NY State Senate Bill S2702

Current Bill Status Via A150 - Passed Senate & Assembly

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
Delivered to Governor
Signed/Vetoed by Governor

Your Voice

Please enter your contact information

First Name *

Last Name *

Email Address *

A valid email address is required.

Home address search or enter your address manually *

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Leave this field blank

Actions

view actions (9)

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 01, 2023	returned to assembly passed senate 3rd reading cal.1006 substituted for s2702
Jun 01, 2023	substituted by a150
May 18, 2023	advanced to third reading
May 17, 2023	2nd report cal.
May 16, 2023	1st report cal.1006
Jan 24, 2023	referred to transportation

Votes

view votes

Jun 1, 2023 - floor Vote

A150

floor

Aye

Nay

Absent

Excused

Abstained

May 16, 2023 - Transportation committee Vote

S2702

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

S2702 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A150
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§2409 & 2410, V & T L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S5035, A6087
2021-2022: S680, A586

S2702 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Increases age for use of ATVs by minors from age ten to fourteen.

S2702 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S2702

SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the opera-
tion of all-terrain vehicles by minors

 
PURPOSE:

To raise the age of ATV operators to fourteen years of age, in certain
circumstances.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Section 2409(2) of Article 48C of the Vehicle and Traf-
fic Law to change the age of completing an ATV safety course and earning
an ATV safety certificate from ten years of age to fourteen years of
age.

Section 2 of the bill eliminates the possibility of a sixteen year old
with an ATV safety certificate supervising a minor operating an ATV and

to change the age of legal operation of an ATV by a minor from ten years
of age to fourteen years of age, under certain circumstances.

Section 3 states the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Recent serious accidents and fatalities involving minors operating All-
Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) have highlighted the need to enact legislation.
In a study published by the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences,
which looked at accidents involving individuals eighteen and under
between the years 2004 and 2014, 75% of the ATV fatalities were victims
between the ages of ten and fourteen. During this period, over 30,000
children aged fourteen and under went to emergency rooms for ATV related
injuries, including fractured bones, head and facial injuries.

Depending on the particular model, these vehicles can weigh 600 pounds
or more, and reach speeds exceeding 70 miles per hour. Machines of this
size and speed are not suitable for young children to operate.  Accord-
ing to the American Academy of Pediatrics, operating ATVs is especially
dangerous for young children, given their smaller size and relative
immaturity; in addition the group believes that children are "not devel-
opmentally capable of operating these heavy, complex machines."

This legislation amends the Vehicle and Traffic Law and makes several
changes to promote greater ATV safety and prevent tragedies involving
minors. First, the allowable age to receive an ATV safety certificate
will be raised from the current ten years to fourteen years or older.
Currently, children as young as ten are permitted to earn an ATV safety
certificate from the Department of Motor Vehicles by taking an approved
safety course. Next, in relation to the operation of an ATV, children
under sixteen will only be allowed to operate an ATV on public land, as
permitted by section 2403 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, as long as
they are supervised by someone eighteen years or older. They would no
longer be permitted to be supervised in the alternative by someone over
sixteen who holds an ATV safety certificate. In addition, the bill rais-
es to fourteen years old from the current ten the age at which a minor
who has received a safety certificate may operate an ATV in the same
manner as someone who is sixteen or older, meaning without supervision
and on any area of land that is permissible for those sixteen and older.

The Legislature must take steps to protect young children, whose inexpe-
rience and lack of understanding of the potential dangers associated
with ATV riding make them a vulnerable population. Raising the age to
receive a safety certificate and operate an AN in the same manner as a
sixteen year old, as well as removing the provision in the law allowing
for supervision by someone sixteen or older who has a safety certificate
will help to prevent senseless accidents and deaths.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-2022: S680/A586 - Passed Senate/Advanced to Third Reading

2019-2020: S5035/A6087 - Died in Transportation/Advanced to Third Read-
ing

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

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

S2702 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2702
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 24, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HARCKHAM -- 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  the  opera-
   tion of all-terrain vehicles by minors
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 2409 of the  vehicle  and  traffic
 law,  as added by chapter 402 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as
 follows:
   2. Safety certificate. Upon successful completion of a  safety  course
 given  in  conformity  with  subdivision one of this section by a person
 [ten] FOURTEEN years of age or over, the person or entity which gave the
 course shall notify the commissioner of  such  completion  in  a  manner
 prescribed  by the commissioner. The commissioner shall, upon receipt of
 such information, issue an ATV safety certificate to the person who  has
 successfully  completed  the  course. Such certificate may be limited to
 the type of vehicle for which the course was given.
   § 2. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 2410 of the vehicle  and  traffic
 law, as added by chapter 402 of the laws of 1986, are amended to read as
 follows:
   1.  Except  as  provided by subdivision two of this section, no person
 under the age of sixteen years shall operate an ATV  except  upon  lands
 owned  or  leased  by his OR HER parent or guardian, unless he OR SHE is
 under general supervision of a person eighteen years of age or over  [or
 a  person  sixteen  years of age or over who holds an ATV safety certif-
 icate]. "Leased lands" as herein used shall not include lands leased  by
 an  organization of which said operator or his OR HER parent or guardian
 is a member.
   2. A person [ten] FOURTEEN years of age but less than sixteen years of
 age who has received safety training as prescribed by  the  commissioner
 and  has  received  the appropriate ATV safety certificate issued by the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02108-01-3

 S. 2702                             2
 
 commissioner may operate an ATV in the same manner as a  person  who  is
 sixteen years of age or older.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

The New York State Senate

senate Bill S2702

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status Via A150 - Passed Senate & Assembly

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Jun 1, 2023 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jun 1, 2023

May 16, 2023 - Transportation committee Vote

Transportation Committee Vote: May 16, 2023

S2702 (ACTIVE) - Details

S2702 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S2702 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S2702 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S2702

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Pete Harckham

Current Bill Status Via A150 - Passed Senate & Assembly

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Jun 1, 2023 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jun 1, 2023

May 16, 2023 - Transportation committee Vote

Transportation Committee Vote: May 16, 2023

S2702 (ACTIVE) - Details

S2702 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S2702 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S2702 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments