occupied by the
4-1 bicyclist or pedestrian, if the roadway has more than one lane for
4-2 moving vehicles moving in the same direction as the operator; and
4-3 (2) movement to the left side of the roadway or to the
4-4 other lane:
4-5 (A) was not prohibited; and
4-6 (B) could have been made in safety.
4-7 (c) A violation of this section is:
4-8 (1) a Class C misdemeanor if:
4-9 (A) the operator acts with reckless disregard as
4-10 to whether the bicyclist or pedestrian would be struck by or placed
4-11 in fear of being struck by the vehicle operated by the operator; or
4-12 (B) regardless of the mental state of the
4-13 operator or passenger, the offense results in damage to property of
4-14 the bicyclist or pedestrian;
4-15 (2) a Class B misdemeanor if the operator acts with
4-16 the intent to:
4-17 (A) strike the bicyclist or pedestrian with the
4-18 vehicle operated by the operator; or
4-19 (B) place the bicyclist or pedestrian in fear of
4-20 being struck by the vehicle operated by the operator; or
4-21 (3) a Class A misdemeanor if, regardless of the mental
4-22 state of the operator, the offense results in bodily injury to the
4-23 bicyclist or pedestrian.
4-24 (d) To the extent of a conflict between this section and
4-25 another section in this subchapter, this section prevails.
4-26 SECTION 4. Section 551.103(a), Transportation Code, is
4-27 amended to read as follows:
5-1 (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person operating
5-2 a bicycle on a roadway who is moving slower than the other traffic
5-3 on the roadway shall ride as near as practicable to the right curb
5-4 or edge of the roadway, unless:
5-5 (1) the person is passing another vehicle moving in
5-6 the same direction;
5-7 (2) the person is preparing to turn left at an
5-8 intersection or onto a private road or driveway; [or]
5-9 (3) a condition on or of the roadway, including a
5-10 fixed or moving object, parked or moving vehicle, pedestrian,
5-11 animal, or surface hazard[, or substandard width lane,] prevents
5-12 the person from safely riding next to the right curb or edge of the
5-13 roadway; or
5-14 (4) the person is operating a bicycle in an outside
5-15 lane that is:
5-16 (A) less than 14 feet in width and does not have
5-17 a designated bicycle lane adjacent to that lane; or
5-18 (B) too narrow for a bicycle and a motor vehicle
5-19 to safely travel side by side.
5-20 SECTION 5. Section 551.103(d), Transportation Code, is
5-21 repealed.