NY State Senate Bill 2023-S6683A

Senate Bill S6683A

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Requires the department of transportation to provide a list of legal clearance heights for bridges to certain drivers

download bill text pdf

Current 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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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 18, 2024	print number 6683a
Mar 18, 2024	amend and recommit to transportation
Jan 03, 2024	referred to transportation
May 04, 2023	referred to transportation

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

2023-S6683 - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §1621, V & T L

2023-S6683 - Summary

Requires the department of transportation to provide a list of legal clearance heights for bridges to owners or operators of trucks, commercial vehicles, tractors, tractor-trailer combinations, tractor-semitrailer combinations, or tractor-trailer-semitrailer combinations.

2023-S6683 - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6683

SPONSOR: MANNION
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring
the department of transportation to provide a list of legal clearance
heights for bridges to certain drivers

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to require the Department of Transportation
(DOT) to furnish a list of legal clearance heights for bridges and
elevated structures to certain truck drivers.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill would require DOT to furnish a list of legal
clearance heights for bridges and elevated structures to certain truck
drivers.

Section 2 of this bill provides that the effective date shall take

effect June 1, 2024.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Onondaga Lake Parkway bridge is a rail bridge with a 10'9" clearance
that passes over State Route 370 in Salina. Due to its low clearance
height, trucks and other large vehicles have collided with the bridge
since the 1950s. Since 2020, there have been an average of nine bridge
strikes every year, resulting from trucks that are too tall to pass
under the bridge. More recently, in March 2023, three trucks struck the
Onondaga Lake Parkway bridge within a timespan of just twelve days.
These incidents cause hundreds of accidents, accounting for tens of
thousands of dollars lost, stranded motorists, and fatal injuries.
Unfortunately, there are likely to be more bridge strikes this year.

There are many other bridges across the State that have caused similar
problems for truck drivers and motorists. The main issue is that opera-
tors or owners of large vehicles are not aware of the low height
restrictions on these bridges and elevated structures until such struc-
tures are immediately in the way. Striking a low bridge or elevated
structure causes thousands of dollars of damage, injury, and death.

If the owners and operators of large vehicles had a list of clearance
heights for bridges across the State, they could be more cognizant of
their driving routes and avoid potential collisions. This bill would
require DOT to furnish a list of legal clearance heights for bridges and
elevated structures to certain truck drivers. This would allow drivers
to plan their routes ahead of time and prevent future accidents from
occuring. This would save money for drivers, operators, and local
governments, and time for motorists that are habitually stranded during
bridge accidents. Most importantly, this would prevent injuries and
deaths from occurring due to low-bridge collisions.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect June 1, 2024.

2023-S6683 - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6683
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. MANNION -- 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  requiring
   the  department of transportation to provide a list of legal clearance
   heights for bridges to certain drivers

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision (c) of section 1621 of the vehicle and traffic
 law, as amended by chapter 420 of the laws of 1968, is amended  to  read
 as follows:
   (c)  Such department of transportation shall cause signs to be erected
 to inform persons of the legal overhead clearance for  all  bridges  and
 elevated structures on highways under its jurisdiction. The legal clear-
 ance  shall  be  one foot less than the measured clearance. The measured
 clearance shall be the minimum height to the bridge or  structure  meas-
 ured vertically from the traveled portion of the roadway.  On bridges or
 structures  having  fourteen feet or more of measured clearance, no such
 signs shall be required.  THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION  SHALL  CAUSE
 TO  INFORM  AND  FURNISH  TO  AN OWNER OR OPERATOR OF TRUCKS, COMMERCIAL
 VEHICLES, TRACTORS,  TRACTOR-TRAILER  COMBINATIONS,  TRACTOR-SEMITRAILER
 COMBINATIONS, OR TRACTOR-TRAILER-SEMITRAILER COMBINATIONS A LIST OF EACH
 LEGAL  CLEARANCE HEIGHT FOR ALL BRIDGES AND ELEVATED STRUCTURES ON HIGH-
 WAYS UNDER ITS JURISDICTION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect June 1, 2024.
 
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11165-01-3

2023-S6683A (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §1621, V & T L

2023-S6683A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S6683A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6683A

SPONSOR: MANNION
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring
the department of transportation to provide a list of legal clearance
heights for bridges to certain drivers

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to require the Department of Transportation
(DOT) to furnish a list of legal clearance heights for bridges and
elevated structures to certain truck drivers.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill would require DOT to furnish a list of legal
clearance heights for bridges and elevated structures to certain truck
drivers.

Section 2 of this bill provides that the effective date shall take

effect June 1, 2025.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Onondaga Lake Parkway bridge is a rail bridge with a 10'9" clearance
that passes over State Route 370 in Salina. Due to its low clearance
height, trucks and other large vehicles have collided with the bridge
since the 1950s. Since 2020, there have been an average of nine bridge
strikes every year, resulting from trucks that are too tall to pass
under the bridge. More recently, in March 2023, three trucks struck the
Onondaga Lake Parkway bridge within a timespan of just twelve days.
These incidents cause hundreds of accidents, accounting for tens of
thousands of dollars lost, stranded motorists, and fatal injuries.
Unfortunately, there are likely to be more bridge strikes this year.

There are many other bridges across the State that have caused similar
problems for truck drivers and motorists. The main issue is that opera-
tors or owners of large vehicles are not aware of the low height
restrictions on these bridges and elevated structures until such struc-
tures are immediately in the way. Striking a low bridge or elevated
structure causes thousands of dollars of damage, injury, and death.

If the owners and operators of large vehicles had a list of clearance
heights for bridges across the State, they could be more cognizant of
their driving routes and avoid potential collisions. This bill would
require DOT to furnish a list of legal clearance heights for bridges and
elevated structures to certain truck drivers. This would allow drivers
to plan their routes ahead of time and prevent future accidents from
occuring. This would save money for drivers, operators, and local
governments, and time for motorists that are habitually stranded during
bridge accidents. Most importantly, this would prevent injuries and
deaths from occurring due to low-bridge collisions.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect June 1, 2025.

2023-S6683A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  6683--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. MANNION -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation  --  recom-
   mitted  to  the  Committee on Transportation in accordance with Senate
   Rule  6,  sec.  8  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
   reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

 AN  ACT  to  amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring
   the department of transportation to provide a list of legal  clearance
   heights for bridges to certain drivers
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision (c) of section 1621 of the vehicle and  traffic
 law,  as  amended by chapter 420 of the laws of 1968, is amended to read
 as follows:
   (c) Such department of transportation shall cause signs to be  erected
 to  inform  persons  of the legal overhead clearance for all bridges and
 elevated structures on highways under its jurisdiction. The legal clear-
 ance shall be one foot less than the measured  clearance.  The  measured
 clearance  shall  be the minimum height to the bridge or structure meas-
 ured vertically from the traveled portion of the roadway.  On bridges or
 structures having fourteen feet or more of measured clearance,  no  such
 signs  shall  be required.  THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SHALL CAUSE
 TO INFORM AND FURNISH TO AN OWNER  OR  OPERATOR  OF  TRUCKS,  COMMERCIAL
 VEHICLES,  TRACTORS,  TRACTOR-TRAILER  COMBINATIONS, TRACTOR-SEMITRAILER
 COMBINATIONS, OR TRACTOR-TRAILER-SEMITRAILER COMBINATIONS A LIST OF EACH
 LEGAL CLEARANCE HEIGHT FOR ALL BRIDGES AND ELEVATED STRUCTURES ON  HIGH-
 WAYS UNDER ITS JURISDICTION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect June 1, 2025.
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11165-02-4

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