BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 564
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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 564 (Portantino) 
          As Amended May 14, 2009
          Majority vote 

           TRANSPORTATION      8-3                                         
           
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          |Ayes:|Jeffries, Blumenfield,    |     |                          |
          |     |Buchanan, Conway,         |     |                          |
          |     |Furutani, Galgiani,       |     |                          |
          |     |Bonnie Lowenthal, Solorio |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Miller, Niello, John A.   |     |                          |
          |     |Perez                     |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Amends the definition of a "local street or road,"  
          under the speed trap law, for the City of Pasadena, to mean a  
          street or road is either included in the latest maps submitted  
          to the federal highway Administration (FHWA) or is not wider  
          than 40 feet, longer than one-half mile, or more than one lane  
          in each direction.  

           EXISTING LAW  :  

          1)Defines a local street or road, under the speed trap  
            exemption, by the latest functional usage and federal-aid  
            system maps submitted to the Federal Highway Administration  
            (FHWA).  When maps have not been submitted, local streets and  
            roads are defined as those not wider than 40 feet, or longer  
            than one-half mile, or with more than one lane in each  
            direction.  

          2)Defines a speed trap as a particular section of highway  
            measured and marked with boundaries to determine the speed of  
            a vehicle by calculating the time it takes the vehicle to  
            travel the known distance.  

          3)Defines a speed trap as a particular section of a highway with  
            a prima facie speed limit that is not justified by an  
            engineering and traffic survey (ETS) conducted within five  
            years from the time of an alleged violation and where  
            enforcement involves the use of radar or other electronic  








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            devices which measure the speed of moving objects.  

          4)Prohibits the use in court of evidence of the speed of a  
            vehicle obtained on any highway segment meeting the definition  
            of speed trap.  

          5)Authorizes local jurisdictions to establish speed limits  
            according to the result of an ETS.  An ETS gauges prevailing  
            speeds along a given route, takes into account accident  
            records, and highway, traffic, and roadside conditions not  
            readily apparent to the driver.  

          6)Provides for the establishment of prima facie speed limits  
            (i.e., in specified increments) in certain areas where it is  
            deemed necessary (i.e., near schools, in business districts or  
            in residential districts) without the benefit of a traffic  
            survey.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS  :  Under current law, local streets and roads are exempt  
          from the speed trap prohibition and defined by the functional  
          usage and federal-aid system maps submitted to the FHWA.  If a  
          street is not shown on the maps, a local street is defined as  
          those not wider than 40 feet, or longer than one-half mile, or  
          with more than one lane in each direction.  The sponsor of this  
          bill, the City of Pasadena, points out that in older urbanized  
          areas with grid street networks there "are examples of where  
          arterial and/or collector designations are present on streets  
          that are essentially identical to local streets."  

          This bill would redefine a local street or road to mean that it  
          either is defined as such on maps submitted to FHWA, or it meets  
          the existing definition of not being wider than 40 feet, or  
          longer than one-half mile, or with more than one lane in each  
          direction.  This bill would allow that a local street or road be  
          defined under either option of the definition.  

          Under this bill, if a local street or road meets the existing  
          geographical definition and can be classified under the existing  
          definition of residence district, it is conceivable that a speed  
          limit could be set at 25 miles per hour (MPH), as is required by  
          law.  

          Under existing law a "residence district" is considered a  








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          district within a quarter mile, that has continuous property  
          occupying 13 or more separate dwelling houses on one side of the  
          highway or 16 or more separate dwelling houses or business  
          structures on both side of the highway.  State law requires a 25  
          MPH speed limit in business and residential districts, unless  
          conditions warrant a higher speed limit.  Residential district  
          speed limits do not need to be posted to be enforceable.  

          By obtaining a residence district designation, a local street or  
          road would not need to conduct an engineering traffic study  
          (ETS) to set the speed limit.  Under current law, state and  
          local authorities establish speed limits based on the results of  
          ETS which are designed to gauge prevailing speeds along a given  
          route.  Speed limits are then usually set at or near the 85th  
          percentile (i.e., the speed that is adhered to by 85% of  
          motorists).  Limits can be set at lower rates for any other  
          safety-related reasons.  

          The rationale behind the 85th percentile methodology, which has  
          been borne out by empirical studies is that 85% of motorists  
          drive at a safe and prudent speed and that setting speed limits  
          at a lower level will make lawbreakers out of otherwise  
          law-abiding citizens, thereby engendering disrespect for the  
          law.  

          California's speed trap law requires that an ETS be conducted  
          within five years from the date of a speeding ticket, if local  
          law enforcement utilizes radar or other electronic devices to  
          cite motorists.  The use in court of evidence (i.e., radar  
          enforcement) obtained on any highway segment meeting the  
          definition of speed trap is prohibited.  

          In opposition, the Automobile Club of Southern California,  
          points out that this bill would allow roads to be "classified if  
          it meets certain dimensional characteristics without the added  
          criteria of determining the road's functional usage.  With  
          higher traffic volumes, traffic on collectors and minor  
          arterials tends to move at slightly higher speeds than on  
          adjacent local streets, which is why those speed limits are  
          usually set 5-10 MPH than streets that are truly residential."  

          Previous legislation:  AB 2767 (Jackson), Chapter 45, Statutes  
          of 2000, allowed local authorities to consider residential  
          density and bicycle and pedestrian safety as additional factors  
          in ETS conducted for purposes of setting speed limits.   








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          Committee comments:   

          1)By redefining the definition of "local streets and roads,"  
            under this bill, it is possible that unrealistic posted speed  
            limits would be established without any regard to prevailing  
            speeds (85th percentile) or traffic characteristics of the  
            roadway.  This could result in "speed traps" and speeding  
            citations for the overwhelming majority of drivers that are  
            driving these roads in a prudent and safe manner causing no  
            undue speed-related traffic hazards.  

          2)Under this bill, even though a locality can seek to establish  
            speed limit and speed enforcement parity by having  
            geographically similar local street and roads be treated  
            equally, their functionality does not permit that local  
            streets be treated the same.  It is possible that a local  
            street, who meets the "residence district" definition, can  
            serve as a major arterial or connector.  Under federal and  
            state law, arterials are defined as higher speed routes with  
            longer uninterrupted segments.  On the other hand, local roads  
            tend to have slower speeds and little through-movement.   
            Currently, there is a process that exists through FHWA that  
            provide for functional classification changes of  arterial,  
            collector, and local roads, if a locality believes that  
            changes are warranted.  

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :  Alejandro Esparza / TRANS. / (916)  
          319-2093 


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