| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to unprotected road users; providing penalties; creating |
|
|
an offense. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter I, Chapter 545, Transportation Code, |
|
|
is amended by adding Section 545.428 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 545.428. UNPROTECTED ROAD USERS. (a) In this section, |
|
|
"unprotected road user" means: |
|
|
(1) a pedestrian, including a runner, physically |
|
|
disabled person, highway construction and maintenance worker, tow |
|
|
truck operator, utility worker, other worker operating legally in |
|
|
or near the road or right-of-way, or stranded motorist or |
|
|
passenger; |
|
|
(2) a person on horseback; |
|
|
(3) a person operating equipment other than a motor |
|
|
vehicle, including a bicycle, handcycle, horse-driven conveyance, |
|
|
farm tractor, implement of husbandry, or self-propelled unit of |
|
|
farm equipment; or |
|
|
(4) a person operating a motorcycle, moped, |
|
|
motor-driven cycle, or motor-assisted scooter. |
|
|
(b) An operator of a motor vehicle passing an unprotected |
|
|
road user operating on a highway or street shall: |
|
|
(1) 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 |
|
|
(2) pass the unprotected road user at a safe distance. |
|
|
(c) For the purposes of Subsection (b)(2), when road |
|
|
conditions allow, safe distance is at least: |
|
|
(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, that is a commercial motor vehicle as |
|
|
defined by Section 522.003. |
|
|
(d) 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, shall 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. |
|
|
(e) An operator of a motor vehicle may not overtake an |
|
|
unprotected road user and subsequently turn 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. |
|
|
(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 |
|
|
an unprotected road user; or |
|
|
(2) threatens an unprotected road user. |
|
|
(g) An operator of a motor vehicle shall exercise due care |
|
|
to avoid colliding with any unprotected road user on a roadway or in |
|
|
an intersection of roadways. |
|
|
(h) 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 not to exceed $500; |
|
|
or |
|
|
(2) if the violation results in bodily injury, the |
|
|
violation is a Class B misdemeanor. |
|
|
(i) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that |
|
|
at the time of the offense the unprotected road user was acting in |
|
|
violation of the law. |
|
|
(j) 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. Section 547.602, Transportation Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 547.602. MIRRORS REQUIRED. (a) A motor vehicle, |
|
|
including a motor vehicle used to tow another vehicle, shall be |
|
|
equipped with a mirror located to reflect to the operator a view of |
|
|
the highway for a distance of at least 200 feet from the rear of the |
|
|
vehicle. |
|
|
(b) The following types of vehicles, when operated on a |
|
|
highway with a speed limit of at least 15 miles per hour, shall be |
|
|
equipped with a mirror located to reflect to the operator a view of |
|
|
the highway for a distance of at least 200 feet from the rear of the |
|
|
vehicle: |
|
|
(1) handcycle; |
|
|
(2) bicycle; |
|
|
(3) horse-driven conveyance; |
|
|
(4) farm tractor; |
|
|
(5) implement of husbandry; |
|
|
(6) self-propelled unit of farm equipment; and |
|
|
(7) motor-assisted scooter. |
|
|
(c) It is a defense to prosecution for an offense under |
|
|
Subsection (b) that the vehicle was purchased before September 1, |
|
|
2015. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |