STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9431
IN SENATE
March 11, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. COONEY -- 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
instruction on work zone safety awareness as part of the pre-licensing
course
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (c-2) of subdivision 4 of section 502 of the
2 vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter 585 of the laws of 2002, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 (c-2) "Work Zone Safety" awareness component. (i) The commissioner
5 shall provide in the pre-licensing course, set forth in paragraph (b) of
6 this subdivision, a mandatory component in "Work Zone Safety" awareness
7 education, totaling no less than thirty minutes, as a prerequisite for
8 obtaining a license to operate a motor vehicle.
9 (ii) The purpose of the component is to educate prospective licensees
10 on:
11 (A) the potential dangers to construction workers, construction equip-
12 ment operators and operators of motor vehicles in a highway work
13 zone[.];
14 (B) the legal obligation to yield the right of way and exercise
15 reasonable care in the approach of an authorized emergency vehicle, as
16 set forth in section eleven hundred forty-four of this chapter;
17 (C) the legal obligation to exercise due care to avoid colliding with
18 a parked, stopped or standing authorized emergency vehicle, hazard vehi-
19 cle, vehicle displaying a blue or green light or certain other motor
20 vehicles, as set forth in section eleven hundred forty-four-a of this
21 chapter; and
22 (D) the consequences of violations, including those captured by auto-
23 mated work zone speed enforcement systems.
24 (iii) For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "work zone" shall
25 include "work area" as defined by section one hundred [sixty] sixty-one
26 of this chapter, and "restricted highway" as authorized in section
27 sixteen hundred twenty-five of this chapter.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14081-01-5
S. 9431 2
1 [(ii)] (iv) The commissioner shall establish a curriculum for the
2 "Work Zone Safety" component which shall include but not be limited to:
3 (A) instruction [describing the potential hazards of driving through a
4 work zone, whether or not work, maintenance or other related
5 construction is being undertaken therein, and information on the
6 provisions of law relating to driving within a work zone and sanctions
7 for violations of such provisions, including speeding in a work zone] on
8 the identification and navigation of highway construction and mainte-
9 nance zones;
10 (B) education topics, including, but not limited to, signage, flagging
11 operations, barriers, lane shifts, and variable speed limits;
12 (C) education on the legal obligation to yield the right of way and
13 exercise reasonable care in the approach of an authorized emergency
14 vehicle, as set forth in section eleven hundred forty-four of this chap-
15 ter, and penalties for noncompliance;
16 (D) education on the legal obligation to exercise due care to avoid
17 colliding with a parked, stopped or standing authorized emergency vehi-
18 cle, hazard vehicle, vehicle displaying a blue or green light or certain
19 other motor vehicles, as set forth in section eleven hundred
20 forty-four-a of this chapter, and penalties for noncompliance;
21 (E) statistics and real-life consequences of unsafe driving behavior
22 in work zones;
23 (F) strategies for safe driving behavior in the presence of work zone
24 equipment and personnel; and
25 (G) information on the photo speed violation monitoring systems in
26 highway construction or maintenance work areas and associated penalties,
27 as set forth by section eleven hundred eighty-e of this chapter.
28 [(iii)] (v) In developing such curriculum, the commissioner shall
29 consult with the commissioner of transportation, the superintendent of
30 the state police, representatives of the highway construction industry,
31 representatives of highway construction workers, highway safety offi-
32 cials, road safety experts, and any other group that the commissioner
33 [believes can contribute to] deems necessary to ensure a comprehensive
34 and current presentation of the issue.
35 (vi) Such curriculum shall be adaptable to both in-person and online
36 formats and include a certification of completion and tracking of
37 student performance.
38 (vii) The commissioner shall ensure a portion of the examination on
39 traffic laws contains at least one question relating to the driver's
40 ability to understand how to drive safely in a work zone.
41 (viii) The commissioner shall ensure that completion of the "Work Zone
42 Safety" component is documented and retained as part of the applicant's
43 licensing record.
44 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
45 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
46 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
47 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
48 on or before such effective date.
