Thanks to Senators Sosnowski, Tassoni, Lanzi, and Lynch a version of the vulnerable roadway users bill has also been introduced in the Senate (S0669). This bill has been referred to senate judiciary, but does not yet have a hearing scheduled.
In particular, it states:
any person, while operating a motor vehicle on a street or highway, who fails to exercise due care to avoid colliding with a vulnerable road user causing physical injury or death to the vulnerable road user shall be guilty of an offense pursuant to this section and shall be sentenced in addition to any other applicable criminal or civil statute as follows:
- To complete a traffic safety training session to be determined by the sentencing judge;
- To perform not less than ten (10) and not more than two hundred (200) hours of community service;
- A suspension of his or her motor vehicle operator’s license for a period of more than one year; and
- A fine of not less than eighty-five dollars ($85.00) and not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000).
There doesn’t appear to be an escape clause and yet it provides a range of punishments, leaving it up to a court to decide what is applicable for this particular situation.
We will post an update when a hearing date is set.