Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

NY Senate Passes Bill Protecting Bus Drivers Who Fatally Strike Pedestrians

 MTA buses and the flier handed out by TWU on June 16. A bill that protects city bus drivers who fatally strike pedestrians and bicyclists from immediate arrest as long as they are sober and licensed sped through the State Senate Tuesday less than two weeks the protest.
MTA buses and the flier handed out by TWU on June 16. A bill that protects city bus drivers who fatally strike pedestrians and bicyclists from immediate arrest as long as they are sober and licensed sped through the State Senate Tuesday less than two weeks the protest.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo and TWU Local 100

NEW YORK — A bill that protects city bus drivers who fatally strike pedestrians and bicyclists from immediate arrest as long as they are sober and licensed sped through the State Senate Tuesday less than two weeks after it was introduced.

It also states that law enforcement officers should give the bus driver a desk appearance ticket. 

The bill is aimed at commercial bus drivers, which includes MTA bus drivers, taxis and livery drivers, according to reports.

If passed by the State Assembly, it would alter the current "Right of Way" law that states that if a pedestrian or bicyclist who has the right of way is struck by a bus driver, the driver might be arrested as well as subject to a $250 fine and 30 days in jail.

Last March, officials said that more than a quarter of the 22 motorists arrested under the Vision Zero law were MTA bus drivers. 

TWU Local 100, which represents approximately 38,000 transportation workers, applauded the bill's passage.

The union recently staged a protest slowing down traffic in upper Manhattan and parts of The Bronx to push for this bill.  

On June 16, the group handed out fliers to MTA bus drivers that showed Mayor Bill de Blasio sporting a "Mr. Progressive" banner and handcuffing an MTA driver in front of a bus that read "Not in service." "Do not cross unless the intersection is clear!" the flier read.  

"The senate bill doesn’t weaken pedestrian protections," TWU spokesman Pete Donohue wrote in an email.

"A bus operator can be charged with the same misdemeanor and face the same penalties of fines and jail," he wrote. 

But some transit advocates strongly oppose the bill and Transportation Alternatives launched an online petition to stop assembly members from voting on it.  

The MTA declined to comment. 

The Mayor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.