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SB 2132

AN ACT to amend and reenact section 39-09-01 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to careless driving and causing injury to the operator of an authorized emergency vehicle or damage to an authorized emergency vehicle; and to provide a penalty.

69th Legislative Assembly (2025-26) Introduced by Keith Boehm and 5 co-sponsors

Recasts careless driving as an infraction with specific penalties when it injures or damages snow removal equipment, first responders, or authorized emergency vehicles.

Filed with Secretary Of State 03/26
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Bill Summary · SB 2132

Summary — SB 2132 (North Dakota, 2025)

Title: AN ACT to amend and reenact section 39‑09‑01 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to careless driving and causing injury to the operator of an authorized emergency vehicle or damage to an authorized emergency vehicle; and to provide a penalty.

Purpose

SB 2132 revises North Dakota’s basic careless‑driving statute (NDCC §39‑09‑01) to (1) clarify and modernize the language describing the duty to drive with regard to actual and potential hazards, (2) expand protected categories of people and vehicles when careless driving causes injury or damage, and (3) set specified monetary thresholds and a penalty for the infraction.

Key provisions and changes

  • Updates the basic rule wording (subsection 1) to require an individual to drive with regard to existing actual and potential hazards and to specify circumstances requiring reduced/safe speed (intersections, railroad crossings, curves, hill crests, narrow/winding roadways, and special hazards such as pedestrians, other traffic, weather, or highway conditions).
  • Recasts careless driving as an infraction and prescribes penalties for specified harms caused by careless driving (subsection 2):
    • An individual commits an infraction if careless driving causes and inflicts injury on:
    • an operator of snow‑removal equipment engaged in snow removal operations; or
    • a first responder acting in official capacity and displaying a visible flashing/revolving/rotating blue, white, or red light, or hazard warning signal, while stationary on the side of a roadway; or
    • the operator or occupant of an authorized emergency vehicle acting in official capacity and displaying such lights while stationary; or
    • an individual assisting another who is displaying a visible hazard warning light while stationary on the side of a roadway.
    • An infraction also occurs if careless driving causes damage exceeding specified thresholds:
    • damage in excess of $4,000 to snow removal equipment engaged in snow removal; and
    • damage in excess of $4,000 to an authorized emergency vehicle.
  • Defines “snow removal equipment” to mean a vehicle operated by an individual employed by or on behalf of the authority responsible for highway maintenance to perform winter maintenance (plowing, hauling, salting, sanding).
  • Penalty language in the enrolled version requires assessment of “a fee of thirtyone hundred dollars.” (The enrolled text uses the phrase “thirtyone hundred dollars,” which is commonly read as $3,100; earlier bill drafts showed different dollar amounts.)

Who is affected

  • Motor vehicle drivers in North Dakota (subject to the revised careless‑driving standard and associated infractions).
  • Snow‑removal operators and equipment, first responders, authorized emergency vehicle operators/occupants, and persons assisting them (expanded protections).
  • Law enforcement, courts, and highway maintenance entities (enforcement and claim/repair implications).

Legislative status & timeline

  • Introduced in the North Dakota Senate (Senators Rummel, Clemens, Davison, Boehm; Representatives Schauer, Novak associated) — received and filed March 10, 2025.
  • Passed Senate (43–1) and House (90–0) after committee and amendment steps.
  • Sent to Governor March 24, 2025; signed by Governor March 25, 2025; filed with Secretary of State March 26, 2025.
  • The provided documents do not state an explicit effective date in the text; consult the official enrolled act or Secretary of State records for the operative effective date.

Notes

  • The enrolled bill’s phrasing of the monetary penalty ("thirtyone hundred dollars") appears to be a drafting form; confirm the intended dollar amount ($3,100) in the official codified text or legislative counsel’s final version.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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