81R2615 SLB-F
 
  By: Ellis, Carona S.B. No. 488
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
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 B, 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, 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; or
               (3)  a person operating equipment other than a motor
  vehicle, including a bicycle, motorcycle, horse-driven conveyance,
  or unprotected farm equipment.
         (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), the operator is
  presumed to have passed the vulnerable road user at a safe distance
  if the distance between the operator's vehicle and the vulnerable
  road user is more than:
               (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 person may not open the door on the side of a vehicle
  that is adjacent to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to
  open the door without interfering with the movement of traffic,
  including vulnerable road users. A person may not leave a door open
  on the side of a vehicle that is adjacent to moving traffic for a
  period longer than necessary to load or unload passengers or goods.
         (i)  A person may not harass, taunt, or throw an object or
  liquid at or in the direction of any vulnerable road user.
         (j)  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.
         (k)  It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
  at the time of the offense the vulnerable road user was a person
  operating a bicycle in violation of Section 551.103 or
  551.104(b)(2).
         (l)  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.