BILL NUMBER: AB 2398 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Levine
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to amend Section 13355 of, and to add Sections
12810.6, 21071, and 42001.21 to , the Vehicle Code,
relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2398, as amended, Levine. Vehicles: pedestrians and bicyclists.
Existing law provides that a driver who violates specified
offenses of the rules of the road that are punishable as an
infraction, and as a result of that violation proximately causes
bodily injury or great bodily injury to another person is guilty of
the public offense of unsafe operation of a motor vehicle with bodily
injury or great bodily injury. Existing law provides that a person
who is convicted under these provisions is punishable for a violation
involving bodily injury by a fine of $70 and for a violation
involving great bodily injury by a fine of $95. Existing law
establishes that specified convictions and violations under the
Vehicle Code and traffic-related incidents count as violation points
against a driver's record for purposes of suspension or revocation of
the privilege to drive.
This bill would additionally provide, notwithstanding any other
law, that a driver who violates the offenses described above and, as
a result of that violation, proximately causes bodily injury or great
bodily injury to a vulnerable road user, as defined, is guilty of
the public offense of unsafe operation of a motor vehicle with bodily
injury or great bodily injury. The bill would make a person who is
convicted under these provisions punishable by a fine of not less
than $145 $220 and not more than
$1,000. The bill would also require, upon a conviction under
those provisions that occurred within 3 years of a prior conviction
under those provisions, the person's privilege to operate a motor
vehicle to be suspended for a period of 6 months, or the
privilege to be restricted for 6 months to necessary travel to and
from the person's place of employment and, if driving a
motor vehicle is necessary to perform the duties of the person's
employment, to be restricted to driving within the person's scope of
employment. The bill would assign a violation point for a
conviction under these provisions. By creating a new crime, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 12810.6 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
12810.6. A conviction of a violation of Section 21071 shall be
given a value of one violation point.
SEC. 2. Section 13355 of the Vehicle
Code is amended to read:
13355. The department shall immediately suspend the privilege of
any person to operate a motor vehicle upon receipt of a duly
certified abstract of the record of any court showing that the person
has been convicted of a violation of Section 21071, or of
subdivision (b) of Section 22348, or upon a receipt of a report of a
judge of a juvenile court, a juvenile hearing officer, or a referee
of a juvenile court showing that the person has been found to have
committed a violation of Section 21071 or of subdivision
(b) of Section 22348 under the following conditions and for the
periods, as follows:
(a) Upon a conviction under Section 21071 that occurred
within three years of a prior conviction under Section 21071, or upon
a conviction or finding of an offense under subdivision (b) of
Section 22348 that occurred within three years of a prior offense
resulting in a conviction of an offense under subdivision (b) of
Section 22348, the privilege shall be suspended for a period of six
months, or the privilege shall be restricted for six months to
necessary travel to and from the person's place of employment and, if
driving a motor vehicle is necessary to perform the duties of the
person's employment, restricted to driving within the person's scope
of employment.
(b) Upon a conviction or finding of an offense under subdivision
(b) of Section 22348 that occurred within five years of two or more
prior offenses resulting in convictions of offenses under subdivision
(b) of Section 22348, the privilege shall be suspended for a period
of one year, or the privilege shall be restricted for one year to
necessary travel to and from the person's place of employment and, if
driving a motor vehicle is necessary to perform the duties of the
person's employment, restricted to driving within the person's scope
of employment.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. Section 21071 is
added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
21071. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, a driver who violates
any provision of this division that is punishable as an infraction
and, as a result of that violation, proximately causes bodily injury
or great bodily injury, as defined in Section 12022.7 of the Penal
Code, to a vulnerable road user, is guilty of the public offense of
unsafe operation of a motor vehicle with bodily injury or great
bodily injury. That violation is punishable as an infraction pursuant
to Section 42001.21.
(b) For purposes of this section, "vulnerable road user" means:
(1) A pedestrian, including a highway construction and maintenance
worker or skater .
(2) A person on horseback.
(3) A person operating equipment other than a motor vehicle,
including, but not limited to, a bicycle, in-line skates, roller
skates, scooter, or skateboard.
(4) A person operating or using a farm tractor.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. Section 42001.21 is
added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
42001.21. Notwithstanding any other law, a person convicted of a
violation of Section 21071 is punishable by a fine of not less than
one hundred forty-five dollars ($145) two
hundred twenty dollars ($220) and not more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000).
SEC. 4. SEC. 5. No reimbursement is
required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred
by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this
act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or
infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within
the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the
definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII
B of the California Constitution.