STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8550
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
July 10, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROZIC -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Cities
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to requiring all persons operating a bicycle to wear a helmet
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended
2 by adding a new section 10-157.2 to read as follows:
3 § 10-157.2 Helmet requirement for persons operating bicycles. a. Defi-
4 nitions. For the purposes of this section:
5 (1) The term "bicycle" shall mean a two or three wheeled device upon
6 which a person or persons may ride, propelled by human power through a
7 belt, a chain or gears, with such wheels in a tandem or tricycle.
8 (2) The term "public highway" means any highway, road, street, road-
9 way, sidewalk, avenue, alley, public place, public driveway or any other
10 public way.
11 (3) The term "wearing a helmet" means having a helmet of good fit
12 fastened securely upon the head with the helmet straps.
13 b. This section is applicable to the operation of a bicycle upon any
14 public highway or any private road open to public motor vehicle traffic,
15 and within a park or other area under the jurisdiction of the commis-
16 sioner of parks and recreation.
17 c. No person shall operate a bicycle unless such person is wearing a
18 helmet meeting the standards of the American National Standards Insti-
19 tute (ANSI Z 90.4 bicycle helmet standards), the Snell Memorial Founda-
20 tion's standards for protective headgear for use in bicycling, the Amer-
21 ican Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for bicycle
22 helmets, the Safety Equipment Institute standards for bicycle helmets,
23 or the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission standards for
24 bicycle helmets.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11867-01-7
A. 8550 2
1 d. It is a traffic infraction to violate the provisions of this
2 section punishable, upon conviction, by a civil penalty of not more than
3 fifty dollars. Such traffic infractions shall be heard and determined in
4 accordance with article 2-A of the vehicle and traffic law. For a
5 violation of this section by a person less than sixteen years of age, a
6 hearing officer shall waive the civil penalty for which the parent or
7 guardian of a person who violates the provisions of this section would
8 be liable if such parent or guardian supplies proof that between the
9 date of violation and the appearance date for such violation such parent
10 or guardian purchased or rented a helmet that meets the requirements of
11 this section. A hearing officer may waive the civil penalty for which
12 the parent or guardian of a person who violates the provisions of this
13 section would be liable if he or she finds that due to reasons of
14 economic hardship such parent or guardian was unable to purchase or rent
15 a helmet. A waiver of the civil penalty shall not apply to a second or
16 subsequent conviction under this section.
17 e. The parent or guardian of a person less than sixteen years of age
18 shall be liable for a violation of this section by such person less than
19 sixteen years of age. A summons for a violation of this section by a
20 person less than sixteen years of age shall only be issued to the parent
21 or guardian of such person if the violation occurs in the presence of
22 such parent or guardian and where such parent or guardian is eighteen
23 years of age or more. Such summons shall only be issued to such parent
24 or guardian and shall not be issued to the person less than sixteen
25 years of age.
26 f. The failure of any person to comply with the provisions of this
27 section shall not constitute contributory negligence or assumption of
28 risk, and shall not in any way bar, preclude or foreclose an action for
29 personal injury or wrongful death by or on behalf of such person, nor in
30 any way diminish or reduce the damages recoverable in any such action.
31 g. The department of health and mental hygiene shall distribute infor-
32 mational materials through the department's health information program,
33 which shall include information explaining the hazards of operating
34 bicycles without protective headgear. These informational materials
35 shall be printed in multiple languages and shall be made available to
36 any member of the public upon request.
37 h. The police department and the department of parks and recreation
38 shall enforce the provisions of this section.
39 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
40 have become a law.
