Authorizes local authorities to establish owner liability for failure of an operator of a motor vehicle to obey a signal indicating the approach of a train

Section two amends the vehicle and traffic law by adding a new section 1170-a to establish a demonstration program imposing monetary liability on the owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator to comply with section eleven hundred seventy of this article regarding obedience to signal indicating approach of train. The liability of the owner shall not exceed one hundred dollars for each violation; however, the adjudicating authority may provide for an additional penalty not in excess of twenty five dollars for each violation for the failure to respond to a notice of liability within the prescribed period of time

The demonstration program will utilize necessary technologies to ensure that photographs produced by such railroad grade crossing photo violation-monitoring systems shall not include images that identify the driver, the passengers or the contents of the vehicle. However, a notice of liability will not be dismissed solely because a photograph(s) allows for the identification of the contents of a vehicle.

Furthermore, notices of liability are not deemed a conviction as an operator, so they would result in no points on the owner's driver license, nor are they used for motor vehicle insurance purposes. The bill specifies the procedure required to provide notices of liability to the owner of the vehicle, as well as the required information contained on the notices. It shall be a defense to liability that the vehicle was reported to police as stolen prior to the time the violation occurred, and that the railroad signal indications were malfunctioning at the time of the alleged violation.

Additionally, any local authority which adopts a demonstration program must submit an annual report on the result of the use of a railroad grade crossing photo violation-monitoring system to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly on or before June 1, 2018, and on the same date in each succeeding year the program is operable. The report must include, but is not limited to, the following: a description of the locations where railroad grade crossing photo violation-monitoring systems were used; the number, type and severity of accidents reported at intersections where a railroad grade crossing photo violation-monitoring system is used for the year preceding the installation of the system; the number, type and severity of accidents reported at the intersections where a railroad grade crossing photo violation-monitoring system is used; the number of violations recorded at each intersection where a railroad grade crossing photo violation-monitoring system is used and in the aggregate on a daily, weekly and monthly basis; the total number of notices of liability issued for violations recorded by the system; the number of fines and total amount of fines paid after first notice of liability issued for violations recorded by such system; the number of violations adjudicated and result of such adjudications including breakdowns of dispositions made for violations recorded by such systems; the total amount of revenue realized by such local authority from such adjudications; expenses incurred by such local authority in connection with the program; and quality of the adjudication process and its results.

Section three amends the public officers law to state that the photographs, microphotographs, videotapes or other recorded images prepared by the railroad grade crossing photo violation-monitoring system may not be subject to FOIL requests.

Justification

According to Federal Railroad Administration data, accidents at railroad grade crossings have decreased over the past decade, except within the borders of the Empire State. Federal data documents that from 2004-2014 there have been 371 collisions resulting in 63 deaths and 137 injuries. In 2013 alone there were a total of 28 accidents on the state's three most prominent commuter rail lines. It has become increasingly apparent that there is a substantial need for increased safety measures at railroad grade crossings in the state.

In February of 2015, a northbound Metro-North Railroad passenger train collided with a sports utility vehicle which had stopped on the tracks. This tragic accident resulted in the deaths of five passengers and the driver of the vehicle. The presence of warning devices such as flashing lights, signs and gates have helped to reduce the number of catastrophes such as the February crash, but have failed to adequately deter drivers from failing to adhere to these crucial safety measures.

Additionally, on May 4, 2015, a school bus at Roaring Brook Road railroad crossing in Westchester County stopped only inches from the tracks leaving just enough clearance from the passing train to avoid an accident; however, the driver failed to leave enough room for the lowering gate causing the bus to become trapped. Since March 2014, there were thirty-eight tickets issued at this specific crossing for driving violations. These near miss situations bring much needed attention to the fact that aggressive or distracted drivers are failing to comply with safety laws at railroad grade crossings.

This piece of legislation would aid in the effort to decrease the incidences of vehicular accidents at railroad grade crossings by providing a mechanism, at the local authorities option, to deter driving violations which result in these horrific and costly collisions. Utilizing the same technology as red light cameras, railroad grade crossing violation-monitoring systems will fine drivers who fail to adhere to safety signals indicating an approaching train. This will incentivize drivers to pay particular attention to signs indicating appropriate stopping distances from railroad crossings and thereby prevent serious and deadly accidents.

Legislative history

New bill 2015: Passed Senate (63-0)

Fiscal implications

None to the state

Effective date

Immediately.