Bill Text: NY S03532 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Allows for the use of green lights or alternating green and amber lights on municipal vehicles being used for snow removal; relates to the operation of vehicles when approaching such a parked, stopped or standing hazard vehicle.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-06-01 - SUBSTITUTED BY A811A [S03532 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S03532-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3532--A 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 30, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KENNEDY, GALLIVAN, SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Trans- portation -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the use of green lights on municipal hazard vehicles designed for ice and snow removal and in relation to the operation of vehicles when approaching such a parked, stopped or standing hazard vehicle The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph 5 of subdivision 41 of section 375 of the vehicle 2 and traffic law, as added by chapter 197 of the laws of 1970, the open- 3 ing paragraph as amended by chapter 349 of the laws of 2004, is amended 4 to read as follows: 5 5. Green light. (a) One green light may be affixed to any motor vehi- 6 cle owned by a member of a volunteer ambulance service, or on a motor 7 vehicle owned by a member of such person's family, or by a business 8 enterprise in which such person has a proprietary interest or by which 9 he is employed, provided such member has been authorized in writing to 10 so affix a green light by the chief officer of such service as desig- 11 nated by the members thereof. Such green light may be displayed exclu- 12 sively by such member of a volunteer ambulance service only when engaged 13 in an emergency operation. The use of green lights on vehicles shall be 14 restricted for use only by a member of a volunteer ambulance service as 15 provided for in this paragraph except as otherwise provided for in 16 subparagraph c of this paragraph. 17 (b) As used in this paragraph volunteer ambulance service means: [a.] 18 (i) a non-profit membership corporation (other than a fire corporation) 19 incorporated under or subject to the provisions of the membership corpo- 20 rations law, or any other law, operating its ambulance or ambulances on 21 a non-profit basis for the convenience of the members thereof and their EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02241-03-1S. 3532--A 2 1 families or of the community or under a contract with a county, city, 2 town or village pursuant to section one hundred twenty-two-b of the 3 general municipal law; or 4 [b.] (ii) an unincorporated association of persons operating its ambu- 5 lance or ambulances on a non-profit basis for the convenience of the 6 members and their families or of the community. 7 (c)(i) In addition to the amber light authorized to be displayed 8 pursuant to paragraph three of this subdivision, one or more green 9 lights or combination green and amber lights may be affixed to a hazard 10 vehicle designed for ice and snow removal owned and operated by the 11 state or by a county, city, town or village. Such green light or lights 12 may be displayed on a hazard vehicle designed for ice and snow removal 13 owned and operated by the state or by a county, city, town or village 14 when such vehicle is engaged in a hazardous operation and is also 15 displaying the amber light or lights required to be displayed during a 16 hazardous operation pursuant to paragraph three of this subdivision. 17 Nothing contained in this subparagraph shall be deemed to authorize the 18 use of green lights on hazard vehicles designed for ice and snow removal 19 owned and operated by the state or by a county, city, town or village 20 unless such hazard vehicles also display one or more amber lights as 21 otherwise authorized in this subdivision. 22 (ii) The commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regu- 23 lations relating to the use, placement, power and display of green 24 lights on a hazard vehicle designed for ice and snow removal owned and 25 operated by the state or by a county, city, town or village. 26 § 2. Subdivision (b) of section 1144-a of the vehicle and traffic law, 27 as amended by section 3 of part C of chapter 58 of the laws of 2020, is 28 amended to read as follows: 29 (b) Every operator of a motor vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid 30 colliding with a hazard vehicle which is parked, stopped or standing on 31 the shoulder or on any portion of such highway and such hazard vehicle 32 is displaying one or more amber lights pursuant to the provisions of 33 paragraph three of subdivision forty-one of section three hundred seven- 34 ty-five of this chapter or, if such hazard vehicle is designed for the 35 towing or pushing of disabled vehicles such hazard vehicle is displaying 36 one or more amber lights or one or more blue or combination blue and 37 amber lights pursuant to the provisions of paragraph three or subpara- 38 graph b-1 of paragraph four, as applicable, of subdivision forty-one of 39 section three hundred seventy-five of this chapter or, if such hazard 40 vehicle owned and operated by the state or by a county, city, town or 41 village is designed for the removal of ice and snow such hazard vehicle 42 is displaying one or more amber lights or one or more green or combina- 43 tion green and amber lights pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 44 three or subparagraph (c) of paragraph five, as applicable, of subdivi- 45 sion forty-one of section three hundred seventy-five of this chapter. 46 For operators of motor vehicles on parkways or controlled access high- 47 ways, such due care shall include, but not be limited to, moving from a 48 lane which contains or is immediately adjacent to the shoulder where (i) 49 such hazard vehicle displaying one or more amber lights pursuant to the 50 provisions of paragraph three of subdivision forty-one of section three 51 hundred seventy-five of this chapter or (ii) such hazard vehicle 52 designed for the towing or pushing of disabled vehicles displaying one 53 or more amber lights or one or more blue or combination blue and amber 54 lights pursuant to the provisions of paragraph three or subparagraph b-1 55 of paragraph four, as applicable, of subdivision forty-one of section 56 three hundred seventy-five of this chapter or (iii) such hazard vehicleS. 3532--A 3 1 owned and operated by the state or by a county, city, town or village is 2 displaying one or more amber lights or one or more green or combination 3 green and amber lights pursuant to the provisions of paragraph three or 4 subparagraph (c) of paragraph five, as applicable, of subdivision 5 forty-one of section three hundred seventy-five of this chapter, is 6 parked, stopped or standing to another lane, provided that such movement 7 otherwise complies with the requirements of this chapter including, but 8 not limited to, the provisions of sections eleven hundred ten and eleven 9 hundred twenty-eight of this title. 10 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 11 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 12 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 13 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 14 on or before such effective date.
