BILL ANALYSIS |
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C.S.H.B. 2225 |
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By: McClendon |
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Transportation |
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Committee Report (Substituted) |
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
With some estimates indicating that up to 40 percent of bicycle crash fatalities in Texas occur due to unsafe passing by a motor vehicle, there is concern that current law does not provide specific guidelines or penalties for a motor vehicle overtaking a vulnerable road user on a street or highway, nor provide uniform protection for a collective class of these individuals. C.S.H.B. 2225 seeks to address these issues by making roads safer for vulnerable road users.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2225 amends the Transportation Code to require an operator of a motor vehicle passing an unprotected road user, as defined in the bill, operating on a highway or street to 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 to pass the unprotected road user at a safe distance. The bill specifies that a safe distance, when road conditions allow, is at least three feet if the operator's vehicle is a passenger car or light truck or at least six feet if the operator's vehicle is a truck, other than a light truck, that is a commercial motor vehicle.
C.S.H.B. 2225 requires an operator of a motor vehicle that is making a turn at an intersection, including an intersection with an alley or private road or driveway, to 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. The bill prohibits an operator of a motor vehicle from overtaking an unprotected road user and prohibits subsequently turning 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 turning vehicle.
C.S.H.B. 2225 prohibits an operator of a motor vehicle from maneuvering the vehicle in a manner that is intended to cause intimidation or harassment to an unprotected road user or that threatens an unprotected road user. The bill requires an operator of a motor vehicle to exercise due care to avoid colliding with any unprotected road user on a roadway or in an intersection of roadways.
C.S.H.B. 2225 makes a violation of its provisions a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of not less than $1 or more than $200. The bill enhances the penalty for such a misdemeanor offense to a fine not to exceed $500 if the violation results in property damage and to a Class B misdemeanor offense if the violation results in bodily injury. The bill establishes a defense to prosecution for such offenses if at the time of the offense the unprotected 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 provision of the Transportation Code or the Penal Code, the actor may be prosecuted under either law or both laws.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 2225 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill. |
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