MADISON, WI (WSAU) — A new law authored by a pair of local lawmakers to ensure more safety on our roadways was passed by the State Assembly on Tuesday.
State Senator Jerry Petrowski (R-Marathon), and Representative John Spiros (R-Marshfield) worked together on the bill, and Spiros says AB 475 requires all animal-drawn vehicles, such as those used by the Amish and Mennonite communities, to have two amber blinking or strobe lights mounted on the rear of the vehicle.
“What it does is basically adds yellow strobes or blinking lights to the rear-end of a horse carried buggy,” Spiros said. “The main issue had to do with the number of fatalities we’ve had in Wood County, and people not being able to see them when it’s dark.”
Sprios says it’s important to note that the bill protects the safety of everyone that uses Wisconsin roadways. “When it comes down to it, it’s for the occupants, but it’s also for motorists who are traveling around or coming towards those vehicles, so they can see that there’s a vehicle moving slow.”
Research on the bill started a number of years ago following a series of fatal buggy accidents that prompted meetings with the Amish community, and Spiros says it wasn’t prompted by recent discussions by the Wood County Board regarding horse-drawn carriages.
According to the Marshfield lawmaker, “We’ve been working on this bill for about four years. My staff did the research, looked at Indiana and Pennsylvania as two big states that had a high Amish population.”
Senator Jerry Petrowski also commented on the bill that he helped co-author by saying, “We’ve seen far too many deadly accidents involving buggies and motorized vehicles recently in central Wisconsin. Anything we can do at the state level to reduce the chance of another tragedy is absolutely worthwhile.”
All other existing vehicle lighting and safety requirements for the vehicles would still remain in place.
The bill was approved by a unanimous vote in the Assembly, and has already been heard by the State Senate. It now needs to be taken to the Senate floor for a vote before going to Governor Walker for his signature.
