Lawmakers on the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee approved a bill on Wednesday that would grant civil protections for people who injure a pedestrian or property if that pedestrian is intentionally blocking or impeding traffic.
House Bill 411 (HB411) would grant civil protections for individuals in cases of injury, death, or property damage if the injured party intentionally blocked or impeded a roadway.
"In a civil action for damages for personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage, it is an affirmative defense that the action arose from an injury or damage sustained by an individual who willfully obstructed the free, convenient, and normal use of any public street, highway, bridge, or road," the bill reads.
The defense would not apply in cases where a person is lawfully working in a manner that may obstruct the flow of traffic, such as emergency responders, surveyors, engineers, contractors, or others persons that have a legal or contractual right or obligation to modify, obstruct, or direct a change in the flow of traffic.
Blocking traffic as a protest is nothing new. Videos have abounded in recent years, with a resurgence in the practice for those protesting wars, climate change policies and other political issues. Protesters will typically lie down in front of or encompass vehicles to prevent traffic flow.
According to Stringer, the bill would protect those civilly charged with hitting someone or damaging property in those kinds of situations.
"HB411 is a proposed bill that's going to protect people from civil liability in situations where someone is blocking the road and someone is injured or killed or there's property damage," Stringer said. "It's not dealing with anything criminal. It's only dealing with the civil side of this. In order to have this affirmative defense, the person injured is going to have to be willfully blocking traffic or otherwise disrupting normal traffic."
He continued, "We've seen protests across the country where they're blocking roadways. We've had situations where people are trying to get to the hospital with a loved one, and they're blocking the road. We've all seen the videos where they're getting in front of it, they're up against the car; they're not letting them through. And we've had situations like that cause death or injury from not being able to get through. So it's just addressing the civil side of that. If someone was trying to get to the hospital or something, they would be able to do so."
State Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa) requested an amendment to the bill clarifying that an affirmative defense would not apply in cases where a person intentionally and blatantly hits someone with their vehicle. Stringer stated he was amenable to working with England to address concerns.
State Rep. Jennifer Fidler (R-Silverhill) also stated she would like to see protection added for the Good Samaritan who enters the flow of traffic to provide aid or assistance.
After the brief discussion, the committee voted to approve the bill, which passed unanimously and will now be sent to the House floor for a vote.
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