HOUSE BILL 641
49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009
INTRODUCED BY
Janice E. Arnold-Jones
AN ACT
RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES; ENACTING THE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ENHANCEMENT ACT; REQUIRING CERTAIN MOTOR VEHICLES TO SIMULATE THE SOUND OF A MODERN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. A new section of the Motor Vehicle Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act"."
Section 2. A new section of the Motor Vehicle Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.--
A. The legislature finds that:
(1) motor vehicles designed to provide the desirable benefits of reducing harmful pollutants and operating with greater fuel efficiency include gasoline-electric hybrid and electric-only vehicles, and in the foreseeable future may include hydrogen fuel cell and other engine designs that rely on fuels and technologies other than the gasoline-powered internal combustion engine;
(2) these motor vehicle engine designs, as well as other potential designs, operate or are likely to operate with virtually no sound being produced by the motor vehicle;
(3) the total number of hybrid vehicles sold per year in this state is growing dramatically, and although the present number of hybrid vehicles constitutes a small overall percentage of vehicles, if this rate of growth persists, the number of hybrid vehicles will someday equal or exceed the number of internal combustion engine vehicles in this state;
(4) because visually impaired pedestrians cannot locate and evaluate traffic using their vision, they must listen to traffic to discern its speed, direction and other attributes in order to travel safely and independently; and other persons, including pedestrians who are not visually impaired, bicyclists, runners and small children, benefit from multi-sensory information available from vehicle traffic, including the sound of motor vehicle engines;
(5) when operating on their electric engines, hybrid motor vehicles sold in this state cannot be heard by visually impaired persons and others, rendering those vehicles extremely dangerous when driving on the street, emerging from driveways, moving through parking lots and in other situations where pedestrians and motor vehicles come into proximity with each other;
(6) failure of this state to take immediate action to ensure that visually impaired pedestrians can hear hybrid and other silent vehicles in all phases of their operation will lead to pedestrian injuries and fatalities; and
(7) injuries and fatalities are preventable through motor vehicle designs that take into account the multi-sensory nature of traffic detection and avoidance and that require motor vehicles to emit a minimum level of sound designed to alert all pedestrians, especially visually impaired pedestrians, to the presence of those vehicles.
B. The purpose of the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act is to establish a minimum sound level standard for all phases of motor vehicle operation, which is to be applicable to every new vehicle sold in this state and licensed for use on its public streets and roadways when sold and registered after a specified date."
Section 3. A new section of the Motor Vehicle Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] TRAFFIC SAFETY BUREAU--RULES.--
A. By July 1, 2010, the bureau shall promulgate rules establishing a minimum sound standard applicable to motor vehicles subject to registration in this state.
B. The standard promulgated shall have the following characteristics:
(1) in all phases of operation, including times when a motor vehicle is at a full stop, the vehicle shall emit an omni-directional sound with similar spectral characteristics to those of a modern internal combustion engine; and
(2) the sound shall vary in a way that is consistent with the sound of motor vehicles with combustion engines that indicate that the vehicle is idling, maintaining a constant speed, accelerating or decelerating.
C. The rules need not prescribe the apparatus, technology or method to be used by motor vehicle manufacturers to achieve the required minimum sound level.
D. When determining a minimum sound level, the bureau shall:
(1) review all available research regarding the effect of traffic sounds on pedestrian safety; and
(2) consult consumer groups representing individuals who are visually impaired, other pedestrians, cyclists and advocates for the safety of children."
Section 4. A new section of the Motor Vehicle Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] REQUIRED COMPLIANCE.--No later than July 1, 2012, all new motor vehicles sold in this state subject to registration shall be in compliance with the bureau rules."
Section 5. A new section of the Motor Vehicle Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] SAFETY INSPECTION--REGISTRATION.--Beginning on July 1, 2013, a motor vehicle safety inspection required in this state for registration shall include inspection of the sound-emitting components prescribed in the bureau rule to ensure that they are functioning properly in order to provide maximum safety to pedestrians in this state. Motor vehicles that fail to meet the minimum sound standard in the rule shall not be registered in this state."
Section 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2009.
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