BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: SB 478
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: cannella
VERSION: 2/21/13
Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: no
Hearing date: May 7, 2013
SUBJECT:
Livestock vehicles: length limits
DESCRIPTION:
This bill exempts livestock semitrailers from California's
vehicle length limit laws.
ANALYSIS:
Most large trucks on the highway are truck tractor-trailer
combinations. Typically, a truck tractor pulls a semitrailer,
which is constructed so that some part of its weight and load
rests upon or is carried by the truck tractor. A kingpin is the
main pin used to connect a semitrailer to a truck tractor.
The distance from the kingpin to the rear axle, referred to as
KP-RA length , determines the width of the turning radius of the
tractor-trailer combination. Generally, any increase in the
wheelbase of any vehicle in a combination of vehicles will
result in more roadway used to complete a turn. Because of
this, on most freeways and major highways state law limits the
semitrailer's overall length or its KP-RA distance rather than
the total length of the truck tractor and trailer.
Specifically, on national network freeways and major state
highway routes, existing law allows semitrailers in
truck-semitrailer combinations to have either:
A maximum length of 48 feet; or
A maximum length of 53 feet if the KP-RA distance for a
semitrailer with 2 axles is no more than 40 feet or for a
semitrailer with one axle is no more than 38 feet .
This bill instead allows semitrailers that meet all of the
following criteria:
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Are no more than 53 feet in length;
Are designed and used exclusively to haul livestock; and
Have a design that prohibits the owner or operator from
configuring the rearmost of two rear axles at a distance of 40
feet from the king pin or 38 feet for a single axle.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . The author introduced this bill at the request of
the California Cattlemen's Association to address problems
cattle producers are experiencing when shipping their cattle
out of state. The Cattlemen's Association reports that there
are ever fewer feedlots and beef processing facilities in this
state. As a result, those who raise beef cattle more and more
often sell to out-of-state buyers, who typically do not own
semitrailers able to meet the dimensions required on
California's freeways and major highways. As a result,
feedlots, processors, and other out-of-state buyers prefer to
buy cattle in states other than California where the trailers
they own are legal. If the seller ships using a California
legal semitrailer, then fewer cattle can be shipped, making
the California cattle more expensive. This bill addresses
this issue by making these longer KP-RA length trailers legal.
2.It all depends on the curves . Most state highway curves,
including freeway on and off ramps, have a radius sufficient
to accommodate a 46-foot KP-RA distance and a 56-foot
semitrailer, but some do not, particularly those that traverse
mountainous areas or that are older. Where roads cannot
accommodate these lengths, longer vehicles cross over into the
oncoming lane of traffic or go off the roadway when rounding
curves in the highway. This is known as "off tracking" and
creates great risk for accidents including head on collisions
with other vehicles or with people or objects immediately
adjacent to the road. This problem can only be resolved
through structural improvements to the highway, where those
can be made.
3.Why not a permit ? Oversized vehicles may receive a permit
from the relevant state or local highway authority to operate
where otherwise prohibited. These can be single trip permits
or apply to a specified time period. They come with
restrictions as to where specifically the vehicle can operate,
whether it must have a lead car to warn others of its
approach, or if it requires the California Highway Patrol or
SB 478 (CANNELLA) Page 3
other authority to close a lane or entire road. State law
allows the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to issue
these permits only when the load the vehicle is carrying
cannot be divided into smaller loads. This ensures that, when
possible, vehicles of safe size operate on the state's roads
and that the permit process is neither overused nor abused.
Because a trailer full of cattle is a divisible load, Caltrans
cannot issue oversized load permits to out-of-state
semitrailers hauling cattle. Caltrans notes that a change in
state law to allow such permits would be costly to administer
and likely lead to many more requests to exempt specific
products from the prohibition on permits for divisible loads.
4.Arguments in opposition . Writing in opposition, the
Teamsters state that this bill would create a plainly unsafe
situation. The Teamsters note specifically that the trucks in
question are not designed for the kingpin settings this bill
allows and that consequently it would result in weight
distributions on the vehicles that negatively impact turning
and braking of the vehicles.
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, May 1,
2013.)
SUPPORT: California Cattlemen's Association (sponsor)
Agricultural Council of California
Absher Land & Livestock, Inc.
California Chamber of Commerce
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Livestock Auction Markets Association
California Trucking Association
Cattlemen's Livestock Market
Duane Martin Livestock
Fresno Livestock Commission, LLC
Fresno - Kings County Cattlemen's Association
Parnell Dickinson, Inc.
Roundup Internet Livestock Marking
San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation
San Joaquin - Stanislaus Cattlemen's Association
Turlock Livestock Auction Yard
Western Growers Association
OPPOSED: Teamsters
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