| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to motor vehicle safety; requiring limited |
| 3 | access facilities that are adjacent to a canal or other |
| 4 | water body to have a system of guardrails, retention |
| 5 | cables, or other barriers between the highway and the |
| 6 | canal or water body; providing for the Department of |
| 7 | Transportation to establish certain standards governing |
| 8 | the installation and maintenance of the barriers; |
| 9 | requiring that barriers be installed for existing highways |
| 10 | by a specified date; providing an effective date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Barrier required between a highway and a canal |
| 15 | or a water body.-- |
| 16 | (1) Each limited access facility in an area that has a |
| 17 | high volume of canals or narrow roadways that are adjacent to |
| 18 | bodies of water 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 the Department of Transportation. |
| 22 | The standards should be designed to limit the loss of life by |
| 23 | safely preventing out-of-control motor vehicles from entering |
| 24 | the canal or water body, and may include criteria, such as the |
| 25 | width or depth of the canal or water body or its proximity to |
| 26 | the traveled way of the highway, in specifying where barriers |
| 27 | are required. |
| 28 | (2) For a limited access facility in existence on July 1, |
| 29 | 2008, the barriers required under this section must be installed |
| 30 | on or before December 31, 2011. |
| 31 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |