Senate Resolution No. 17

Introduced by Senators Evans and DeSaulnier

August 12, 2013

Senate Resolution No. 17—Relative to bicycle and pedestrian safety.

WHEREAS, The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration’s (NHTSA) National Center for States and Analysis
reports that in 2010 almost one-fifth, or 19 percent, of all children
between five and nine years of age who were killed in traffic
crashes were pedestrians. Children 15 years of age and younger
accounted for 7 percent of the pedestrian fatalities and 23 percent
of all pedestrians injured in traffic crashes in 2010 ; and

WHEREAS, NHTSA reported that in 2011, 677 bicyclists were
killed, an increase of 59 from 2010, and an additional 52,000 were
injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Bicyclists under 16 years
of age accounted for 11 percent of all those killed and 21 percent
of those injured in traffic crashes in 2010 ; and

WHEREAS, NHTSA further reported that pedestrian deaths
from traffic collisions have increased 4 percent from 2005 to 2010,
inclusive; and

WHEREAS, The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS)
reports that injuries and deaths caused by traffic collisions
involving pedestrians increased from 601 in 2010 to 625 in 2011,
or 3.9 percent, and for bicyclists from 99 in 2010 to 114 in 2011,
or 13 percent; and

WHEREAS, Recent studies by the National Council on Youth
Sports, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the United States
Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the National Institute
of Health (NIH) found that children 5 to 18 years of age, inclusive,
and adults continue to be victims of pedestrian, bicycle, and
skateboard accidents; and

WHEREAS, Education programs recommended by the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Safe Routes To School
(SRTS) National Partnership assume most of the accidents
involving bicycle riding, using a skateboard, and walking in traffic
that result in injury or death are due to a lack of knowledge on the
part of victims and drivers of motor vehicles, therefore,
preventable, and would not have occurred had those involved made
educated and informed decisions regarding safe behavior as
pedestrians, bicyclists, skateboarders, and drivers of motor vehicles;
and

WHEREAS, According to the California School Board
Association (CSBA), the SRTS National Partnership, the FHWA,
and the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the best method
of prevention of pedestrian and bicycle traffic accidents is
education at key points in life for both children and adults.
Comprehensive and sustainable education, with repeated reminders
through the public schools and public mass media messages, will
lead to fewer pedestrian, bicycle, and skateboard injuries and
deaths; and

WHEREAS, The current status for participation in SRTS
National Partnership education curriculum by schools in California
can best be described as fractured. How many schools participate,
for how long, and for which program, as well as how it is funded,
are difficult to determine. It can be estimated that with only very
few exceptions, only a small number of all California schools
participate for a limited time until limited funds are exhausted.
Using Sonoma County as an example, according to the SRTS
National Partnership Director for the Sonoma County Bike
Coalition, currently out of 177 schools, only 24, or less than 14
percent, participate in at least one of the five components of the
SRTS National Partnership program; and

WHEREAS, CSBA and the SRTS National Partnership
encourage and recommend that schools and local jurisdictions
participate and support bicycle and pedestrian education programs,
both through policy initiatives and financial support where
currently available; and

WHEREAS, According to FHWA, NHTSA, OTS, the CSBA
and the SRTS National Partnership, a detailed safety skills
curriculum included at key grade levels, such as third, sixth, and
ninth grades, with ongoing reminders at all grades, will ensure that
all school children will be provided the opportunity to learn the
rules of the road related to the responsibilities and rights for
pedestrians, bicyclists, and skateboarders; and

WHEREAS, SRTS National Partnership, CDC, NHTSA,
FHWA, and OTS publications suggest that the inclusion of
curriculum in the State of California frameworks for health and
physical education designed for all children with involvement of
parents and community members will reduce the incidence of
pedestrian, bicycle, and skateboard accidents when the curriculum
for safety instruction is implemented; and

WHEREAS, Motor vehicle drivers should be prepared to share
the road and should consider that all pedestrians, bicycle riders,
and skateboard riders are someone’s, children, parents, or friends;
and

WHEREAS, According to OTS, when considering traffic
fatalities, California has adopted the slogan “Toward Zero Deaths,
Every 1 Counts”; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate
encourages the State of California to promote a comprehensive
and sustainable program, such as the existing model curriculum
for pedestrian and bicycle safety now in use in most of schools of
the County of Marin and other schools located throughout the
United States, and endorse increased pedestrian, bicycle, and
skateboard safety education programs ; and be it further

Resolved, That the Senate encourages parents and teachers to
ensure that children learn defensive walking, bike riding, and
skateboarding in traffic, including wearing a helmet when bike
riding or skateboarding, and learning the dangers of using any
electronic devise or headphones when walking, bike riding, or
skateboarding; and be it further

Resolved, That the Senate encourages the State Department of
Education to require all teachers to be trained to teach bicycle and
pedestrian safety; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.