AB 659

Under current law, any person operating an animal-drawn vehicle on a

roadway is generally granted all the rights and is subject to all the duties applicable

to operators of other vehicles. Animal-drawn vehicles operated on a highway are

also subject to certain vehicle equipment requirements. No animal-drawn vehicle

may be operated on a highway during hours of darkness unless the vehicle is

equipped with at least one lighted lamp or lantern exhibiting a white light visible

from a distance of 500 feet ahead and two lighted lamps or lanterns exhibiting red

light visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear and mounted in such a manner

as to indicate the extreme width of the vehicle. Unless an animal-drawn vehicle has

attached to the left rear a yellow or amber flashing light at least four inches in

diameter, in order to operate on a highway in the day or at night, the vehicle must

have displayed on the most practicable visible rear area of the vehicle a slow moving

vehicle (SMV) emblem.

This bill requires animal-drawn vehicles operated on a highway during hours

of darkness to be equipped with a white front lamp and two rear red lamps that are

visible for a distance of 1,000 feet, rather than 500 feet. In addition, animal-drawn

vehicles operated on a highway must be equipped with strips of reflective tape, at

least one inch wide, affixed in a specified manner on the vehicle and two flashing

yellow or amber lights mounted on or near each top rear corner of the vehicle. When

an SMV emblem is required on an animal-drawn vehicle, the SMV emblem must be

made of or incorporate reflective material.

The bill also authorizes counties to, by ordinance, require registration of

animal-drawn vehicles that are customarily kept within the county and operated,

at any time, on any highway within the county. The amount of the registration fee

for animal-drawn vehicles registered by the county is determined by the county, but

may not exceed the fee for registering an automobile with the Department of

Transportation, which is currently $75. All revenues received by a county from these

registration fees may be used only for any of the following: 1) safety programs

relating to animal-drawn vehicles operating on highways, including public

education programs and traffic enforcement programs; 2) erecting highway signs

relating to animal-drawn vehicles operating on highways; and 3) highway

improvements and repairs, including improvements and repairs to highway

shoulders and other areas within the highway right-of-way, that promote safety

where animal-drawn vehicles are operated on highways.