A05485 Summary:

BILL NO    A05485A

SAME AS    Same as S 3571

SPONSOR    Millman (MS)

COSPNSR    Weisenberg, Ortiz, Hoyt, Perry

MLTSPNSR   Boyland, Brennan, Camara, Colton, Cook, DelMonte, Gottfried, Gunther,
           Kellner, Koon, Lifton, Lupardo, Maisel, Markey, Pheffer, Pretlow,
           Robinson, Rosenthal, Titone, Towns

Add S397-c, V & T L

Enacts the "pedestrian safety enhancement act of 2009"; requires that all
vehicles emit sound to aid in the safety of blind pedestrians, other
pedestrians, cyclists and children.

A05485 Actions:

BILL NO    A05485A

02/13/2009 referred to transportation
03/02/2009 amend and recommit to transportation
03/02/2009 print number 5485a
01/06/2010 referred to transportation

A05485 Votes:

A05485 Memo:

 BILL NUMBER:  A5485A

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to enacting the "pedestrian safety enhancement act of 2009"

 PURPOSE : Enacts the "Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2009"
which authorizes the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the State Consumer
Protection Board (CPB) and the State Commission for the Blind and
Visually Handicapped to promulgate rules and regulations establishing
a statewide minimum sound standard for hybrids and other inaudible
motor vehicles.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS : The vehicle and traffic law is amended by
adding a new section 397-c: Minimum Motor Vehicle Sound Standards.

AMENDMENT: SEC 397-c....state commission for the blind and handicapped
executive board

 JUSTIFICATION :  Technological advances in motor vehicle fuel
efficiency have led to the increased popularity of alternative fuel
motorized vehicles.  These technologies are changing the way
pedestrians, especially the blind and visually-impaired, utilize
audible cues to cross streets and move through traffic. The engines in
these vehicles operate with significantly less sound then the
traditional combustion engine.  An article from the July 2008 issue of
Scientific American Magazine, Are Hybrid Cars Too Quiet to be Safe for
Pedestrians, describes tests performed by perceptual psychologist
Lawrence D. Rosenblum of the University of California, Riverside.
Blindfolded subjects listened to recordings of cars approaching at
five miles an hour and could hear Honda Accord's internal-combustion
engine 36 feet away. However, they failed to identity the Toyota
Prius, running in electric mode, until it came within 11 feet -
affording them less than 2 seconds to react before the vehicle reached
them. The second test added some realistic background noise to the
recordings; the Prius glided past the subjects over 40 times
undetected. In November 2007, the Society of Automotive Engineers
created a special committee to examine whether hybrid cars should be
made more audible; in June 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration held public hearings on the topic, both determined that
sound-emitting safety measures were inevitable.  This legislation
would allow DMV, DEC, CPB and the State Commission for the Blind and
Visually Handicapped Executive Board to research, identity and make
recommendations on strategies to ensure that all motorized vehicles
emit sound sufficient to be heard and identified by pedestrians,
especially those who are blind or visually-impaired.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS : None to the State

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY : 2008: A.10248/S.7151

 EFFECTIVE DATE : Immediately