S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  7628--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 25, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. BORES, DE LOS SANTOS, SEAWRIGHT, ZINERMAN, ARDI-
   LA, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, GLICK, O'DONNELL, SIMON, SIMONE,  CHANG,  EPSTEIN,
   LEVENBERG,  LEMONDES  --  read  once  and referred to the Committee on
   Transportation -- recommitted to the Committee  on  Transportation  in
   accordance  with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
   amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
   tee
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to reporting
   accidents involving  electric  scooters  and  bicycles  with  electric
   assist
 
   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 OR PURSUANT TO  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  SECTIONS
 TWELVE HUNDRED FORTY OR TWELVE HUNDRED FORTY-ONE OF THIS CHAPTER INVOLV-
 ING  A  BICYCLE  WITH  ELECTRIC  ASSIST OR PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF
 SECTIONS TWELVE HUNDRED EIGHTY-SEVEN OR TWELVE HUNDRED  EIGHTY-EIGHT  OF
 THIS CHAPTER, shall immediately investigate the facts, or cause the same
 to be investigated, and report the matter to the commissioner 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 functions, shall likewise
 make a report to the commissioner with respect to all  deaths  found  to
 have  been the result of motor vehicle [or], motorcycle, ELECTRIC SCOOT-
 ER, OR BICYCLE WITH ELECTRIC ASSIST accidents. SUCH REPORT SHALL INCLUDE
 INFORMATION REGARDING THE TYPE OR TYPES OF VEHICLES INVOLVED,  INCLUDING
 PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLES, COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES, MOTORCYCLES, LIMIT-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10758-04-4
              

 A. 7628--A                          2
 
 ED USE MOTORCYCLES, OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLES, ELECTRIC SCOOTERS, BICYCLES
 WITH ELECTRIC ASSIST AND/OR BICYCLES. Such report shall include informa-
 tion  on  the  width  and length of trucks, tractors, trailers and semi-
 trailers,  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 oper-
 ated 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.
   §  2.  The  opening  paragraph  and  paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of
 section 603-a of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter  489
 of the laws of 2017, are amended to read as follows:
   In  addition  to the requirements of section six hundred three of this
 article, whenever a motor vehicle,  BICYCLE  WITH  ELECTRIC  ASSIST,  OR
 ELECTRIC SCOOTER accident results in serious physical 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.
   (a) Such investigation shall be conducted for the purposes of making a
 determination of the following: the facts and circumstances of the acci-
 dent; the type or types of vehicles involved, including passenger  motor
 vehicles,  commercial  motor vehicles, motorcycles, limited use motorcy-
 cles, off-highway motorcycles, ELECTRIC SCOOTERS, BICYCLES WITH ELECTRIC
 ASSIST, and/or bicycles; whether pedestrians were involved; the contrib-
 uting 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.
   §  3. Section 604 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended to read as
 follows:
   § 604. Reports; contents; preparation; distribution; filing.   Reports
 of accidents required under [the preceding section] SECTIONS SIX HUNDRED
 THREE  AND  SIX  HUNDRED THREE-A OF THIS ARTICLE, or under the rules and
 regulations of the commissioner, shall be upon forms prepared  by  [him]
 THE  COMMISSIONER  and contain such information as [he] THE COMMISSIONER
 shall prescribe; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE COMMISSIONER SHALL  PROVIDE
 SPACE  ON SUCH FORMS TO INDICATE THE TYPE OR TYPES OF VEHICLES INVOLVED,
 INCLUDING PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLES, COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES,  MOTORCY-
 CLES,  LIMITED USE MOTORCYCLES, OFF-HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLES, ELECTRIC SCOOT-
 ERS, BICYCLES WITH ELECTRIC ASSIST, AND/OR BICYCLES.   Blank  forms  for
 such  reports  shall be printed by the commissioner and a supply sent to
 all city, town and village clerks and to the chief officer of every city
 police department for general distribution and use as  herein  provided.
 Reports  of  accidents,  required  under the preceding section, shall be
 sent to and filed with the commissioner at the main office of the bureau
 of motor vehicles in the city of Albany, except as otherwise provided by
 the rules and regulations of the commissioner.
   § 4.  Subdivisions (b) and (c) of section 605 of the vehicle and traf-
 fic law, subdivision (b) as added by chapter 254 of the  laws  of  1989,
 and  subdivision  (c) as amended by chapter 161 of the laws of 1996, are
 amended to read as follows:
 A. 7628--A                          3
 
   (b) Every person operating [a] AN ELECTRIC SCOOTER OR A bicycle  which
 is  in  any  manner  involved in an accident on a public highway in this
 state in which any person is killed, other than the operator, or suffers
 serious physical injury  as  defined  pursuant  to  subdivision  ten  of
 section  10.00 of the penal law, shall within ten days after such opera-
 tor learns of the fact of such death or serious physical injury,  report
 the  matter  in  writing  to the commissioner. If such operator is phys-
 ically incapable of making such report within ten days, he or she  shall
 make  the report immediately upon recovery from the physical incapacity.
 If such operator is an unemancipated minor who is  incapable  of  making
 such  report  for  any  reason,  the parent or guardian of such operator
 shall make such report within ten days after learning  of  the  fact  of
 such accident.  Every such operator of AN ELECTRIC SCOOTER OR a bicycle,
 or  parent  or guardian of such unemancipated minor operator, shall make
 such other and additional reports as the commissioner shall require.
   (c) The report required by this section shall be made in such form and
 number as the commissioner may  prescribe.  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 over dimension permit. Such report  shall
 distinctly indicate and include information as to whether the inflatable
 restraint  system  inflated  and  deployed.    SUCH REPORT SHALL INCLUDE
 INFORMATION ON THE TYPE OR TYPES OF VEHICLES INVOLVED, INCLUDING PASSEN-
 GER MOTOR VEHICLES, COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES, MOTORCYCLES, LIMITED  USE
 MOTORCYCLES,  OFF-HIGHWAY  MOTORCYCLES, ELECTRIC SCOOTERS, BICYCLES WITH
 ELECTRIC ASSIST, AND/OR BICYCLES.
   § 5.  This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
 law.  Effective immediately, the addition, amendment  and/or  repeal  of
 any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on
 its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or  before
 such date.