SB347: relative to financial responsibility and conduct after an OHRV accident.

CHAPTER 54

SB 347-FN – FINAL VERSION

2004 SESSION

04-3046

10/09

SENATE BILL 347-FN

AN ACT relative to financial responsibility and conduct after an OHRV accident.

SPONSORS: Sen. Flanders, Dist 7; Sen. Odell, Dist 8; Rep. Royce, Ches 28

COMMITTEE: Transportation

ANALYSIS

This bill clarifies the law on financial responsibility and conduct after an OHRV accident and adds penalties for violations.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

04-3046

10/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Four

AN ACT relative to financial responsibility and conduct after an OHRV accident.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

54:1 OHRVs; Financial Responsibility and Conduct After an Accident; Report. Amend RSA 215-A:28, I to read as follows:

I. All provisions, including the penalties, suspensions, and prohibitions of the New Hampshire financial responsibility law, and the provisions of statutes relative to the operation of a motor vehicle, shall apply to an OHRV being operated upon a public highway.

I-a. The operator of an OHRV involved in an accident resulting in death or injury to a person or damage to property in excess of $500, or the owner of the OHRV having knowledge of the accident, should the operator be incapacitated, shall report the accident immediately to the nearest police officer or nearest police station and shall file a report of the accident with the department of fish and game and the department of safety within 5 days on forms prescribed by the department of fish and game.

54:2 Conduct After an Accident; Intoxication. Amend RSA 215-A:28, III to read as follows:

III. Any person who is the operator of an OHRV who is knowingly involved in any accident which results in death, personal injury, or damage to property, shall immediately stop such vehicle at the scene of such accident and give to the operator of any other vehicle involved in said accident, and to the person injured, or the owner of the property damaged, his or her name and address, the registration number of the vehicle, and if unable to do so, shall report the said accident to the nearest police officer or nearest police station. Voluntary intoxication shall not constitute a defense in the matter of knowledge under the provisions of this section. If [the above] this section is not complied with by the said operator, then it will be the duty of the owner of said vehicle to do so, if the vehicle was being used with [his] the owner’s permission or consent.

54:3 New Paragraph; Conduct After an Accident; Penalties. Amend RSA 215-A:28 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:

V.(a) Following an accident involving death or personal injury, any operator or owner who fails to comply with paragraphs I-a, III, or IV shall be guilty of a class B felony.

(b) Any operator or owner who provides information required by paragraphs I-a, III, or IV, knowing or having reason to know that the information is false, shall be guilty of a class B felony.

(c) Any operator or owner who fails to comply with the requirements of paragraph I-a or paragraph III following an accident involving property damage, or who otherwise violates the provisions of this section, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

54:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2005.

(Approved: May 3, 2004)

(Effective Date: January 1, 2005)