Senate Bill S758

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

                                   758

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 15, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  DeFRANCISCO -- read twice and ordered printed, and
  when printed to be committed to the  Committee  on  Cultural  Affairs,
  Tourism, Parks and Recreation

AN  ACT  to amend the navigation law and the vehicle and traffic law, in
  relation to including passengers of  vessels  and  motor  vehicles  as
  persons required to report an accident

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

  Section 1. Section 47 of the navigation law, as added by  chapter  587
of the laws of 2003, paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 and paragraph (a) of
subdivision  2 as amended by chapter 484 of the laws of 2005, is amended
to read as follows:
  S 47. Leaving the scene of an accident without reporting. 1. (a) When-
ever any vessel, including, but not limited  to,  rowboats,  canoes  and
kayaks,  meets with an accident involving damage to any vessel or to the
real property or to the personal property,  not  including  animals,  of
another  due  to  an  accident involving such vessel and the operator OR
PASSENGER thereof has knowledge  of  such  accident,  such  operator  OR
PASSENGER  shall,  before  leaving  the place where the damage occurred,
stop and give his or her name and address, the name and address  of  the
owner  thereof  and  the identification number, if any, assigned to such
vessel to the person sustaining the damage.  In  the  event  the  person
sustaining  the  damage  cannot be located at the place where the damage
occurred, then the operator OR PASSENGER of such vessel shall report the
same as soon as physically able to the nearest  police  officer,  police
station, bay constable or judicial officer.
  (b) A violation of the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision
shall  constitute  a violation punishable as set forth in section seven-
ty-three-c of this article.
  2. (a) Every operator OR PASSENGER of a  vessel,  including,  but  not
limited to, rowboats, canoes and kayaks, who, knowing or having cause to
know  that personal injury has been caused to another person, or another
person has disappeared under the water, due  to  an  accident  involving
such  vessel  shall,  before  leaving  the place where the said incident

              

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD04781-01-9

S. 758                              2

involving personal  injury  occurred,  stop,  give  such  operator's  OR
PASSENGER'S  name and address, the name and address of the owner of such
vessel and the identification number, if any, assigned to such vessel to
the  injured party, if practical, and shall report said accident as soon
as physically able to the nearest police officer,  police  station,  bay
constable or judicial officer.
  (b)  The  first  violation  of the provisions of paragraph (a) of this
subdivision involving personal injury to another person shall constitute
a class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than two  hundred
fifty nor more than five hundred dollars in addition to any other penal-
ties provided by law. Any subsequent violation involving personal injury
to  another  person after a conviction for a violation of such paragraph
within the preceding five years shall constitute a class  A  misdemeanor
punishable  by  a  fine  of not less than five hundred nor more than one
thousand dollars in addition to any other penalties provided by law. Any
violation of the provisions of this subdivision,  other  than  the  mere
failure  of  a  vessel  operator  OR  PASSENGER  to provide the name and
address of the vessel owner and/or  the  identification  number  of  the
vessel,  where  the personal injury involved results in death or serious
physical injury, as defined in section 10.00 of the penal law, or  where
a  person  has disappeared under the water as the result of the incident
shall constitute a class E felony.
  3. The provisions of  this  section  shall  not  apply  to  commercial
vessels  having a valid marine document issued by the United States or a
foreign government.
  S 2. Section 600 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter
49 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
  S 600. Leaving scene of an incident  without  reporting.  1.  Property
damage.  a.  Any  person  operating a motor vehicle OR PASSENGER IN SUCH
MOTOR VEHICLE who, knowing or having cause to know that damage has  been
caused  to  the real property or to the personal property, not including
animals, of another, due to an  incident  involving  the  motor  vehicle
operated  by  such person OR IN WHICH SUCH PERSON WAS A PASSENGER shall,
before leaving the place where the damage occurred, stop, exhibit his or
her license and insurance identification card  for  such  vehicle,  when
such  card  is required pursuant to articles six and eight of this chap-
ter, and give his or her name, residence, including street  and  number,
insurance carrier and insurance identification information including but
not  limited  to  the  number  and  effective dates of said individual's
insurance policy, and license number to the party sustaining the damage,
or in case the person sustaining the damage is not present at the  place
where  the  damage occurred then he or she shall report the same as soon
as physically able to the nearest police station, or judicial officer.
  b. It shall be the duty of any member of a law enforcement agency  who
is  at  the scene of the accident to request the said operator or opera-
tors OR ANY PASSENGER of the motor vehicles, when physically capable  of
doing  so,  to  exchange  the  information required hereinabove and such
member of a law enforcement agency shall assist such operator or  opera-
tors  OR  ANY  PASSENGER  in  making  such  exchange of information in a
reasonable and harmonious manner.
  A violation of the provisions of paragraph a of this subdivision shall
constitute a traffic infraction punishable  by  a  fine  of  up  to  two
hundred  fifty  dollars  or a sentence of imprisonment for up to fifteen
days or both such fine and imprisonment.
  2. Personal injury.   a. Any  person  operating  a  motor  vehicle  OR
PASSENGER  IN  SUCH  MOTOR  VEHICLE who, knowing or having cause to know

