NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9799
SPONSOR: Gallagher TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to certain
requirements for side under-ride guards
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To require that trucks in the state fleet have side under ride guards
installed and to require that large commercial trucks have side under-
ride guards installed when driving in New York City.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Section 375 of vehicle and traffic law by adding a new
subdivision 10-f which requires vehicles weighing 26,000 pounds or more
to have side under-ride guards installed when driving in cities with a
population of one million people or more within 24 months of the effec-
tive date.
Section 2 amends Section 375 of vehicle and traffic law by adding a new
subdivision 55 which requires vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or more in
the state fleet to have side under-ride guards installed within 24
months of the effective date. This new subdivision also provides the
commissioner with the authority to grant exemptions to this requirement
and promulgate rules related to side guard specifications and
inspections.
JUSTIFICATION:
Side under-ride guards are a simple, cost effective safety measure to
protect pedestrians, cyclists, and passenger vehicle occupants in colli-
sions with the side of a large truck. Researchers at the Federal Depart-
ment of Transportation found that side under-ride guards have the poten-
tial to save the lives of 52 cyclists and pedestrians each year. The UK,
which has had a national side guard requirement since the 1980s, experi-
enced a 61 percent decrease in fatalities in cyclist collisions with the
side of a truck and a 20 percent decrease in fatalities in pedestrian
collisions with the side of a truck, according to a joint report by
Volpe and the NYC DCAS. An examination of crashes between passenger
vehicles and the side of a truck in the Large Truck Crash Causation
Study (LTCCS) found that side under-ride guards would have reduced the
severity of three quarters of crashes in the study that resulted in
serious injuries or fatalities.
While federal standards and requirements exist for rear under-ride
guards, the NHTSA has been unwilling to extend these requirements to the
sides of large trucks. Cities and states have stepped in, recognizing
the need for side under-ride guards to protect communities. Boston,
Washington D.C., and New York City have all implemented side guard
requirements on their municipal fleets. NYC passed this local law in
2021, and thus far, there has been strong compliance across the city
fleet. This legislation utilizes a similar timeline and similar side
guard specifications for the state fleet, building upon the strong,
well-implemented program in NYC and following in the footsteps of Massa-
chusetts, which recently implemented a side guard mandate for its state
fleet. Additionally, this legislation requires side guards for vehicles
weighing 26,000 pounds or more that drive through NYC, modeled off
convex mirror requirements established in 2011 for these same vehicles.
By requiring side guards in the state fleet and in large vehicles in
NYC, this bill will expand a critical, life-saving safety feature to
thousands of trucks and semi-trailers and prevent deadly collisions
across New York.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act will take effect 180 days after it becomes law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9799
IN ASSEMBLY
April 9, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GALLAGHER -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to certain
requirements for side under-ride guards
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 375 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by
2 adding a new subdivision 10-f to read as follows:
3 10-f. Twenty-four months from the effective date of this subdivision,
4 every truck, tractor, and tractor-trailer or semitrailer combination
5 registered in this state having a gross vehicle weight rating of twen-
6 ty-six thousand pounds or more, and a conventional cab configuration in
7 which more than half of the engine length is forward of the foremost
8 point of the windshield base and the steering wheel hub is in the
9 forward quarter of the vehicle length, whenever operated within a city
10 having a population of one million or more on highways other than cont-
11 rolled-access highways, shall be equipped with side under-ride guards
12 affixed to the sides of such vehicles in a manner consistent with rules
13 and regulations that shall be promulgated by the commissioner, in
14 consultation with the commissioner of transportation. For the purposes
15 of this section, "side under-ride guard" shall mean a device fit
16 to the side of a large vehicle designed to prevent pedestrians and
17 bicyclists from falling into the exposed space between the front axle
18 and the rear axle of such vehicles and to prevent passenger vehicles
19 from sliding under such vehicles. The provisions of this subdivision do
20 not apply to trucks, tractors, and tractor-trailer or semitrailer combi-
21 nations in the state fleet or city fleet or in any city contracted vehi-
22 cle, as defined by section 6-141 of the administrative code of the city
23 of New York. The commissioner shall be authorized to promulgate any
24 rules necessary to inspect side under-ride guards and side under-ride
25 guard specifications for compliance with the requirements of this subdi-
26 vision.
27 § 2. Section 375 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a
28 new subdivision 55 to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13625-04-3
A. 9799 2
1 55. (a) For the purposes of this subdivision, "side under-ride guard"
2 shall mean a device fit to the side of a large vehicle designed to
3 prevent pedestrians and bicyclists from falling into the exposed space
4 between the front axle and the rear axle of such vehicles and to prevent
5 passenger vehicles from sliding under such vehicles.
6 (b) Twenty-four months from the effective date of this subdivision,
7 all vehicles with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating exceeding
8 ten thousand pounds in the state fleet shall be equipped with side
9 under-ride guards affixed to the sides of such vehicles in a manner
10 consistent with rules and regulations that shall be promulgated by
11 the commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of transporta-
12 tion. The commissioner shall have the authority to promulgate any rules
13 necessary to administer the provisions of this subdivision, including
14 but not limited to rules governing when the installation of side
15 under-ride guards on certain vehicles in the state fleet is impracti-
16 cal or will disrupt provision of public safety or public health
17 services and will not be required. Such rules may also govern when
18 written exemptions may be authorized, including due to limitations in
19 vendor capacity to supply side under-ride guards and circumstances in
20 which state-owned vehicles are in the order cycle for replacement. The
21 commissioner shall be authorized to promulgate any rules necessary to
22 inspect side under-ride guards and side under-ride guard specifications
23 for compliance with the requirements of this subdivision.
24 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
25 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
26 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
27 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
28 completed on or before such effective date.
