Senate Bill S343

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S343

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to creating a
pedestrian safety rating system for motor vehicles

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill will require the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehi-
cles (DMV) to create and make publicly accessible via the Internet, a
pedestrian safety rating system for all models of vehicles registered in
New York State

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends the Vehicle and Traffic Law by adding a
new Section 216-b to require the Commissioner of the Department of Motor
Vehicles to create and make publicly accessible via the Internet, a
pedestrian safety rating system for all models of vehicles registered in
New York State. This rating system will provide a rating between one and
              

five stars to reflect the safety of each vehicle model. The rating shall
take into consideration the frequency of collisions and number and
severity of injuries involving a bicyclist or pedestrian reported for
such vehicle model compared to the total number of registrations of that
vehicle model in New York.  It shall also take into consideration safety
features of the vehicle model that the Commissioner of the DMV deter-
mines are relevant to pedestrian and bicyclist safety.

The Commissioner shall issue regulations to all motor vehicle manufac-
turers, dealers, brokers, distributors, and other motor vehicle business
entities in the state on how to adopt the pedestrian safety rating
system and shall require them to conspicuously display the rating on
each motor vehicle at such entities' place of business.

Section two of the bill sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

More pedestrians and cyclists were killed in the United States in 2018
than in any year since 1990, according to a 2019 National Highway Traf-
fic Safety Administration released in 2019.  New York City is no strang-
er to this national trend. According to reporting by the Daily News,
twenty-nine bicyclists lost their lives in 2019 on the streets of New
York City. Data maintained by the New York City Department of Transpor-
tation indicates that 2019 saw the highest number of cyclist deaths in
New York City in a single year since at least 1999. Of the twenty-nine
deaths, twenty-eight were killed by motorists and twenty-five were
killed by drivers behind the wheel of large trucks, buses, SUVs or vans.
And, of the twenty-nine deaths, eighteen of them were killed in Brook-
lyn.

But, bicyclists aren't the only ones losing their lives at an alarming
rate on New York's roads. An average of seven times more pedestrians
have died than cyclists since 2013, according to data from the New York
City Department of Transportation. And, as of December 23rd 2019, 117
pedestrians died in car crashes during 2019 compared to 111 total in
2018.
According to reporting in late 2019 by the New York Times, some experts
said that as Americans continue to purchase larger S.U.V.s and trucks,
they may be making themselves safer at the expense of pedestrians and
cyclists. In fact, research has concluded that S.U.V.s and light trucks
are more prone than cars are to run over pedestrians, rather than throw
them up over the hood, making fatalities more likely when they collide.
And because the vehicles usually sit higher off the ground, they may
have larger blind spots, especially through the rear window.

It is critical for the State to analyze data already maintained by the
DMV to create a transparent, accessible pedestrian safety rating system
for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians in order to understand the
dangerous trends associated with certain vehicle models.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-2022: S4307 - Referred to Transportation

2020: S7876 - Referred to Transportation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that the
pedestrian safety rating system shall be finalized within six months of
the effective date.