Senate Bill S3571

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  3571

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             March 24, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  SAVINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation

AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to enacting the
  "pedestrian safety enhancement act of 2009"

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "pedestrian
safety enhancement act of 2009".
  S 2. Legislative intent: (a) The legislature hereby finds that:
  (1)  Vehicles  designed  to provide the desirable benefits of reducing
harmful pollutants and operating with greater  fuel  efficiency  include
gasoline-electric hybrid and electric-only vehicles, and in the foresee-
able future may include hydrogen fuel cell and other engine designs that
rely  on fuels and technologies other than the gasoline-powered internal
combustion engine.
  (2) All of the vehicle engine designs specified in paragraph 1 of this
subdivision, as well as other designs not specified herein,  operate  or
are  likely  to  operate  with  virtually no sound being produced by the
vehicle.
  (3) The total number of hybrid vehicles sold per year in this state is
growing dramatically, and although the present number of hybrid vehicles
constitutes a small overall percentage of  vehicles,  if  this  rate  of
growth persists, the number of hybrid vehicles will soon equal or exceed
the number of internal combustion engine vehicles in this state.
  (4) Because blind pedestrians cannot locate and evaluate traffic using
their  vision,  they must listen to traffic to discern its speed, direc-
tion, and other attributes in order to travel safely and  independently;
and  other  people, including pedestrians who are not blind, bicyclists,
runners, and small  children,  benefit  from  multi-sensory  information
available from vehicle traffic, including the sound of vehicle engines.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD08510-03-9

              

S. 3571                             2

  (5)  When operating on their electric engines, hybrid vehicles sold in
this state cannot be heard by blind people and  others,  rendering  such
vehicles  extremely  dangerous when driving on the street, emerging from
driveways, moving through parking lots, and in  other  situations  where
pedestrians and vehicles come into proximity with each other.
  (6) Failure of this state to take immediate action assuring that blind
pedestrians  can  hear hybrid and other silent vehicles in all phases of
their operation will lead to pedestrian injuries and fatalities.
  (7) The results described in  paragraph  6  of  this  subdivision  are
preventable  through  vehicle designs which take into account the multi-
sensory nature of traffic detection and avoidance and require that vehi-
cles emit a minimum level of sound designed to  alert  all  pedestrians,
especially blind pedestrians, to the presence of such vehicles.
  (b)  The  purpose  of this legislation is to establish a minimum sound
level standard for all phases of  vehicle  operation,  which  is  to  be
applicable  to every new vehicle sold in this state and licensed for use
on its public streets and roadways when  sold  and  registered  after  a
specified date.
  S  3.  The  vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
397-c to read as follows:
  S 397-C. MINIMUM MOTOR VEHICLE SOUND STANDARDS.  1.  WITHIN  ONE  YEAR
AFTER  THE  EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, THE DEPARTMENT, IN CONSULTA-
TION WITH  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ENVIRONMENTAL  CONSERVATION,  THE  STATE
CONSUMER  PROTECTION  BOARD  AND  THE STATE COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND AND
VISUALLY HANDICAPPED EXECUTIVE BOARD, SHALL PROMULGATE RULES  AND  REGU-
LATIONS  ESTABLISHING  A  MINIMUM  SOUND STANDARD APPLICABLE TO VEHICLES
SOLD IN AND LICENSED TO TRAVEL THE PUBLIC ROADS OF THIS STATE.
  2. THE STANDARD REQUIRED BY SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION SHALL HAVE
ALL OF THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS:
  A. IN ALL PHASES OF OPERATION, INCLUDING TIMES WHEN A MOTOR VEHICLE IS
AT A FULL STOP, SUCH MOTOR VEHICLE SHALL EMIT AN OMNI-DIRECTIONAL  SOUND
WITH  SIMILAR  SPECTRAL  CHARACTERISTICS  TO  THOSE OF A MODERN INTERNAL
COMBUSTION ENGINE.
  B. THE SOUND SHALL VARY IN A WAY THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE SOUND  OF
VEHICLES  WITH COMBUSTION ENGINES INDICATING THAT THE VEHICLE IS IDLING,
MAINTAINING A CONSTANT SPEED, ACCELERATING, OR DECELERATING.
  C. THE REGULATIONS NEED NOT PRESCRIBE THE  APPARATUS,  TECHNOLOGY,  OR
METHOD TO BE USED BY VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS TO ACHIEVE THE REQUIRED MINI-
MUM SOUND LEVEL.
  3.  WHEN DETERMINING A MINIMUM SOUND LEVEL, THE DEPARTMENT, IN CONSUL-
TATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, SHALL:
  A. REVIEW ALL AVAILABLE  RESEARCH  REGARDING  THE  EFFECT  OF  TRAFFIC
SOUNDS ON PEDESTRIAN SAFETY; AND
  B.  CONSULT  CONSUMER  GROUPS  REPRESENTING INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BLIND,
OTHER PEDESTRIANS, CYCLISTS, AND ADVOCATES FOR THE SAFETY OF CHILDREN.
  4. NO LATER THAN TWO YEARS AFTER RULES  AND  REGULATIONS  ESTABLISHING
THE MINIMUM SOUND STANDARD REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION HAVE BEEN PROMULGAT-
ED,  ALL  NEW  VEHICLES  SOLD  IN THIS STATE AND LICENSED FOR USE ON THE
PUBLIC ROADS SHALL BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH SUCH STANDARD.  ANY VEHICLE NOT
IN COMPLIANCE WITH SUCH STANDARD SHALL BE RETROFITTED  WITH  SOUND-EMIT-
TING  COMPONENTS  OR  EQUIPMENT SUFFICIENT TO MAKE IT COMPLIANT PRIOR TO
SALE OF SUCH VEHICLE TO A CONSUMER IN THIS STATE.
  5. BEGINNING ONE YEAR AFTER THE DATE THAT NEW VEHICLES  SOLD  IN  THIS
STATE  SHALL  COMPLY  WITH  THE  MINIMUM SOUND STANDARD REQUIRED BY THIS
SECTION, VEHICLE SAFETY INSPECTIONS REQUIRED IN THIS STATE SHALL INCLUDE
INSPECTION OF SOUND-EMITTING COMPONENTS TO INSURE THAT  THEY  ARE  FUNC-

S. 3571                             3

TIONING  PROPERLY  IN  ORDER TO PROVIDE MAXIMUM SAFETY TO PEDESTRIANS IN
THIS STATE.  THE OWNER OF ANY VEHICLE LICENSED FOR  USE  ON  THE  PUBLIC
ROADS IN THIS STATE AND NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH SUCH MINIMUM SOUND STAND-
ARD  SHALL RETROFIT THE VEHICLE WITH SOUND-EMITTING COMPONENTS OR EQUIP-
MENT SUFFICIENT TO MAKE IT COMPLIANT WITH  THE  MINIMUM  SOUND  STANDARD
PRIOR  TO  AN  INSPECTION  OF  THE VEHICLE PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION.
VEHICLES THAT FAIL TO MEET THE MINIMUM SOUND STANDARD SHALL  NOT  TRAVEL
ON THE ROADS OF THIS STATE.
  6. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL PROMULGATE RULES, REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS AS
MAY  BE NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION, INCLUDING
STANDARDS FOR THE INSPECTION OF SOUND-EMITTING COMPONENTS OR EQUIPMENT.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.