S. 758                              3

that personal injury has been caused to another person, due to an  inci-
dent  involving  the  motor  vehicle operated by such person OR IN WHICH
SUCH PERSON WAS A PASSENGER shall, before leaving the  place  where  the
said  personal  injury  occurred,  stop,  exhibit his or her license and
insurance identification card  for  such  vehicle,  when  such  card  is
required  pursuant  to  articles six and eight of this chapter, and give
his or her name, residence, including street and street  number,  insur-
ance  carrier and insurance identification information including but not
limited to the number and effective dates of said individual's insurance
policy and license number, to the injured party, if practical, and  also
to  a  police  officer, or in the event that no police officer is in the
vicinity of the place of said injury, then, he or she shall report  said
incident  as  soon  as  physically able to the nearest police station or
judicial officer.
  b. It shall be the duty of any member of a law enforcement agency  who
is  at  the scene of the accident to request the said operator or opera-
tors OR ANY PASSENGER of the motor vehicles, when physically capable  of
doing  so,  to  exchange  the  information required hereinabove and such
member of a law enforcement agency shall assist such operator or  opera-
tors  OR  ANY  PASSENGER  in  making  such  exchange of information in a
reasonable and harmonious manner.
  c. A violation of the provisions of paragraph a  of  this  subdivision
resulting solely from the failure of an operator OR PASSENGER to exhibit
his  or her license and insurance identification card for the vehicle or
exchange the information required in such paragraph shall  constitute  a
class  B  misdemeanor  punishable by a fine of not less than two hundred
fifty nor more than five hundred dollars in addition to any other penal-
ties provided by law. Any subsequent such violation shall  constitute  a
class  A  misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than five hundred
nor more than one thousand dollars in addition to  any  other  penalties
provided  by law. Any violation of the provisions of paragraph a of this
subdivision, other than for the mere failure of an operator OR PASSENGER
to exhibit his or her license and insurance identification card for such
vehicle or exchange the information required in  such  paragraph,  shall
constitute  a class A misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than
five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars in  addition  to
any  other  penalties provided by law. Any such violation committed by a
person after such  person  has  previously  been  convicted  of  such  a
violation shall constitute a class E felony, punishable by a fine of not
less  than  one thousand nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars
in addition to any other penalties provided by law. Any violation of the
provisions of paragraph a of this subdivision, other than for  the  mere
failure  of  an  operator OR PASSENGER to exhibit his or her license and
insurance identification card for such vehicle or exchange the  informa-
tion  required in such paragraph, where the personal injury involved (i)
results in serious physical injury, as defined in section 10.00  of  the
penal  law,  shall  constitute a class E felony, punishable by a fine of
not less than one thousand nor more than five thousand dollars in  addi-
tion  to  any  other penalties provided by law, or (ii) results in death
shall constitute a class D felony punishable by a fine of not less  than
two  thousand  nor  more  than  five thousand dollars in addition to any
other penalties provided by law.
  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.