Senate Bill S4432

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

                                  4432

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              April 5, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sen. STAVISKY -- 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 requirements
  for accident and investigation reports

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

  Section  1.  Subdivision  1  of section 603 of the vehicle and traffic
law, as amended by chapter 432 of the laws of 1997, is amended  to  read
as follows:
  1.  Every  police or judicial officer to whom an accident resulting in
injury to a person shall have been reported, pursuant to  the  foregoing
provisions  of this chapter, shall immediately investigate the facts, or
cause the same to be investigated, and report the matter to the  commis-
sioner  forthwith; provided, however, that the report of the accident is
made to the police officer or judicial officer within  five  days  after
such  accident.  Every  coroner, or other official performing like func-
tions, shall likewise make a report to the commissioner with respect  to
all  deaths found to have been the result of motor vehicle or motorcycle
accidents.   Such report shall include  information  on  the  width  and
length  of  trucks,  tractors,  trailers  and semitrailers, which are in
excess of ninety-five inches in width or thirty-four feet in length  and
which  are  involved in such accidents, whether such accident took place
in a work area and whether it was being operated with an  overweight  or
overdimension permit.  Such report shall distinctly indicate and include
information  as  to whether the inflatable restraint system inflated and
deployed.   Nothing contained in this subdivision  shall  be  deemed  to
preclude  a  police  officer from reporting any other accident which, in
the judgment of such police officer, would be required to be reported to
the commissioner by the operator of a vehicle pursuant  to  section  six
hundred  five of this article.  ANY REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE COMMISSIONER
PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION BY A POLICE OR JUDICIAL OFFICER  SHALL  INCLUDE

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01562-01-1
              

S. 4432                             2

AN  ENUMERATION OF ANY CONVICTIONS ON THE OPERATING RECORD OF THE OPERA-
TOR OR OPERATORS OF EACH MOTOR VEHICLE INVOLVED IN SUCH ACCIDENT FOR ANY
VIOLATION OF THIS ARTICLE, TITLE SEVEN OF THIS CHAPTER, OR PROVISIONS OF
THE PENAL LAW FOR WHICH A VIOLATION OF TITLE SEVEN OF THIS CHAPTER IS AN
ESSENTIAL ELEMENT.
  S  2.   Subdivision 1 of section 603-a of the vehicle and traffic law,
as added by chapter 408 of the laws of  2001,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  1.  In  addition  to  the requirements of section six hundred three of
this article, whenever a motor vehicle accident results in serious phys-
ical injury or death to a person, and such accident either is discovered
by a police officer, or reported to a police officer  within  five  days
after  such accident occurred, the police shall conduct an investigation
of such accident. Such investigation shall be conducted for the purposes
of making a determination of the following: the facts and  circumstances
of  the  accident;  the  type  or  types of vehicles involved, including
passenger motor vehicles, commercial motor vehicles, motorcycles, limit-
ed use motorcycles, off-highway motorcycles,  and/or  bicycles;  whether
pedestrians  were  involved; the contributing factor or factors; whether
it can be determined if  a  violation  or  violations  of  this  chapter
occurred,  and if so, the specific provisions of this chapter which were
violated and by whom; and, the cause of such accident, where such  cause
can  be determined. The police shall forward a copy of the investigation
report to the commissioner within five business days of  the  completion
of such report.  ALL INVESTIGATION REPORTS SUBMITTED TO THE COMMISSIONER
PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL INCLUDE AN ENUMERATION OF ANY CONVICTIONS
ON THE OPERATING RECORD OF THE OPERATOR OR OPERATORS OF EACH MOTOR VEHI-
CLE  INVOLVED  IN SUCH ACCIDENT FOR ANY VIOLATION OF THIS ARTICLE, TITLE
SEVEN OF THIS CHAPTER, OR PROVISIONS  OF  THE  PENAL  LAW  FOR  WHICH  A
VIOLATION OF TITLE SEVEN OF THIS CHAPTER IS AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT.
  S  3.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
have become a law.