Senator David Carlucci & Senate Majority Pass Bills To Make Roadways & Waterways Safer in NYS

(Albany, NY) - Senator David Carlucci (D-Rockland/Westchester) with the Senate Majority passed legislation to make New York’s roads and waterways safer. The package of bills includes legislation to allow the use of stop-arm cameras on school buses to capture driver’s breaking the law and bills requiring all backseat passengers wear a seatbelt and all boaters take a safety course.

“These transportation safety bills will save lives,” said Senator David Carlucci. In New York, we expect safe roadways and waterways. These bills will help bring our current laws into the 21st century and prevent future tragedies.”

The  series of bills passed by Senator Carlucci and the Senate Majority include:

• Automobile Safety (S.4336) - introduced by Senator David Carlucci, will require adult passengers in the backseat of motor vehicles to wear a seatbelt.
• Stop-Arm Cameras (S.4524-B) - increases pedestrian safety by allowing cameras to impose liability on owners of motor vehicles for overtaking and passing school buses.
• Bus Driver Hiring Accountability (S.3557) - increases penalties for bus companies that fail to notify the Department of Motor Vehicles when the bus company employs a driver with a felony conviction related to use of a motor vehicle, an impaired driving-related conviction, reckless driving, or leaving the scene of an incident.
• Strengthening Complete Streets (S.1549-A) - incorporates “complete street” design features in resurfacing, maintenance, and pavement recycling projects, and further enables safer access to public roads for all users.
• Enacts Brianna’s Law (S.5685) - requires the operators of mechanically propelled vessels to complete a boating safety course. Right now, the requirement only applies to persons born on or after May 1, 1996.
• Display of Bus Driver Credentials (S.3450-B) - requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue new credentials to individuals qualified to drive a bus under Article 19A of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, and requires these drivers and the bus companies to display the credentials while on duty and display proof of valid inspection.
• Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety Education (S.5228-A) - requires new drivers to learn about pedestrian and bicyclist safety as a component of the pre-licensing exam and requires it to be a part of pre-licensing education.
• Standards for Protective Coatings (S.2773) - requires the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the New York City Transit Authority to implement internationally recognized safety standards pertaining to applying and removing coasting from bridges, trestles, and elevated subway and railway tracks and stations. 
• Includes School Bus Safety on Drivers’ Education Curriculum (S.2960-A) - ensures that drivers have a greater awareness of the law, prohibiting overtaking and passing a stopped school bus.
• Commercial GPS for Charter Buses (S.2978) - ensures that charter buses use the commercial global positioning system (GPS) navigation while operating in New York to avoid potential overhead strikes on parkways and other low-hanging overpasses.