BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 240|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 240
Author: Wright (D)
Amended: 6/23/09
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 8-2, 04/14/09
AYES: Lowenthal, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman, Kehoe,
Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
NOES: Huff, Hollingsworth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/27/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Leno, Oropeza,
Runner, Wolk, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Denham, Hancock, Walters, Wyland
SENATE FLOOR : 30-2, 5/14/09
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Benoit, Calderon,
Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, DeSaulnier, Ducheny,
Florez, Harman, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Maldonado,
Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Romero, Simitian,
Steinberg, Strickland, Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Hollingsworth, Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Denham, Dutton, Hancock,
Oropeza, Runner, Walters, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Move over law: Department of Transportation
vehicles
CONTINUED
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SOURCE : California Nevada Conference of Operating
Engineers
DIGEST : This bill makes permanent the move over law,
which prescribes until 2010 actions that drivers must take
on a freeway when passing a stopped emergency vehicle or
tow truck with its warning lights flashing. This bill also
adds the Department of Transportation's vehicles, under
specified conditions, to the move over law.
Assembly Amendments deleted the portion of the bill which
permitted the Department of Transportation's vehicles to
display flashing amber warning lights on a freeway only
when a unusual traffic hazard or extreme hazard exists, and
added a new provision which states the "move over" law does
not apply if the authorized vehicle is not adjacent to the
freeway or is separated from the freeway by a protective
physical barrier.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law requires the driver of a vehicle, upon the
immediate approach of an emergency vehicle that is sounding
a siren and has at least one lighted lamp exhibiting red
light, as specified, to yield the right-of-way and
immediately drive to the right-hand edge or curb of the
highway that is clear of an intersection, stop, and remain
stopped until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed,
except as otherwise directed by a traffic officer.
SB 1610 (Simitian), Chapter 375, Statutes of 2006, which
established the "move over" law, requires that until
January 1, 2010 a person driving a vehicle on a freeway
that is approaching a stationary emergency vehicle
displaying its emergency lights or a stationary tow truck
displaying its flashing amber warning lights to approach
with due caution and proceed to do one of the following:
1. Make a lane change into an available lane not
immediately adjacent to the authorized emergency vehicle
or tow truck with due regard for safety and traffic
conditions, if practicable and not prohibited by law.
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2. If the maneuver described in (a) would be unsafe or
impracticable, slow to a reasonable and prudent speed
that is safe for existing weather, road, and vehicular
or pedestrian traffic conditions.
Violation of this provision is punishable by a base fine of
not more than $50.
SB 1610 also provides that until January 1, 2010, a tow
truck shall not display flashing amber warning lamps on a
freeway except when "an unusual traffic hazard or extreme
hazard exists."
SB 1610 required the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to
report to the Legislature by January 1, 2009 on the law's
effect on the safety of emergency responders and on the
motoring public.
This bill:
1. Makes permanent the move over provisions of SB 1610,
which prescribe until January 1, 2010 actions that
drivers must take on a freeway when passing a stopped
emergency vehicle or tow truck with its warning lights
flashing.
2. Adds marked the Department of Transportation (Caltrans')
vehicles displaying flashing amber warning lights to the
move over law.
3. Provides that "move over" law requirements do not apply
to a stationary authorized emergency, tow truck, or
marked Caltrans vehicle that is displaying flashing
amber lights, if it is not adjacent to the freeway or is
separated from the freeway by a protective physical
barrier.
Background
CHP Report . Earlier this year, the CHP issued its report
required under SB 1610 and concluded that "there is no
absolute measurement to determine what impact SB 1610 has
had on increasing the safety of emergency personnel and/or
the motoring public. However, despite the one-year data
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comparison, the new laws appear to have had a positive
effect by reducing collisions and injuries involving
stopped emergency vehicles and tow trucks."
CHP drew this conclusion by comparing accident data for
2006, before SB 1610 took effect, and for 2007, the first
year it was in effect. CHP's accident data, however, does
not always differentiate between freeways and highways, nor
does it record whether a vehicle's emergency lights were
displayed. Finally, SB 1610 also enacted a provision,
which will not sunset, that made it illegal to operate a
vehicle in an unsafe manner within an emergency incident
zone, which state law defines as an area within 500 feet
and in the same direction of travel as a stopped emergency
vehicle that has its emergency lights activated. CHP is
unable to separate the effect of this provision from the
move over law in determining the decrease in accidents.
CHP reports issuing 106 citations over two years for
violations of the move over law. This is a very low
number, given that casual observation suggests the law is
not widely observed. CHP notes in its report in
explanation of this low number that officers on the scene
of an incident are busy with that incident and therefore
not able to leave the scene to issue citations. CHP
further indicates in its report that it is planning a
driver education campaign about the move over law,
including working with the Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) to include information about the law in the DMV
handbook.
Related legislation
SB 159 (Simitian), repeals the January 1, 2010 sunset date
on the move over law thereby making permanent the
requirement that drivers move over or slow down when
passing a stopped emergency vehicle displaying its
emergency lights or tow truck that is displaying its
warning lights because of an unusual traffic hazard or an
extreme hazard.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
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According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12
Fund
Caltrans minor and absorbable costs
Special*
Local mandate
non-reimbursable, local crime disclaimer
Local
Penalty revenue minor penalty
revenue gains
Various
*State Highway Account
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/11/09)
The California-Nevada Conference of Operating Engineers
(source)
Automobile Club of Southern California
California State Automobile Association
Professional Engineers in California Government
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Since 1924, a total of 171
Caltrans' workers have been killed while working on the
state's highways. Caltrans' maintenance workers who repair
potholes and remove dangerous debris from the roads are put
at risk every day due to unsafe behavior by motorists. The
author's office introduced this bill to create a safety
buffer between a Caltrans' vehicle that is stopped on or
beside a freeway and vehicles on that freeway.
JJA:do 9/11/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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