NY State Senate Bill 2019-S6655

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to transportation
Aug 16, 2019	referred to rules

co-Sponsors

2019-S6655 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8822
Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §1238, V & T L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S1892, A8251
2023-2024: S2785
2025-2026: S3327

2019-S6655 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires passengers and operators of bicycles, skateboards, in-line skates and scooters under eighteen years of age to wear protective headgear.

2019-S6655 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S6655

SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to required protective headgear for operators of bicycles,
skateboards, in-line skates and scooters under eighteen years of age

 
PURPOSE:

To protect teens from significant injury or death by making helmet use
while riding a bicycle, scooter, skateboard, or using in-line skates
mandatory for everyone under eighteen years of age. Currently, helmet
use is mandatory for everyone under fourteen years of age.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends section 1238 of the vehicle and traffic law to change
all current references to helmet use for people aged fourteen and under
in the section to mention people aged eighteen and under.

Section 2: Effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New York State law already requires minors younger than fourteen years
old to wear a helmet when riding a bike, skateboard, scooter, or using
in-line skates. But the state is increasingly taking action to protect
older teens from severe risks. For example, in the 2019 Legislative
session, the Senate passed legislation (S4336) requiring all passengers
over 15 years old to wear seatbelts in the rear of a passenger vehicle.
The Legislature also passed a bill (S2833) to raise the minimum age to
purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 years old. The time has come to
raise the age of mandatory helmet use to 18. Each year, hundreds of
cyclists are killed in traffic accidents around the country, and at
least 50% of fatalities occurred in cases where the cyclist was not
wearing a helmet. In 2016, for instance, according to statistics from
the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were 835 fatal bicycle
accidents in the United States, and in 424 instances (51%) the cyclist
was not wearing a helmet and in and additional 274 cases (33%), it was
unknown whether the cyclist was wearing a helmet.

Requiring older teens to wear helmets will save lives and prevent seri-
ous injuries to many New Yorkers.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.

2019-S6655 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6655
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              August 16, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law,  in  relation  to  required
   protective  headgear  for  operators of bicycles, skateboards, in-line
   skates and scooters under eighteen years of age

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. The section heading, subdivision 4, paragraphs (a) and (b)
 of subdivision 5, and subdivisions 5-a, 5-b, 8 and 9 of section 1238  of
 the  vehicle  and  traffic law, the section heading and subdivision 4 as
 amended by chapter 267 of the laws of 1993, paragraphs (a)  and  (b)  of
 subdivision  5  as  amended by chapter 457 of the laws of 1999, subdivi-
 sions 5-a and 9 as amended by chapter 703 of the laws of 2004,  subdivi-
 sion  5-b as added by chapter 402 of the laws of 2001, and subdivision 8
 as amended by chapter 694 of the laws of 1995, are amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   Passengers  on  bicycles  under one year of age prohibited; passengers
 and operators under [fourteen] EIGHTEEN years of age to wear  protective
 headgear.
   4.  The court shall waive any fine for which a person who violates the
 provisions of paragraph (a) of subdivision two of this section would  be
 liable  if  such  person  supplies the court with proof that between the
 date of violation and the appearance date for such violation such person
 purchased or rented a helmet, which meets the requirements of  paragraph
 (a)  of  subdivision two of this section. Further, the court shall waive
 any fine for which a person who violates the provisions of paragraph (b)
 of subdivision two of this  section  would  be  liable  if  such  person
 supplies the court with proof that between the date of violation and the
 appearance  date  for  such  violation such person purchased or rented a
 seat which meets the requirements of paragraph (b) of subdivision two of
 this section. The court [may] SHALL waive any fine for  which  a  person
 who  violates the provisions of subdivision two of this section would be
 liable if the court finds that due to reasons of economic hardship  such
 person  was  unable  to  purchase  a helmet or seat. Such waiver of fine

 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13498-02-9

 S. 6655                             2
 
 shall not apply to a second or subsequent conviction under paragraph (a)
 or (b) of subdivision two of this section.
   (a)  No  person  operating a bicycle shall allow a person five or more
 years of age and less than [fourteen] EIGHTEEN years of age to ride as a
 passenger on a bicycle unless such passenger is wearing a helmet meeting
 standards established by the commissioner.
   (b) No person, one or more years of age and less than [fourteen] EIGH-
 TEEN years of age, shall operate a bicycle unless such person is wearing
 a helmet meeting standards established by the commissioner.
   5-a. No person, one or more years of  age  and  less  than  [fourteen]
 EIGHTEEN years of age, shall skate or glide on in-line skates or a skate
 board  unless  such  person is wearing a helmet meeting standards estab-
 lished by the commissioner. For the purposes of this subdivision,  wear-
 ing  a helmet means having a helmet of good fit fastened securely on the
 head of such wearer with the helmet straps securely fastened.
   5-b. No person less than [fourteen] EIGHTEEN years of age  shall  ride
 upon,  propel or otherwise operate a two-wheeled vehicle commonly called
 a scooter unless such person  is  wearing  a  helmet  meeting  standards
 established  by the commissioner. As used in this subdivision, wearing a
 helmet means having a properly fitting helmet fixed securely on the head
 of such wearer with the helmet straps securely fastened.
   8. A police officer shall only issue a  summons  for  a  violation  of
 subdivision  two,  five, or five-a of this section by a person less than
 [fourteen] EIGHTEEN years of age to  the  parent  or  guardian  of  such
 person  if  the  violation by such person occurs in the presence of such
 person's parent or guardian and where such parent or guardian  is  eigh-
 teen  years  of  age  or more. Such summons shall only be issued to such
 parent or guardian, and shall not be issued  to  the  person  less  than
 [fourteen] EIGHTEEN years of age.
   9.  Subdivisions  five,  five-a, five-b, and six of this section shall
 not be applicable to any county, city, town or village that has  enacted
 a local law or ordinance prior to the effective date of this subdivision
 that  prohibits  a  person who is one or more years of age and less than
 [fourteen] EIGHTEEN years of age from operating a bicycle or skating  or
 gliding  on  in-line  skates  or a skate board without wearing a bicycle
 helmet meeting the standards of the American National  Standards  Insti-
 tute  (Ansi Z 90.4 bicycle helmet standards), the Snell Memorial Founda-
 tion's Standards for Protective Headgear for use in  Bicycling,  or  the
 American  Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) bike helmet standards,
 or that prohibits a person operating a bicycle from  allowing  a  person
 five or more years of age and less than [fourteen] EIGHTEEN years of age
 to  ride  as a passenger on a bicycle unless such passenger is wearing a
 bicycle helmet that meets such standards. The failure of any  person  to
 comply with any such local law or ordinance shall not constitute contri-
 butory  negligence  or assumption of risk, and shall not in any way bar,
 preclude or foreclose an action for personal injury or wrongful death by
 or on behalf of such person, nor in  any  way  diminish  or  reduce  the
 damages  recoverable in any such action. The legislative body of a coun-
 ty, city, town or village may  enact  a  local  law  or  ordinance  that
 prohibits  a person who is [fourteen] EIGHTEEN or more years of age from
 skating or gliding on in-line skates, operating a skate board, or  oper-
 ating  or  riding  as a passenger on a bicycle without wearing a bicycle
 helmet.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S6655

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

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co-Sponsors

2019-S6655 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S6655 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S6655 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S6655 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

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Sponsored By

James Skoufis

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

Alessandra Biaggi

2019-S6655 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S6655 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S6655 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S6655 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments