| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to motor vehicle safety; requiring that |
| 3 | guardrails or other barriers be installed between a |
| 4 | highway and an adjacent canal or waterway; requiring that |
| 5 | the Department of Transportation adopt rules establishing |
| 6 | certain standards governing the installation of the |
| 7 | barriers; requiring that barriers be installed for |
| 8 | existing highways by a specified date; defining the term |
| 9 | "highway"; providing for installation and maintenance of |
| 10 | required barriers by the department or the local |
| 11 | governmental entity that maintains the highway adjacent to |
| 12 | the barriers; providing an effective date. |
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| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
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| 16 | Section 1. Barrier required between a highway and a canal |
| 17 | or water body.--Each highway that is adjacent to a canal or |
| 18 | other water body must have a system of guardrails, retention |
| 19 | cables, or other barriers between the highway and the canal or |
| 20 | water body which are installed and maintained in conformance |
| 21 | with standards established by rule of the Department of |
| 22 | Transportation. The standards must be designed to limit the loss |
| 23 | of life by safely preventing an out-of-control motor vehicle |
| 24 | from entering the canal or water body and may include criteria, |
| 25 | such as the width, depth, or proximity of the canal or water |
| 26 | body to the traveled way of the highway, specifying those areas |
| 27 | of the highway where barriers are required. For a highway in |
| 28 | existence on July 1, 2006, the barriers required under this |
| 29 | section must be installed on or before December 31, 2008. The |
| 30 | Department of Transportation shall adopt rules to administer |
| 31 | this section. As used in this section, the term "highway" means |
| 32 | a road, street, or other way open to the public for travel by |
| 33 | motor vehicles and whose maintenance is the responsibility of a |
| 34 | municipality, a county, or the Department of Transportation. The |
| 35 | barriers required by this section must be installed and |
| 36 | maintained by the governmental entity responsible for |
| 37 | maintaining the highway that is adjacent to a canal or water |
| 38 | body. |
| 39 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |