BILL NUMBER: AB 470 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 106
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 20, 2007
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JULY 20, 2007
PASSED THE SENATE JUNE 28, 2007
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JULY 9, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 5, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member DeSaulnier
FEBRUARY 20, 2007
An act to amend Sections 313 and 21280 of, to amend and repeal
Section 467 of, to add Section 21281.5 to, and to repeal Section
21283 of, the Vehicle Code, relating to electric personal assistive
mobility devices.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 470, DeSaulnier. Electric personal assistive mobility devices.
(1) Existing law defines "pedestrian" for purposes of the Vehicle
Code to include a person who is using an electric personal assistive
mobility device (EPAMD), as that term is defined. The definition of
EPAMD, among other things, requires the maximum speed of the EPAMD to
be less than 12.5 miles per hour. Existing law imposes safety
specifications on EPAMDs, and authorizes a city, county, or city and
county, to ensure the safety of pedestrians, to regulate the time,
place, and manner of the operation of EPAMDs and their use as a
pedestrian for purposes of the Vehicle Code. A violation of those
provisions is an infraction. State agencies are also authorized to
limit or prohibit the time, place, and manner of EPAMD use on state
property. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2008,
unless a later enacted statute deletes or extends that date.
This bill would delete the repeal of those provisions, thereby
extending them indefinitely. The bill also would change the
definition of EPAMD to require the maximum speed of an EPAMD to be no
more than 12.5 miles per hour, rather than less than 12.5 miles per
hour, and to require an EPAMD to be no greater than 20 inches deep
and 25 inches wide.
The bill would impose additional safety requirements on the
operation of an EPAMD. The bill would require a person operating an
EPAMD on specified surfaces to yield the right-of-way to all
pedestrians on foot.
The bill would impose a state-mandated local program by extending
indefinitely the existing provisions, the violation of which
constitutes an infraction, and because a violation of the new
provisions would be an infraction.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 313 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
313. The term "electric personal assistive mobility device" or
"EPAMD" means a self-balancing, nontandem two-wheeled device, that is
not greater than 20 inches deep and 25 inches wide and can turn in
place, designed to transport only one person, with an electric
propulsion system averaging less than 750 watts (1 horsepower), the
maximum speed of which, when powered solely by a propulsion system on
a paved level surface, is no more than 12.5 miles per hour.
SEC. 2. Section 467 of the Vehicle Code, as amended by Section 3
of Chapter 404 of the Statutes of 2004, is amended to read:
467. (a) A "pedestrian" is a person who is afoot or who is using
any of the following:
(1) A means of conveyance propelled by human power other than a
bicycle.
(2) An electric personal assistive mobility device.
(b) "Pedestrian" includes a person who is operating a
self-propelled wheelchair, motorized tricycle, or motorized
quadricycle and, by reason of physical disability, is otherwise
unable to move about as a pedestrian, as specified in subdivision
(a).
SEC. 3. Section 467 of the Vehicle Code, as amended by Section 4
of Chapter 404 of the Statutes of 2004, is repealed.
SEC. 4. Section 21280 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
21280. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) This state has severe traffic congestion and air pollution
problems, particularly in its cities, and finding ways to reduce
these problems is of paramount importance.
(2) Reducing the millions of single passenger automobile trips of
five miles or less that Californians take each year will
significantly reduce the pollution caused by fuel emissions and
aggravated by automobile congestion.
(3) Electric personal assistive mobility devices that meet the
definition in Section 313 operate solely on electricity and employ
advances in technology to safely integrate the user in pedestrian
transportation.
(4) Electric personal assistive mobility devices enable California
businesses, public officials, and individuals to travel farther and
carry more without the use of traditional vehicles, thereby promoting
gains in productivity, minimizing environmental impacts, and
facilitating better use of public ways.
(b) The Legislature is adding this article as part of its program
to promote the use of no-emission transportation.
SEC. 5. Section 21281.5 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
21281.5. (a) A person shall not operate an EPAMD on a sidewalk,
bike path, pathway, trail, bike lane, street, road, or highway at a
speed greater than is reasonable and prudent having due regard for
weather, visibility, pedestrians, and other conveyance traffic on,
and the surface, width, and condition of, the sidewalk, bike path,
pathway, trail, bike lane, street, road, or highway.
(b) A person shall not operate an EPAMD at a speed that endangers
the safety of persons or property.
(c) A person shall not operate an EPAMD on a sidewalk, bike path,
pathway, trail, bike lane, street, road, or highway with willful or
wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.
(d) A person operating an EPAMD on a sidewalk, bike path, pathway,
trail, bike lane, street, road, or highway shall yield the
right-of-way to all pedestrians on foot, including persons with
disabilities using assistive devices and service animals that are
close enough to constitute a hazard.
SEC. 6. Section 21283 of the Vehicle Code is repealed.
SEC. 7. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.