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