A 9268: Requires instruction on work zone safety awareness as part of the pre-licensing course; establishes curriculum for the work zone safety component.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9268 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY November 21, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. STECK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring instruction on work zone safety awareness as part of the pre-licensing course The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (c-2) of subdivision 4 of section 502 of the 2 vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter 585 of the laws of 2002, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 (c-2) "Work Zone Safety" awareness component. (i) The commissioner 5 shall provide in the pre-licensing course, set forth in paragraph (b) of 6 this subdivision, a mandatory component in "Work Zone Safety" awareness 7 education, totaling no less than thirty minutes, as a prerequisite for 8 obtaining a license to operate a motor vehicle. 9 (ii) The purpose of the component is to educate prospective licensees 10 on: 11 (A) the potential dangers to construction workers, construction equip- 12 ment operators and operators of motor vehicles in a highway work 13 zone[.]; 14 (B) the legal obligation to yield the right of way and exercise 15 reasonable care in the approach of an authorized emergency vehicle, as 16 set forth in section eleven hundred forty-four of this chapter; 17 (C) the legal obligation to exercise due care to avoid colliding with 18 a parked, stopped or standing authorized emergency vehicle, hazard vehi- 19 cle, vehicle displaying a blue or green light or certain other motor 20 vehicles, as set forth in section eleven hundred forty-four-a of this 21 chapter; and 22 (D) the consequences of violations, including those captured by auto- 23 mated work zone speed enforcement systems. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD14081-01-5 
 A. 9268 2 1 (iii) For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "work zone" shall 2 include "work area" as defined by section one hundred [sixty] sixty-one 3 of this chapter, and "restricted highway" as authorized in section 4 sixteen hundred twenty-five of this chapter. 5 [(ii)] (iv) The commissioner shall establish a curriculum for the 6 "Work Zone Safety" component which shall include but not be limited to: 7 (A) instruction [describing the potential hazards of driving through a 8 work zone, whether or not work, maintenance or other related 9 construction is being undertaken therein, and information on the 10 provisions of law relating to driving within a work zone and sanctions 11 for violations of such provisions, including speeding in a work zone] on 12 the identification and navigation of highway construction and mainte- 13 nance zones; 14 (B) education topics, including, but not limited to, signage, flagging 15 operations, barriers, lane shifts, and variable speed limits; 16 (C) education on the legal obligation to yield the right of way and 17 exercise reasonable care in the approach of an authorized emergency 18 vehicle, as set forth in section eleven hundred forty-four of this chap- 19 ter, and penalties for noncompliance; 20 (D) education on the legal obligation to exercise due care to avoid 21 colliding with a parked, stopped or standing authorized emergency vehi- 22 cle, hazard vehicle, vehicle displaying a blue or green light or certain 23 other motor vehicles, as set forth in section eleven hundred 24 forty-four-a of this chapter, and penalties for noncompliance; 25 (E) statistics and real-life consequences of unsafe driving behavior 26 in work zones; 27 (F) strategies for safe driving behavior in the presence of work zone 28 equipment and personnel; and 29 (G) information on the photo speed violation monitoring systems in 30 highway construction or maintenance work areas and associated penalties, 31 as set forth by section eleven hundred eighty-e of this chapter. 32 [(iii)] (v) In developing such curriculum, the commissioner shall 33 consult with the commissioner of transportation, the superintendent of 34 the state police, representatives of the highway construction industry, 35 representatives of highway construction workers, highway safety offi- 36 cials, road safety experts, and any other group that the commissioner 37 [believes can contribute to] deems necessary to ensure a comprehensive 38 and current presentation of the issue. 39 (vi) Such curriculum shall be adaptable to both in-person and online 40 formats and include a certification of completion and tracking of 41 student performance. 42 (vii) The commissioner shall ensure a portion of the examination on 43 traffic laws contains at least one question relating to the driver's 44 ability to understand how to drive safely in a work zone. 45 (viii) The commissioner shall ensure that completion of the "Work Zone 46 Safety" component is documented and retained as part of the applicant's 47 licensing record. 48 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 49 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 50 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 51 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 52 on or before such effective date.