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Who cares
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Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to transportation
- Referred to transportation
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to prohibiting persons under the age of ten from being a passenger on a motorcycle
Purpose
To establish a minimum age of 10 for riding a motorcycle.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Adds a new subdivision (e) to section 1251 of the vehicle and traffic law to prohibit a person under the age of ten from being a passenger on a motorcycle. Any violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of $100.
Existing law
Currently, the law only requires that riders be able to ride a motorcycle with one leg on either side of the motorcycle.
Justification
This bill establishes a minimum age for being a passenger on a motorcycle. Currently, the law does not specify how old an individual must be to ride a motorcycle. The only requirement is that the passenger be able to ride with a leg on either side of the motorcycle.
As many studies have noted, the number of motorcycle deaths are on the rise. According to the New York Times, in 2007, for the 10th year in a row, the number of motorcycle deaths have risen 6.6%. Thus, motorcycle deaths now account for one in eight traffic fatalities. Some experts contribute the continual rise in deaths to weakened helmet laws and increased ridership from people attempting to save money on gasoline.
This bill would attempt to save young children from being involved in a motorcycle accident where they would be more susceptible to life threatening injuries. The transportation experts recommend that a child under twelve be a backseat passenger in a car because of the impact of an airbag, but we have no age limit when a child is a passenger on a motorcycle where there are no safety restraints and the only protection from injury is his or her helmet.
Legislative history
new bill
Fiscal implications
none
Effective date
immediately
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.