Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VICTORIA A. FLYNN
District 13 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Imposes penalties on driver who willfully disables and floods motor vehicle during storm-related flooding.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning disabled motor vehicles during storm-related flooding and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. During an instance of storm-related flooding, a person shall not operate a motor vehicle on a roadway of this State in a manner as to willfully cause the vehicle to become disabled and flooded, by driving on or along a roadway where an official traffic control device warning of flooding is displayed.
b. Any person who violates subsection a. of this section shall be subject to a fine of not less than $2,000, in addition to any other penalties that may be imposed under law.
c. Subsections a. and b. of this section shall not apply to a first responder whose motor vehicle is operated while in the actual performance of the first responder’s official duties.
d. Subsection b. of this section shall not apply if, at the time and place of an alleged violation, an official traffic control device warning of flooding was not in a proper position and sufficiently legible to be seen by an ordinarily observant person.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits a person from operating a motor vehicle on a roadway during instances of storm-related flooding in a manner that willfully causes the vehicle to become disabled and flooded, by driving on or along a roadway where an official traffic control device warning of flooding is displayed.
A person who violates the provisions of the bill is subject to a fine of not less than $2,000 in addition to any other penalties that may be imposed under the law. The provisions of this bill do not apply if the official traffic control device warning of flooding was not properly positioned and sufficiently legible or if a first responder’s motor vehicle is disabled and flooded while in the actual performance of the first responder’s official duties.