PRINTER'S NO. 3008
No. 2169 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY McGILL, BUNT, CALTAGIRONE, FABRIZIO, GEIST,
HENNESSEY, READSHAW, SHAPIRO, E. Z. TAYLOR AND YOUNGBLOOD,
NOVEMBER 1, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, NOVEMBER 1, 2005
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
2 Statutes, defining "governmental incident responder,"
3 "incident," "incident area," "incident clearance,"
4 "responder" and "response personnel"; further providing for
5 accidents involving damage to attended vehicle or property;
6 providing for vehicles involved in accidents and spilled
7 cargo on freeway or limited access highway, for immediate
8 custody and removal of vehicle constituting hazard, for road
9 user duties approaching incidents, for avoidance of lane
10 blockage and expedited removal of vehicles and for liability
11 for authorized incident clearance functions; and establishing
12 the Incident Management Committee and providing for its
13 composition and duties.
14 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
15 Incident management involves the rapid application of traffic
16 control measures in areas affected by an incident. Incident
17 management authority authorized by this act commences whenever a
18 responder arrives at an incident area. The primary purposes of
19 temporary traffic control at an incident area are maintenance of
20 incident area safety and security, including:
21 (1) Protection of responders to an incident site.
22 (2) Protection of roadway users and others at an
23 incident area.
1 (3) Movement of road users safely past, around or away
2 from the incident area.
3 (4) Reduction of the likelihood of secondary crashes.
4 (5) Expeditious clearance of the roadway.
5 (6) Protection of vehicles and cargo at the incident
6 area.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Section 102 of Title 75 of the Pennsylvania
10 Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding definitions to read:
11 § 102. Definitions.
12 Subject to additional definitions contained in subsequent
13 provisions of this title which are applicable to specific
14 provisions of this title, the following words and phrases when
15 used in this title shall have, unless the context clearly
16 indicates otherwise, the meanings given to them in this section:
17 * * *
18 "Governmental incident responder." Any governmental agency
19 or its designated representatives with authority to provide
20 services at an incident, including, but not limited to, law
21 enforcement, fire department, emergency medical services,
22 hazardous materials and transportation agency personnel.
23 * * *
24 "Incident." An emergency road user occurrence, a natural
25 disaster or other special event.
26 "Incident area." An area of a highway where authorized
27 officials impose a temporary traffic control zone in response to
28 an incident.
29 "Incident clearance." The process of highway crash clearance
30 and the removing of wreckage, debris or any other matter that
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1 disrupts the normal flow of traffic and restoring the roadway
2 capacity to its preincident condition. The term includes
3 temporary repair to infrastructure.
4 * * *
5 "Responder." Any law enforcement, fire department, emergency
6 medical services, hazardous materials, highway or
7 transportation, towing and recovery or other entity authorized
8 by law, governmental regulation or local practice to respond to
9 an incident.
10 "Response personnel." Includes law enforcement, fire
11 department, emergency medical services, towing and recovery and
12 other personnel authorized by law or local practice to respond
13 to an incident.
14 * * *
15 Section 2. Section 3743 of Title 75 is amended to read:
16 § 3743. Accidents involving damage to attended vehicle or
17 property.
18 (a) General rule.--
19 (1) The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident
20 resulting only in damage to a vehicle or other property which
21 is driven or attended by any person shall immediately stop
22 the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close thereto
23 as possible but shall forthwith return to and in every event
24 shall remain at the scene of the accident until he has
25 fulfilled the requirements of section 3744 (relating to duty
26 to give information and render aid). Every stop shall be made
27 without obstructing traffic more than is necessary.
28 (2) The driver shall remove the vehicle from the
29 immediate confines of the roadway into a safe refuge on the
30 shoulder, emergency lane or median or to a place otherwise
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1 removed from the roadway whenever, in the judgment of the
2 driver, such moving of a vehicle may be done safely and the
3 vehicle is capable of being normally and safely driven, does
4 not require towing and may be operated under its own power in
5 its customary manner without further damage or hazard to
6 itself, to the traffic elements or to the roadway.
7 (b) Penalty.--Any person violating [this section] subsection
8 (a)(1) commits a misdemeanor of the third degree, punishable by
9 a fine of $2,500 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or
10 both. Any person violating subsection (a)(2) commits a summary
11 offense, punishable by a fine of $50.
12 Section 3. Title 75 is amended by adding sections to read:
13 § 3743.2. Vehicles involved in accidents and spilled cargo on
14 freeway or limited access highway.
15 (a) Policy statement.--The removal of vehicle collision
16 debris and cargo for the purpose of opening traffic lanes is a
17 higher priority than attempting to salvage portions of the
18 cargo.
19 (b) Applicability.--Notwithstanding any provision of law to
20 the contrary, this section applies to any vehicle traffic
21 accident which occurs on a freeway or limited access highway in
22 this Commonwealth.
