Requires motorists to exercise care to avoid colliding with any domestic or companion animal; increases fines and penalties for causing such injury and for leaving the scene of injury to certain animals without reporting.
Summary
A03616 would expand New York’s driver “due care” law to expressly require motorists to avoid colliding not only with bicyclists and pedestrians, but also with domestic animals and companion animals on roadways. It would make it a traffic infraction to cause physical injury to a pedestrian, bicyclist, domestic animal, or companion animal while failing to exercise due care, and would similarly penalize causing serious physical injury to a pedestrian, bicyclist, or companion animal under the same circumstances. The bill also creates rebuttable presumptions that a driver who injures one of these protected parties while failing to use due care caused the injury through that failure.
Impact
The bill would amend sections 1146 and 601 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law. It broadens the class of roadway users and animals protected by the due-care requirement, adds or increases penalties for injury-causing violations, and raises fines for leaving the scene after striking and injuring certain animals, including horses, dogs, cats, cattle, and guide, hearing, or service dogs. It also updates reporting obligations for drivers involved in such incidents, including disclosure and proof-of-insurance requirements for transportation network company drivers and peer-to-peer car sharing participants. If enacted, it would increase enforcement exposure for motorists and strengthen legal protections for animal owners and handlers.
Sentiment
The bill appears generally supportive of animal welfare and roadway safety, with no recorded committee transcript or vote history indicating opposition or debate in the provided materials. Its framing suggests a policy goal of treating harm to companion and domestic animals more seriously and aligning animal protections more closely with existing pedestrian and bicyclist protections. The absence of recorded votes or transcripts limits the ability to assess broader legislative sentiment, but the introduced caption and text indicate a favorable posture toward stronger penalties and duties for drivers.
Contention
The main potential points of contention are the expansion of driver liability to include companion and domestic animals, the increased fines and possible imprisonment, and the rebuttable presumptions that may make enforcement easier for prosecutors or regulators. Some stakeholders may view the bill as an important animal-protection measure, while others may question whether roadway due-care rules should be extended beyond human victims or whether the penalties are proportionate. The bill also adds reporting and insurance-disclosure obligations for TNC and shared-vehicle operators, which could raise concerns from rideshare and car-sharing interests about compliance burdens.
Same As
Requires motorists to exercise care to avoid colliding with any domestic or companion animal; increases fines and penalties for causing such injury and for leaving the scene of injury to certain animals without reporting.