BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE       BILL NO: AB 348
          SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN              AUTHOR:  BUCHANAN
                                                         VERSION: 4/27/11
          Analysis by:  Michelle Leinfelder                       
          FISCAL:NO
          Hearing date:  July 5, 2011



          SUBJECT:

          Vasco Road: double fine zone

          DESCRIPTION:

          This bill allows, until January 1, 2017, the designation of a 
          Safety Enhancement-Double Fine Zone (DFZ) on a segment of Vasco 
          Road in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, upon approval of 
          resolutions by the boards of supervisors in both counties. 

          ANALYSIS:

          Existing law establishes that the conditions for designating 
          DFZs are:
           
                 The segment is part of the state highway system.
                 The segment has a rate of total collisions per mile per 
               year that is at least 1.5 times the statewide average for 
               similar roadway types during the most recent three-year 
               period for which data are available.
                 The segment has a rate of head-on collisions per mile 
               per year that is at least 1.5 times the statewide average 
               for similar roadway types during the most recent three-year 
               period for which data are available.

          Additionally, existing law requires the Department of 
          Transportation (Caltrans), every two years, in consultation with 
          the California Highway Patrol (CHP), to certify that a road 
          segment meets the aforementioned criteria.

          SB 3 (Torlakson), Chapter 179, Statutes of 2006, designated a 
          segment of Vasco Road between the Interstate 580 junction in 
          Alameda County and the Walnut Boulevard intersection in Contra 
          Costa County, upon approval of county resolutions, as a DFZ 
          until January 1, 2010.  The bill required Caltrans, one year 
          prior to the termination of the DFZ, to evaluate the 




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          effectiveness of the DFZ to reduce traffic accidents, injuries, 
          and fatalities and to recommend to the Legislature whether the 
          DFZ should be reauthorized.

           This bill:
           
                 Allows the counties of Contra Costa and Alameda to 
               designate the segment of county highway known as Vasco 
               Road, between the SR 580 junction in Alameda County and the 
               Walnut Boulevard intersection in Contra Costa County, as a 
               DFZ upon the approval of resolutions by both counties' 
               boards of supervisors.
                 Requires the local governing bodies, prior to 
               designating the DFZ, to do each of the following:
                  o         Undertake a public awareness campaign to 
                    inform the public of the DFZ, its location, purpose, 
                    and consequences.
                  o         Implement increased traffic safety 
                    enhancements, enforcement, and other roadway safety 
                    measures.
                 Requires the local authority to place the signage at the 
               DFZ beginning and end points.
                 Requires the counties jointly to conduct an evaluation 
               of the effectiveness of the DFZ and report the findings to 
               the Assembly Committee on Transportation and the Senate 
               Committee on Transportation and Housing one year prior to 
               the termination of the DFZ.  The report must include a 
               recommendation on whether the zone should be reauthorized 
               by the Legislature, as well as a comparative evaluation of 
               the volume and speed of traffic, the number and severity of 
               collisions, and the contributing factors that led to 
               collisions prior to and following the establishment of the 
               double fine zone.
                 Requires that only the base fine be doubled.
                 Specifies that the DFZ remains in effect until January 
               1, 2017.
          
          COMMENTS:

          1.  Purpose  .  This bill reauthorizes the DFZ along Vasco Road in 
          Contra Costa and Alameda               counties that was 
          originally created by SB 3 (Torlakson) in 2006. According to the 
          author,    the DFZ will act as a tool to prevent unsafe driving 
          practices that, along with dangerous   conditions, contribute to 
          a high collision rate.  The counties of Contra Costa and Alameda 
          are  in the process of making road improvements but lack the 




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          funds to complete all phases.  This    bill is needed because 
          the DFZ acts as a deterrent to unsafe driving practices that 
          contribute to the high accident rate. 

