House File 2386 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 2386
BY GERHOLD
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to pedestrians, and making penalties
2 applicable.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. Section 321.1, subsection 51, Code 2024, is
2 amended to read as follows:
3 51. “Pedestrian” means any a person afoot or a person using
4 a pedestrian conveyance.
5 Sec. 2. Section 321.1, Code 2024, is amended by adding the
6 following new subsection:
7 NEW SUBSECTION. 51A. “Pedestrian conveyance” means any
8 human-powered device by which a pedestrian may move other
9 than by walking or by which a pedestrian may move another
10 person, including but not limited to a wheelchair, stroller,
11 skateboard, scooter, or other similar device. “Pedestrian
12 conveyance” also includes an electric personal assistive
13 mobility device and any other device used to move a person
14 sitting or standing on the device regardless of whether the
15 device is powered by an electric motor, so long as the electric
16 motor produces less than seven hundred fifty watts. “Pedestrian
17 conveyance” does not include a bicycle, except when ridden
18 within a crosswalk.
19 Sec. 3. Section 321.1, subsection 90, paragraph a, Code
20 2024, is amended to read as follows:
21 a. Any device moved by human power, including a low-speed
22 electric bicycle and a pedestrian conveyance.
23 Sec. 4. Section 321.235A, subsection 2, paragraphs a and b,
24 Code 2024, are amended to read as follows:
25 a. Yield the right-of-way to other pedestrians and
26 human-powered devices.
27 b. Give an audible signal before overtaking and passing a
28 pedestrian or human-powered device.
29 Sec. 5. Section 321.366, subsection 1, paragraph g, Code
30 2024, is amended to read as follows:
31 g. Operate Ride a bicycle, skateboard, or other use a
32 pedestrian conveyance, or be a pedestrian, anywhere on a fully
33 controlled-access facility. For purposes of this paragraph,
34 “pedestrian conveyance” means any human-powered device by which
35 a pedestrian may move other than by walking or by which a
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1 walking person may move another pedestrian, including but not
2 limited to strollers and wheelchairs.
3 EXPLANATION
4 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
5 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
6 Under current law, for purposes of Code chapter 321 (motor
7 vehicles and law of the road), “pedestrian” means any person
8 afoot. This bill amends the definition to include a person
9 using a pedestrian conveyance, as defined in the bill. In
10 addition to devices moved by human-power, electric personal
11 assistive mobility devices (Code section 321.1(20B)) and
12 electric-powered devices that produce less than 750 watts are
13 specifically included as a pedestrian conveyance.
14 The bill strikes a conflicting definition of pedestrian
15 conveyance in Code section 321.366.
16 In Code chapter 321, the term “pedestrian” is used for
17 purposes relating to required driver education awareness
18 instruction, official traffic-control signals directing
19 pedestrian traffic, and requirements for persons operating a
20 motor vehicle to yield or give signals to pedestrians.
21 Code sections 321.325 through 321.340 provide pedestrians’
22 rights and duties, which are applicable to persons using
23 pedestrian conveyances under the bill. Pursuant to current
24 law, generally, a person who commits a prohibited action
25 against a pedestrian is guilty of a simple misdemeanor
26 punishable by a $35 scheduled fine (Code section 805.8A(9)).
27 If applicable, Code section 321.482A enhances the fine and
28 requires the department of transportation to suspend a person’s
29 driver’s license in accordance with the Code section if the
30 person is convicted of a specified violation, including certain
31 actions against pedestrians and persons using pedestrian
32 conveyances, that results in serious injury or death.
33 Under the bill, a bicyclist is only considered a pedestrian
34 when riding a bicycle within a crosswalk, as bicyclists are
35 otherwise subject to the provisions of Code chapter 321 and
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1 have all the rights and duties applicable to the driver of
2 a vehicle, except those provisions which by their nature can
3 have no application or those provisions for which specific
4 exceptions have been set forth regarding police bicycles (Code
5 section 321.234).
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 321.1, 321.235A