BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 1888 SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Gatto VERSION: 6/20/12 Analysis by: Eric Thronson FISCAL: yes Hearing date: June 26, 2012 SUBJECT: Traffic violator schools: commercial drivers DESCRIPTION: This bill permits a commercial driver's license holder to attend a traffic violator school (TVS) if the person commits a traffic offense while driving a non-commercial vehicle. ANALYSIS: Under existing law, DMV assigns one, two, or three points to drivers' records for various traffic violations. A driver becomes a "negligent operator" if he or she accumulates 4 or more points in 12 consecutive months, 6 or more points in 24 months, or 8 or more points in 36 months. DMV may suspend or restrict the driving privilege of a negligent operator. Existing law defines a TVS as a business which provides traffic safety instruction, such as classroom defensive-driver concepts, for traffic law violators referred by the courts or people who elect to attend to improve their own skills. Holders of non-commercial class C (passenger cars and light-duty trucks) and class M (motorcycles) driver's licenses may attend a TVS, while existing law prohibits attendance by class A, B, or commercial class C driver's license holders (generally commercial trucks and large vehicles) regardless of what type of vehicle the violator was operating at the time of the offense. The benefits of attending a TVS are two-fold. First, DMV does not apply a point to a driver's record for the first conviction in an 18-month period, which extends the time before a driver can be considered a negligent operator. Second, DMV holds the offense confidential, or "masks it," for insurance premium calculations and other purposes. By attending a TVS, a traffic violator essentially gets to pay a one-time fee to avoid receiving a point against his or her driving record, which AB 1888 (GATTO) Page 2 reduces future car insurance costs as well as the chance of DMV suspending or revoking the violator's driving privileges. This bill permits a driver holding a class A, B, or commercial class C license to attend a TVS if the person commits a traffic offense while driving a vehicle requiring only a class C or M license. In addition, this bill requires DMV to disclose and not mask the violation if the commercial license holder attends a TVS. DMV will not, however, apply the conviction toward the driver's negligent operator point count. COMMENTS: 1.Purpose . According to the author, maintaining a sufficient supply of high-quality commercial drivers in the state has become problematic because drivers are retiring and trucking companies are increasing their driver standards in order to control insurance costs and meet regulatory mandates. If commercial drivers receive a traffic ticket while in their personal vehicle, the negligent operator point counts against their commercial driver's license. The author contends that every point accrued threatens a commercial driver's livelihood as well as the viability of the trucking industry in California. This bill affords a commercial driver the same rights as other drivers to attend a TVS to remove a point from his or her driving record. The author believes this will help keep California's trucking industry functioning by providing a means of dealing with minor violations not committed while on the job. 2.Commercial drivers are held to higher standards . Both state and federal law hold a commercial driver to a higher standard than other drivers, including initial and on-going training requirements, stricter monitoring of driving behavior, and increased sanctions for unsafe operation. In order to qualify and maintain his or her license, a commercial driver must demonstrate additional skill and knowledge beyond what existing law requires of most drivers, be medically qualified, and in some cases pass a federal background check. This is because commercial drivers are professionals often moving heavy vehicles with precarious or dangerous loads through increasingly congested streets and freeways. While a minor mistake made in a passenger vehicle can usually be corrected AB 1888 (GATTO) Page 3 and remain inconsequential, small deviations by commercial vehicles can lead to drastic and even fatal consequences. This bill lowers the state's standards for commercial drivers by reducing the consequences for bad driving behavior, whether or not in a commercial vehicle. 3.The negligent operator point system works . DMV developed the negligent operator system because data indicated that a driver who receives multiple traffic safety violations is more likely to be the cause of accidents, injury, and death. DMV has conducted extensive research on the negligent operator point system and concludes that it has a positive impact on traffic safety by reducing violation recidivism and crashes by reducing dangerous driving behavior. Conversely, research on the TVS program concludes that completion of TVS as a means to reduce the consequences of a traffic safety violation has a negative impact on traffic safety. Drivers who attend a TVS are more likely to reoffend. For drivers operating commercial vehicles, using the most effective method for eliminating risky behavior is critical, even if the violation occurred in a non-commercial vehicle. By allowing a commercial driver to attend a TVS and avoid receiving a negligent operator point, this bill postpones the consequences the violator would otherwise face, even though the system has proven to be effective in changing hazardous driving behavior. 4.Is this the solution to the stated problem ? The problem this bill is addressing, according to the author, is maintaining the number of high quality commercial drivers in the state necessary to address our needs. There appears to be two issues undermining this solution to the stated problem. First, a review of DMV records indicates that within a population of about 700,000 commercial driver's license holders, less than 1,100, or 0.16 percent, were actually subject to negligent operator hearings last year. Of those, only 82 had their licenses suspended or revoked. These numbers seem to indicate that the accumulation of points against these drivers' records is not a significant threat to the population of licensed commercial drivers. A second issue with this bill's proposed solution involves the drivers who would benefit from this bill. It seems that, if maintaining a cadre of high-quality commercial drivers was the goal, then minimizing the consequences of poor driving behavior, whether or not on the job, would be antithetical to that aim. If this bill becomes law, the poorly-behaving AB 1888 (GATTO) Page 4 drivers would be able to maintain the same rights and privileges as the best commercial drivers on the road. While this bill may help keep more commercial drivers licensed, it would likely lead to a lower level of overall driver quality as the traffic offenders that otherwise would lose their commercial drivers licenses may be able to continue to operate their vehicles. Assembly Votes: Floor: 75 - 0 Appr: 17 - 0 Trans: 13 - 0 POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday, June 20, 2012) SUPPORT: American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees - Local 1902 California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union California Conference of Machinists California Farm Bureau Federation California Grocers Association California Teamsters California Tow Truck Association California Trucking Association United Transportation Union OPPOSED: None received. AB 1888 (GATTO) Page 5