HF 1164

1st Unofficial Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to traffic regulations; clarifying duty of 
  1.3             driver when passing parked emergency vehicle; 
  1.4             authorizing issuance of citation within four hours 
  1.5             after violation; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, 
  1.6             section 169.18, subdivision 11. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 169.18, 
  1.9   subdivision 11, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 11.  [PASSING PARKED EMERGENCY VEHICLE; CITATION; 
  1.11  PROBABLE CAUSE.] (a) When approaching and before passing an 
  1.12  authorized emergency vehicle with its emergency lights activated 
  1.13  that is parked or otherwise stopped on or next to a street or 
  1.14  highway having two or more lanes in the same direction, the 
  1.15  driver of a vehicle shall safely move the vehicle to a the lane 
  1.16  farthest away from the emergency vehicle, if it is possible to 
  1.17  do so. 
  1.18     (b) When approaching and before passing an authorized 
  1.19  emergency vehicle with its emergency lights activated that is 
  1.20  parked or otherwise stopped on or next to a street or highway 
  1.21  having more than two lanes in the same direction, the driver of 
  1.22  a vehicle shall safely move the vehicle so as to leave a full 
  1.23  lane vacant between the driver and any lane in which the 
  1.24  emergency vehicle is completely or partially parked or otherwise 
  1.25  stopped, if it is possible to do so. 
  1.26     (c) A peace officer may issue a citation to the driver of a 
  2.1   motor vehicle if the peace officer has probable cause to believe 
  2.2   that the driver has operated the vehicle in violation of this 
  2.3   subdivision within the four-hour period following the 
  2.4   termination of the incident or a receipt of a report under 
  2.5   paragraph (d).  The citation may be issued even though the 
  2.6   violation was not committed in the presence of the peace officer.
  2.7      (d) Although probable cause may be otherwise satisfied by 
  2.8   other evidentiary elements or factors, probable cause is 
  2.9   sufficient for purposes of this subdivision when the person 
  2.10  cited is operating the vehicle described by a member of the crew 
  2.11  of an authorized emergency vehicle responding to an incident in 
  2.12  a timely report of the violation of this subdivision, which 
  2.13  includes a description of the vehicle used to commit the offense 
  2.14  and the vehicle's license plate number.  For the purposes of 
  2.15  issuance of a citation under paragraph (c), "timely" means that 
  2.16  the report must be made within a four-hour period following the 
  2.17  termination of the incident. 
  2.18     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.19     Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment.