| 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 waterbody.--Each highway that is adjacent to a canal or other |
| 18 | waterbody must have a system of guardrails, retention cables, or |
| 19 | other barriers between the highway and the canal or waterbody |
| 20 | which are installed and maintained in conformance with standards |
| 21 | established by rule of the Department of Transportation. The |
| 22 | standards must be designed to limit the loss of life by safely |
| 23 | preventing an out-of-control motor vehicle from entering the |
| 24 | canal or waterbody and may include criteria, such as the width, |
| 25 | depth, or proximity of the canal or waterbody to the traveled |
| 26 | way of the highway, specifying those areas of the highway where |
| 27 | barriers are required. For a highway in existence on July 1, |
| 28 | 2007, the barriers required under this section must be installed |
| 29 | on or before December 31, 2009. The Department of Transportation |
| 30 | shall adopt rules to administer this section. As used in this |
| 31 | section, the term "highway" means a road, street, or other way |
| 32 | open to the public for travel by motor vehicles and whose |
| 33 | maintenance is the responsibility of a municipality, a county, |
| 34 | or the Department of Transportation. The barriers required by |
| 35 | this section must be installed and maintained by the |
| 36 | governmental entity responsible for maintaining the highway that |
| 37 | is adjacent to a canal or waterbody. |
| 38 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |