Requires all persons in a city having a population of one million or more operating a bicycle, bicycle with electric assist or electric scooter to wear a helmet; imposes a civil penalty for violation of such requirement.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9876
IN ASSEMBLY
April 19, 2022
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring
all persons in a city having a population of one million or more oper-
ating a bicycle, bicycle with electric assist or electric scooter 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 vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new
2 section 1242-b to read as follows:
3 § 1242-b. Helmet requirement for operators of a bicycle, bicycle with
4 electric assist or electric scooter in a city having a population of one
5 million or more. 1. This section is applicable to all persons in a city
6 having a population of one million or more for the operation of a bicy-
7 cle, bicycle with electric assist or electric scooter upon any public
8 highway or any private road open to public motor vehicle traffic, and
9 within a park or other area under the jurisdiction of the commissioner
10 of parks and recreation.
11 2. No person shall operate a bicycle, bicycle with electric assist or
12 electric scooter unless such person is wearing a helmet meeting the
13 standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z 90.4
14 bicycle helmet standards), the Snell Memorial Foundation's standards for
15 protective headgear for use in bicycling, the American Society of Test-
16 ing and Materials (ASTM) standards for bicycle helmets, the Safety
17 Equipment Institute standards for bicycle helmets, or the United States
18 Consumer Product Safety Commission standards for bicycle helmets.
19 3. It is a traffic infraction to violate the provisions of this
20 section punishable, upon conviction, by a civil penalty of not more than
21 fifty dollars. Such traffic infractions shall be heard and determined in
22 accordance with article two-A of this chapter. For a violation of this
23 section by a person less than sixteen years of age, a hearing officer
24 shall waive the civil penalty for which the parent or guardian of a
25 person who violates the provisions of this section would be liable if
26 such parent or guardian supplies proof that between the date of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15317-01-2
A. 9876 2
1 violation and the appearance date for such violation such parent or
2 guardian purchased or rented a helmet that meets the requirements of
3 this section. A hearing officer may waive the civil penalty for which
4 the parent or guardian of a person who violates the provisions of this
5 section would be liable if he or she finds that due to reasons of
6 economic hardship such parent or guardian was unable to purchase or rent
7 a helmet. A waiver of the civil penalty shall not apply to a second or
8 subsequent conviction under this section.
9 4. The parent or guardian of a person less than sixteen years of age
10 shall be liable for a violation of this section by such person less than
11 sixteen years of age. A summons for a violation of this section by a
12 person less than sixteen years of age shall only be issued to the parent
13 or guardian of such person if the violation occurs in the presence of
14 such parent or guardian and where such parent or guardian is eighteen
15 years of age or more. Such summons shall only be issued to such parent
16 or guardian and shall not be issued to the person less than sixteen
17 years of age.
18 5. The failure of any person to comply with the provisions of this
19 section shall not constitute contributory negligence or assumption of
20 risk, and shall not in any way bar, preclude or foreclose an action for
21 personal injury or wrongful death by or on behalf of such person, nor in
22 any way diminish or reduce the damages recoverable in any such action.
23 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
24 have become a law.
