STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5694
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 13, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. LIU -- 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 prohibiting
the use of head-mounted portable electronic devices while driving
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 2 and subdivision 4
2 of section 1225-d of the vehicle and traffic law, paragraphs (a) and (b)
3 of subdivision 2 as amended by section 8 and subdivision 4 as amended by
4 section 10 of part C of chapter 58 of the laws of 2013, are amended to
5 read as follows:
6 (a) "Portable electronic device" shall mean any hand-held or head-
7 mounted mobile telephone, as defined by subdivision one of section
8 twelve hundred twenty-five-c of this article, personal digital assistant
9 (PDA), handheld device with mobile data access, laptop computer, pager,
10 broadband personal communication device, two-way messaging device, elec-
11 tronic game, [or] portable computing device, or any other electronic
12 device when used to input, write, send, receive, or read text for pres-
13 ent or future communication.
14 (b) "Using" shall mean holding or wearing a portable electronic device
15 while viewing, taking or transmitting images, playing games, or, for the
16 purpose of present or future communication: performing a command or
17 request to access a world wide web page, composing, sending, reading,
18 viewing, accessing, browsing, transmitting, saving or retrieving e-mail,
19 text messages, instant messages, or other electronic data.
20 4. A person who holds or wears a portable electronic device in a
21 conspicuous manner while operating a motor vehicle or while operating a
22 commercial motor vehicle on a public highway including while temporarily
23 stationary because of traffic, a traffic control device, or other momen-
24 tary delays but not including when such commercial motor vehicle is
25 stopped at the side of, or off, a public highway in a location where
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06698-01-9
S. 5694 2
1 such vehicle is not otherwise prohibited from stopping by law, rule,
2 regulation or any lawful order or direction of a police officer is
3 presumed to be using such device, except that a person operating a
4 commercial motor vehicle while using a portable electronic device when
5 such vehicle is stopped at the side of, or off, a public highway in a
6 location where such vehicle is not otherwise prohibited from stopping by
7 law, rule, regulation or any lawful order or direction of a police offi-
8 cer shall not be presumed to be using such device. The presumption
9 established by this subdivision is rebuttable by evidence tending to
10 show that the operator was not using the device within the meaning of
11 this section.
12 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 1225-d of the vehicle and traffic law is
13 amended by adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows:
14 (e) "Head-mounted" shall mean wearing a portable electronic device on
15 the head, ears and nose as eyeglasses or eyewear. Common head-mounted
16 portable electronic devices shall include, but not be limited to, Google
17 Glass and Google Glasses, and other similar technologies or devices.
18 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
19 have become a law.