          2.  Uncertain efficacy  .  As part of an earlier DFZ program, 
          statute required Caltrans to report to the Legislature by 
          January 1, 2003, on the impact and effectiveness of DFZs, with a 
          DFZ being deemed successful if there was a "significant decrease 
          in the number of accidents, traffic injuries, and fatalities in 
          the project areas."  In its December 2002 report, Caltrans 
          explained that, while some reductions in the number and severity 
          of collisions did occur in some of the DFZs, the reductions were 
          not statistically significant.  Caltrans also noted that, a 
          number of uncontrolled variables, such as physical improvements 
          to roadway segments, changes in enforcement levels, and the 
          initiation of public awareness campaigns made it virtually 
          impossible to ascertain how much, if any, of the decrease in 
          collisions was attributable to the doubling of fines.  Caltrans, 
          therefore, concluded that the benefits of increased fines alone 
          could not be proven.  Upon expiration of various DFZ 
          authorizations, legislators introduced several bills to 
          reinstate previously authorized DFZs.  The efforts were largely 
          unsuccessful due to concerns that the DFZs had not been proven 
          to be effective and that they could be misused as a tool to 
          generate revenue.

          3.  Base fine only  .  This bill doubles only base fines for traffic 
          infractions.  As an example, the base fine for speeding (up to 
          15 MPH over the posted speed limit) is $35.  On top of a base 
          fine, a driver who is cited for a traffic violation (and does 
          not contest or is convicted) pays penalty assessments of $198.  
          Thus, a $35 speeding ticket is really a $233 total fine.  
          Increasing that by another $35 to $268 is very unlikely by 
          itself to influence driver behavior, but it would generate a 
          small amount of local revenue.

          4.  Reporting accident statistics and effectiveness  .  It remains 
          unclear what impact the original       DFZ had on reducing 
          accidents on Vasco Road. SB 3 charged Caltrans with the 
          responsibility to report on the impact of the original 
          designation but, because Vasco Road is a county road and not a 
          state highway, Caltrans did not complete the study. 
            
            In response to this bill, Caltrans used CHP data to determine 
          accident rates for Vasco Road.         Caltrans staff analyzed 
          collision and head-on collision rates on Vasco Road from 




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          2000-2009  and compared those with rates from conventional two 
          and three lane roads on the state      highway system.  The 
          analysis shows that the annual collision rate declined from 
          2004-2008, increased in 2009, but for all years was 
          significantly higher than the statewide average.  For  head-on 
          collisions from 2007-2009, however, the average for Vasco Road 
          was 0.14 head-on                       collisions/mile/year was 
          lower than the statewide average of 0.15 head-on       
          collisions/mile/year.

            For the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of the DFZ 
          that this bill authorizes, and to      ensure consistency with 
          the parameters Caltrans uses to evaluate DFZ efficacy, the  
          committee may wish to consider an amendment that would require 
          the counties of Contra Costa and Alameda to consult with 
          Caltrans when evaluating efficacy of the Vasco Road DFZ.   

          5.  Sunset  .  Because this bill is reinstating the Vasco Road DFZ, 
          and thus, because data already         exist for this DFZ, in 
          order to sooner understand the efficacy of the DFZ designation, 
          the  committee may wish to consider amending the sunset date to 
          January 1, 2014.
          
          Assembly Votes:
               Floor:    71-0
               Trans:    12-0

          POSITIONS:  (Communicated to the Committee before noon on 
          Wednesday,                                             June 29, 
          2011)

               SUPPORT:  Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors 
          (Sponsor)
                         Alameda County Board of Supervisors
                         Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs' Association
                         American Federation of State, County and 
          Municipal Employees
                         California State Sheriffs' Association
                         City of Brentwood Mayor, Robert Taylor
                         City of Livermore
                         Contra Costa County Deputy Sheriffs Association
                         Contra Costa County Supervisor Mary Nejedly 
          Piepho
                         Contra Costa Transportation Authority
                                                       
               OPPOSED:  None received.




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