23 (c) Removal of vehicle and cargo.--Immediately following an
24 accident, a police officer may remove or direct removal of any
25 vehicle involved in the accident and any spilled cargo from any
26 roadway to a location off the roadway where the vehicle or
27 spilled cargo does not interfere with or obstruct traffic.
28 (d) Salvage operations.--Salvage operations when possible
29 should be scheduled during nonpeak hours of travel.
30 (e) Storage of cargo.--When in the opinion of a police
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1 officer it is necessary to protect the contents, load or spilled
2 cargo of a wrecked vehicle from the elements, spoilage or theft,
3 the police officer may remove or direct the removal of the
4 contents, load or spilled cargo and have the same stored, at the
5 expense of the owner, at the nearest practical place of storage.
6 (f) Liability for damage or loss.--In carrying out the
7 provisions of this section, no liability shall attach to the
8 police officer or, absent a showing of gross negligence, to any
9 person acting under the direction of a police officer for damage
10 to any vehicle or damage to or loss of any portion of the
11 contents, load or spilled cargo.
12 § 3745.2. Immediate custody and removal of vehicle constituting
13 hazard.
14 (a) General rule.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
15 law to the contrary, a police officer may immediately take
16 custody of a vehicle that is disabled, parked or left standing
17 unattended on a road or highway right-of-way and that is in such
18 a location as to constitute a hazard or obstruction to motor
19 vehicle traffic using the road or highway.
20 (b) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "hazard
21 or obstruction":
22 (1) Includes, but is not limited to:
23 (i) Any vehicle that is parked so that any part of
24 the vehicle extends within the paved portion of the
25 travel lane.
26 (ii) Any vehicle that is parked so that any part of
27 the vehicle extends within the highway shoulder or
28 bicycle lane of:
29 (A) A freeway within the limits of any county of
30 the first, second or third class in this Commonwealth
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1 during the hours of 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6
2 p.m.
3 (B) A freeway within 1,000 feet of the area
4 where a freeway exit or entrance ramp meets the
5 freeway.
6 (C) A highway during or into the period between
7 sunset and sunrise if the vehicle presents a clear
8 danger.
9 (2) Does not include parking in a designated parking
10 area along any highway or, except as described in paragraph
11 (1), parking temporarily on the shoulder of the highway as
12 indicated by a short passage of time and by the operation of
13 the hazard lights of the vehicle, the raised hood of the
14 vehicle or advance warning with emergency flares or emergency
15 signs.
16 § 3758. Road user duties approaching incidents.
17 (a) General rule.--When in or approaching an incident area,
18 a driver shall maintain a speed no greater than is reasonable
19 and prudent under the conditions, including actual and potential
20 hazards then existing.
21 (b) Direction by official or traffic control device.--When
22 in or approaching an incident area, a driver shall obey the
23 directions of any authorized official directing traffic and all
24 applicable traffic control devices.
25 (c) Speed.--Except for emergency vehicles, when in or
26 approaching an incident area, a driver shall reduce speed and
27 vacate any lane wholly or partially blocked.
28 (d) Penalty.--If a violation of this section results in a
29 serious injury or death to another person, in addition to any
30 other penalty imposed by law, the violator's driver's license
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1 shall be suspended for a period of at least 180 days and not
2 more than two years.
3 § 3759. Avoidance of lane blockage and expedited removal of
4 vehicles.
5 (a) General rule.--No person shall stop or park a vehicle in
6 such manner as to impede or render dangerous the use of the
7 roadway by others, except to avoid collision, at the direction
8 of an authorized official, or in the case of a crash or
9 mechanical breakdown.
10 (b) Emergency flashing lights.--In the event of a crash or
11 mechanical breakdown, the emergency flashing lights of a vehicle
12 shall be activated if the vehicle is equipped with such lights
13 and such lights are in working order.
14 (c) Driver.--If a vehicle stopped in the roadway is movable
15 and its driver is capable of moving it, the driver shall
16 immediately move the vehicle to the shoulder or to a designated
17 area off the highway.
18 (d) Responder.--A responder to an incident may move a
19 vehicle remaining on the roadway or require the driver or other
20 person in charge of the vehicle to move it to the shoulder or to
21 a designated area off the highway.
22 (e) Police officer.--A police officer may order the removal
23 of any vehicle remaining on the highway at the owner's expense.
24 The vehicle's location shall be reported to the nearest law
25 enforcement agency as soon as practicable.
26 § 3760. Liability for authorized incident clearance functions.
27 (a) General rule.--Governmental incident responders are
28 authorized to exercise the incident clearance functions
29 enumerated in this section. If the functions are exercised with
30 reasonable care and at the direction of a police officer, the
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1 governmental incident responders and their designated
2 representatives are not liable on any cause of action arising
3 out of or based upon actions taken pursuant to incident
4 clearance, including:
5 (1) Incident detection and verification.
6 (2) Incident area security and protection.
7 (3) Rescue of persons from vehicles and hazardous
8 environments.
9 (4) Emergency medical transportation and care.
10 (5) Hazardous materials response and containment.
11 (6) Fire suppression and elimination.
