Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Saratoga Springs, is pictured speaking during a recent news conference.

A rash of accidents involving Amish buggies has prompted a new bill that would require buggies to have additional safety features.

The legislation (A.8419) is sponsored by Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Saratoga Springs, and could be taken up during the upcoming state legislative session. Woerner wants buggies to have headlights, a tail light and more reflective materials in order to be driven at night.

She cites statistics showing an increase in the state’s Amish population from 12,000 in 2010 to 23,000 in 2023, and with that increase in population has come an increase in accidents between motor vehicles and Amish buggies. Woerner listed several such accidents in her district, though they are not uncommon in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties either.

Last June saw two crashes involving vehicles and Amish buggies on the same town of Sherman road. One included serious injuries that required the use of a medical helicopter while the second accident also resulted in injuries. An October 2022 accident between an Amish buggy and a Chautauqua County Sheriff’s patrol vehicle resulted in five Amish being taken to the hospital, though all five were later released to recuperate at home. Deputies reported the Amish buggy met all the New York state requirements for a slow-moving vehicle being drawn by an animal. The buggy displayed a slow-moving vehicle emblem on the rear and two lit lanterns with red lens at least 4 inches in diameter near the edge of the buggy and at least 72 inches of high quality white reflective tape.

“Almost all of these accidents occurred at night or in early morning light or in other conditions of poor visibility,” Woerner wrote in her legislative justification. “There are no statewide requirements for lights on horse-drawn vehicles. This bill would require headlights, a taillight and reflective tape on any buggy driven from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise. Although some Amish object to having lights on their buggies, they could avoid this requirement by restricting their driving to daylight hours.”

Ohio began requiring Amish buggies and other animal-drawn vehicles to have a yellow flashing light while driving on public roads in 2022. That bill was passed after the Ohio Department of Transportation’s 2019 Statewide Amish Travel Study found there were 723 buggy crashes between 2009 and 2019. Around 350 crashes caused injuries and 132 of them were incapacitating, according to the study. There were 17 fatalities\ The Ohio law requires buggies to have a yellow light mounted on the top-most portion of the vehicle’s rear and visible from a distance of not less than 1,000 feet. It also must be visible from the sides. Ohio has among the largest Amish settlements in the country, and not all Amish populations have complied with the law, according to published reports. According to the Martins Ferry Times-Leader, some Amish communities are objecting, reportedly on the grounds that the law infringes on their religious liberties.

Pennsylvania, Indiana and Wisconsin also require flashing lights on horse-drawn buggies.