Senate Bill S5226A

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

                                 5226--A

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             April 27, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  DILAN,  DIAZ,  HASSELL-THOMPSON -- read twice and
  ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
  Transportation -- reported favorably from said committee and committed
  to  the  Committee  on  Codes  --  committee discharged, bill amended,
  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in  relation  to  requiring
  surfaces  of certain motor vehicles to be cleared of accumulated snow,
  sleet, or hail

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

  Section  1.    The  vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new
section 1229-e to read as follows:
  S 1229-E. CLEARANCE OF SNOW, SLEET, AND HAIL. 1. NO PERSON SHALL OPER-
ATE A MOTOR VEHICLE ON A PUBLIC STREET OR  HIGHWAY  WHILE  THERE  IS  AN
ACCUMULATION  OF  SNOW, SLEET, OR HAIL ON THE ROOF OR CARGO BED SURFACES
THEREOF, WHETHER OF ANY OCCUPANT COMPARTMENT, TRAILER,  OR  OTHER  CARGO
COMPARTMENT IN EXCESS OF THREE INCHES.
  2.  THE REMOVAL OF ACCUMULATED SNOW, SLEET, OR HAIL REQUIRED BY SUBDI-
VISION ONE OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY DURING THE FALLING  OF  SNOW,
SLEET,  OR HAIL OR WITHIN THREE HOURS AFTER THE CESSATION OF THE FALLING
THEREOF.
  3. (A) THE OPERATOR OF A NON-COMMERCIAL VEHICLE IN  VIOLATION  OF  THE
PROVISIONS  OF  THIS  SECTION,  EXCLUDING  A DISABLED OPERATOR, SHALL BE
SUBJECT TO A FINE OF NOT LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED FIFTY  DOLLARS  NOR  MORE
THAN EIGHT HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS.
  (B) THE OPERATOR, OWNER, LESSEE, BAILEE OR ANY ONE OF THE AFORESAID IF
A  COMMERCIAL  MOTOR VEHICLE SHALL BE SUBJECT TO A FINE OF NOT LESS THAN
FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS NOR MORE THAN TWELVE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS.
  4. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY  TO  ANY  AUTOMOBILE
TRANSPORTER, MOTORCYCLE, OR AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLE.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD06338-04-9

              

S. 5226--A                          2

  S 2. Section 125 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter
365 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
  S 125. Motor  vehicles. Every vehicle operated or driven upon a public
highway which is propelled by  any  power  other  than  muscular  power,
except  (a)  electrically-driven mobility assistance devices operated or
driven by a person with a disability, (a-1) electric personal  assistive
mobility  devices  operated  outside  a  city  with  a population of one
million or more, (b) vehicles which run only upon rails or  tracks,  (c)
snowmobiles  as  defined in article forty-seven of this chapter, and (d)
all terrain vehicles as defined in article forty-eight-B of  this  chap-
ter.  For  the  purposes  of  title four of this chapter, the term motor
vehicle shall exclude fire and police vehicles  other  than  ambulances.
For  the  purposes  of  titles four and five, AND SECTION TWELVE HUNDRED
TWENTY-NINE-E of this chapter the term motor vehicles shall exclude farm
type tractors and all terrain type vehicles used exclusively  for  agri-
cultural purposes, or for snow plowing, other than for hire, farm equip-
ment,  including  self-propelled  machines  used exclusively in growing,
harvesting or handling farm produce, and self-propelled  caterpillar  or
crawler-type equipment while being operated on the contract site.
  S 3. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.