12 (7) Transportation of vehicle occupants.
13 (8) Traffic direction and management and establishment
14 and operation of alternate routes, including, but not limited
15 to, traffic detours and/or diversion.
16 (9) Crash investigation.
17 (10) Dissemination of traveler information.
18 (11) Incident clearance, including removal of debris,
19 coordination of clearance and repair resources and temporary
20 roadway repair and facilities restoration.
21 (12) Removal of vehicles and cargo.
22 (13) Any other action reasonably necessary.
23 (b) Towing and recovery.--When directed by a police officer,
24 towing and recovery providers are authorized to perform the
25 following enumerated functions and any other actions reasonably
26 necessary to perform those enumerated functions:
27 (1) Removal of vehicles from the incident area.
28 (2) Protection of property and vehicles.
29 (3) Removal of debris from the roadway.
30 (4) Transportation of persons or cargo.
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1 § 7313. Incident Management Committee.
2 (a) Declaration of policy.--The General Assembly finds and
3 declares as follows:
4 (1) In order to reduce incident management response
5 time, highway, public safety and other agencies must plan for
6 effective management of temporary traffic control in incident
7 areas.
8 (2) Effective incident management is the planned and
9 coordinated multiagency program to detect and remove
10 incidents and to restore traffic capacity as quickly and
11 safely as possible.
12 (3) The major partners in an incident management program
13 are State and local transportation agencies, State and local
14 law enforcement agencies, firefighting departments, emergency
15 medical services and the towing and recovery industry.
16 (4) Groups such as environmental and public health
17 agencies also may be involved in incident management,
18 depending on the nature of the incident.
19 (5) Current and accurate traveler information is an
20 important element of an incident management program.
21 (6) It is the policy of the Commonwealth to clear
22 highways of damaged vehicles, spilled cargo and debris as
23 soon as it is safe to do so.
24 (7) It is understood that damage to vehicles or cargo
25 may result from clearing the roadway on an urgent basis.
26 (8) While reasonable attempts to avoid damage shall be
27 taken, the highest priority of incident management is
28 restoring traffic to normal conditions.
29 (b) Committee established.--There is hereby established an
30 Incident Management Committee to maintain and enhance the
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1 effectiveness of managed resources involved in responses to
2 incidents and as deemed necessary to recommend operational rules
3 or guidelines for mitigating the impacts of incidents. The
4 committee shall develop an interagency memorandum of
5 understanding to facilitate joint efforts to alleviate the
6 growing problems associated with incidents on this
7 Commonwealth's highways by emphasizing urgent and safe clearance
8 of highway incidents.
9 (c) Composition.--The committee is comprised of, but is not
10 limited to, one or more representatives of the following
11 appointed by the secretary:
12 (1) The department.
13 (2) The Pennsylvania State Police and one local police
14 department representing each of this Commonwealth's planning
15 regions.
16 (3) The Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner.
17 (4) One fire department representing each of this
18 Commonwealth's planning regions.
19 (5) One emergency medical services agency representing
20 each of this Commonwealth's planning regions.
21 (6) The Department of Environmental Protection.
22 (7) The towing and recovery industry.
23 (8) A hazardous material response team.
24 (9) The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.
25 (10) The Director of Homeland Security.
26 (d) Guidelines.--The committee shall establish guidelines to
27 facilitate the proper guidance and control of road users through
28 an incident area. The guidelines shall include, but are not
29 limited to:
30 (1) Recommendations relating to the proper guidance and
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1 control of road users through an incident area.
2 (2) If redirection of the road users' normal path is
3 required, when temporary traffic control devices should be
4 used to direct vehicles from the normal path to a new path.
5 (3) The removal of temporary traffic control devices as
6 soon as practical when the incident has been resolved.
7 (4) When highway-rail grade crossings exist either
8 within or in the vicinity of an incident, lane restrictions
9 or other measures to be taken to avoid conditions where
10 vehicles may be forced to stop on railroad tracks. If queuing
11 of vehicles across the tracks cannot be avoided, a law
12 enforcement officer or other authorized official should be
13 provided at the crossing to prevent vehicles from stopping on
14 the tracks, even if automatic warning devices are in place.
15 (5) If an incident requires establishment of a traffic
16 diversion or detour, when large trucks and vehicles carrying
17 hazardous cargo should follow a different route from other
18 vehicles or park at a designated area off the highway until
19 the roadway is open, until an escort is provided or until the
20 incident commander otherwise directs.
21 (e) Costs and expenses.--Expenses and costs associated with
22 the committee shall be the responsibility of the department.
23 (f) Report.--The committee shall submit a report with its
24 findings and recommendations to the Transportation Committee of
25 the Senate and the Transportation Committee of the House of
26 Representatives within ten months of the effective date of this
27 section.
28 (g) Expiration.--This section shall expire one year
29 following the effective date of this section.
30 (h) Definition.--As used in this section, the term
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1 "committee" means the Incident Management Committee established
2 in this section.
3 Section 4. This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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