BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 902
Author: Beth Gaines (R)
Amended: 3/18/13 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 6/11/13
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Pavley, Roth, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/24/13
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Vehicles: rules of the road: right-of-way
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill increases the maximum base fine to $100 for
violating the states move-over law, making the maximum total
penalty $489.
ANALYSIS : SB 1610 (Simitian, Chapter 375, Statutes of 2006),
established the "move-over" law and required 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:
CONTINUED
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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; or
2.If the maneuver described in #1 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.
SB 1610 also provided 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. CHP
issued this report in 2009, and then SB 159 (Simitian, Chapter
33, Statutes of 2009), made the provisions of SB 1610 permanent.
SB 240 (Wright, Chapter 175, Statutes of 2009), added Department
of Transportation (Caltrans) vehicles displaying flashing amber
warning lights to the move-over law. It also clarified that the
move-over law does not apply when a vehicle displaying flashing
lights is either not adjacent to the freeway or is separated
from the freeway by a protective physical barrier. Existing law
predating the move-over law permits highway maintenance vehicles
to display their flashing amber lights "when parked or working
on the highway."
Beginning with SB 1610, state law set a base fine of not more
than $50 for move-over violations. A $50 base fine results in a
total penalty of $284.
This bill increases the maximum base fine for a move-over
violation from $50 to $100, thus increasing the maximum total
penalty from $279 to $489.
Background
The author notes that according to a study that the National
Safety Commission sponsored, 71% of Americans have not heard of
the move-over law. She further asserts that many who are aware
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of the law choose to ignore it because the fine associated with
violating the law is not sufficiently high to create an
incentive to obey the move-over law. She introduced this bill
to increase the fine and thus provide a greater incentive to
adhere to the law.
In the first few years after SB 1610 originally created this
state's move-over law, CHP reported issuing few tickets (only
106 citations over two years.) This was a very low number,
especially given that casual observation at the time suggested
that the law was not widely observed. At that time the law
included emergency vehicles and tow trucks, but not Caltrans
vehicles. CHP noted then in explanation of the low number of
citations 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 and others, however, later initiated a
driver education campaign about the move-over law. Over time,
compliance with the law has increased.
In 2009, 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 comparison, the new law appears 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 other roads, nor does it
record whether a vehicle's emergency lights were displayed.
Finally, SB 1610 also enacted a provision 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 was unable
to separate the effect of this provision from the move-over law
in determining the decrease in accidents.
CHP reports that last year it issued over 1,500 tickets for
violating the move-over law, up from 1,200 in 2010, and
reflecting a steady increase over the years since SB 1610
created California's original move-over law. The number of
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citations issued has increased, as one would expect, since the
law was expanded to include Caltrans' vehicles.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, likely minor
increased penalty revenues (General Fund, various special
funds). While the bill increases the base fine from $50 to
$100, the maximum total penalty imposed on a violator would
increase from $279 to $489 when all penalty assessments and fees
are included.
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/25/13)
California Tow Truck Association
California Ambulance Association
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Torres, Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,
Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Donnelly, Holden, Logue, Waldron, Vacancy
JA:nl 6/25/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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