Bill Text: NY A07243 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Imposes strict liability on manufacturers, owners, and operators of unmanned motor vehicles.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to transportation [A07243 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A07243-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7243
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     April 12, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. ABINANTI -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Transportation
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to imposing
          strict liability on manufacturers, owners, and operators  of  unmanned
          motor vehicles
          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 389 to read as follows:
     3    §  389.  Strict  liability for manufacturers, owners, and operators of
     4  unmanned motor vehicles. 1. Every manufacturer, owner, and  operator  of
     5  unmanned  motor  vehicles  used  or operated in this state shall be held
     6  strictly liable and responsible for death or injuries to person or prop-
     7  erty resulting from the use or operation of such vehicle in this  state,
     8  in the business of such owner or otherwise, by any person using or oper-
     9  ating  the  same with the permission, express or implied, of such owner.
    10  Whenever any unmanned motor vehicles shall be used in  combination  with
    11  one another, by attachment or tow, the person using or operating any one
    12  vehicle  shall,  for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be using
    13  or operating each vehicle in the combination,  and  the  owners  thereof
    14  shall be jointly and severally liable hereunder.
    15    2.  As  used  in this section, "unmanned motor vehicle" means a "motor
    16  vehicle", as defined in section one hundred twenty-five of this chapter,
    17  except fire and police vehicles, "semitrailer" and "trailer" as  defined
    18  in  article one of this chapter, and all flying vehicles, whether or not
    19  such vehicles are used or operated upon a public highway, that does  not
    20  carry a human operator.
    21    3. As used in this section, "owner" shall be as defined in section one
    22  hundred  twenty-eight  of  this  chapter  and their liability under this
    23  section shall be joint and  several.  If  a  vehicle  is  sold  under  a
    24  contract  of  sale  which reserves a security interest in the vehicle in
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07040-02-7
        A. 7243                             2
     1  favor of the vendor, such vendor or his assignee shall not, after deliv-
     2  ery of such vehicle, be deemed an owner within the  provisions  of  this
     3  section,  but the vendee, or his assignee, receiving possession thereof,
     4  shall  be  deemed such owner notwithstanding the terms of such contract,
     5  until the vendor or his assignee shall retake possession of  such  vehi-
     6  cle.  A secured party in whose favor there is a security interest in any
     7  vehicle out of his possession, shall not be deemed an owner  within  the
     8  provisions of this section.
     9    4.  As  used  in  this section, "manufacturer" shall be defined as any
    10  person or business entity engaged in manufacturing or producing unmanned
    11  motor vehicles.
    12    5. As used in this section, "operator" shall be defined as any  person
    13  who has control over the unmanned motor vehicle.
    14    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    15  it shall have become a law.