BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1134
Author: Knight (R)
Amended: 6/15/14
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 10-1, 4/29/14
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Galgiani, Hueso,
Lara, Liu, Roth, Wyland
NOES: Pavley
SENATE FLOOR : 28-7, 5/15/14
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett,
Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani,
Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Knight, Lieu, Liu, Morrell,
Nielsen, Padilla, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Wolk, Wyland
NOES: Evans, Hancock, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Monning, Pavley
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Mitchell, Walters, Wright, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-1, 6/19/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Illuminated signs on public transit buses
SOURCE : Antelope Valley Transit Authority
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the Antelope Valley Transit
Authority (AVTA) to equip the sides of its buses with
illuminated signs to display advertising if the AVTA makes a
specified determination, on or before March 1, 2015.
Assembly Amendments extend by six months the due date for the
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required report, if the program is implemented, and the sunset
date.
ANALYSIS : Existing law authorizes buses, operated by a
publicly owned transit system on regularly scheduled service, to
be equipped with illuminated signs to inform the public
concerning the buses' operation. These signs may emit any light
color, except that forward-facing signs cannot emit the color
red, consistent with the following conditions:
1. Signs must emit diffused non-glaring light;
2. The area of the signs may be no greater than 720 square
inches, for example one foot high and five feet long;
3. Signs must be installed in a position that does not
interfere with the visibility or effectiveness of a required
lamp, reflector, or other device on the bus; and
4. Signs must display information directly related to public
transit service, such as route number, destination
description, and run number.
Further, existing law authorizes dynamic messaging on
illuminated signs equipped to public transit buses if the
practice adheres to the following requirements:
1. "Paging," meaning information presented for a period of time
and then disappearing all at once before new information is
presented, is permitted if the display time of each message
is between 2.7 and 10 seconds. Blanking time between each
message must be between 0.5 and 25 seconds.
2. "Streaming," meaning information moving continuously and
smoothly across the display, is permitted if the character
movement time, from one end of the display to the other, is
at least 2.7 seconds, and the movement time of the entire
message is not more than 10 seconds.
In 2011, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed AB 607
(Brownley, Chapter 529), allowing the City of Santa Monica's bus
transit system to establish a pilot program, until January 1,
2017, equipping the sides of its buses with illuminated signs to
display advertising. The following conditions govern Santa
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Monica's use of these signs on its buses:
1. Signs must emit diffused non-glaring light;
2. Signs must not be greater than 4,464 square inches in area,
which could be roughly three feet high and ten feet long;
3. Signs must not be installed in a position that interferes
with the visibility of required lamps, reflectors, or other
devices;
4. Signs must not be forward or backward facing (i.e., not on
the front or rear of the bus);
5. Light-emitting diodes for illumination may include red,
provided the color formed by the mixing of light from the
diodes in the advertising is not red;
6. Signs must be static when the buses are operating on state
freeways; and
7. Existing standards for paging and streaming (described
above) shall apply to the display of advertising signs.
Further, AB 607 requires the City of Santa Monica transit staff
and police department to develop collaboratively a report
examining the incidence of adverse impacts on roadway and
pedestrian safety due to the illuminated signs pilot program and
submit the report to the Legislature and the California Highway
Patrol by July 1, 2016.
In 2013, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed AB 541
(Daly, Chapter 133) allowing the University of California
Irvine's (UC Irvine) bus transport system to institute a pilot
program identical to the one authorized for the City of Santa
Monica, but only if Santa Monica had not started the pilot by
March 1, 2014. UC Irvine's pilot program would sunset by
January 1, 2019.
This bill allows the AVTA, if it determines on March 1, 2015,
that UC Irvine has less than 12 transit buses with illuminated
display, to institute a pilot program which allows the AVTA
buses to be equipped with illuminated signs to display
advertising identical to the one authorized for Santa Monica.
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This pilot program sunsets on July 1, 2020, and the required
report, if the program is implemented, is due January 1, 2020.
Background
Public transit agencies have long subsidized transit operations
with revenues from static advertising displays placed on the
sides of buses. A recent federal research project suggests that
the emerging media of digital bus advertising could provide a
potential additional revenue stream for transit agencies. These
digital signs are ultra-thin, lightweight, light emitting diode
(LED) screens that can easily be mounted on the sides of buses
and cost about $50,000 each. Digital advertising allows for
customized advertising, including a variable rate structure and
easily changeable messaging. Because the advertising being
displayed can be managed remotely, it is possible to render the
advertising static when the buses are operating on freeways.
Responding to this new potential revenue source, the Legislature
enacted AB 607 authorizing Santa Monica to conduct a pilot
project to study the safety impacts of illuminated signs on
buses. Before widely authorizing the use of these signs across
the state, the Legislature wanted to study the safety of the
signs and the potential for distraction of pedestrians and other
drivers.
Distracted driving concerns . A variety of constituencies have
conducted distracted driving studies focused on a number of
potential distractions. Some studies use data to prove
illuminated billboards do not lead to negative outcomes, while
other studies refute these conclusions. Nearly all studies
admit that, in most instances, it is very difficult to identify
one single factor that led to an adverse incident such as an
automobile accident. Research tends to show that accidents
arise from an accumulation of factors, including distractions
inside and outside the vehicle, weather conditions, and even
distracting thoughts within the driver's mind.
It is clear, however, that billboards by their very nature
capture a driver's attention. Advertising is intended to
communicate a message to the recipient, which requires the
driver's attention. One recent study of driver behavior
conducted by the Accident Research Center at Monash University
concluded that "the presence of billboards changed drivers'
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pattern of visual attention, increased the amount of time needed
for drivers to respond to road signs, and increased the number
of errors in the driving task." Other studies using
naturalistic driving data have found that, of all the various
distractions contributing to poor driving outcomes, visual
distraction is the primary concern in driver distraction.
As mentioned previously, the Legislature authorized the Santa
Monica pilot program in order to study and identify any adverse
impacts on pedestrians and drivers resulting from the use of
illuminated signs on the exterior of moving buses. This report
should inform the decision of whether or not to expand this
authority to other transit operators in the state. While
illuminated billboards, either on the side of the road or sides
of buses, may not by themselves lead to adverse impacts, it is
clear that they contribute to the multiple distractions drivers
and pedestrians navigate each day. Adding distractions,
especially ones that are particularly effective at drawing one's
attention, can only increase the risk of negative outcomes. The
question is not whether these advertisements cause accidents and
other negative consequences, but how many distractions are
enough to create an environment potentially too risky and
dangerous for people traveling from one place to another.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/19/14)
Antelope Valley Transit Authority (source)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-1, 06/19/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos,
Chau, Chávez, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dickinson, Donnelly, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia,
Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman,
Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Skinner, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Atkins
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NOES: Stone
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Brown, Chesbro, Eggman, Yamada,
Vacancy
JA:d 6/20/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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