California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 162


Introduced by Assembly Member Rodriguez

January 21, 2015


An act to add and repeal Section 21651.1 of the Vehicle Code, relating to state highways.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 162, as introduced, Rodriguez. State highways: wrong-way driving.

Existing law requires a vehicle to be driven on the right half of a roadway, subject to specified exceptions. On a highway that has been divided into 2 or more roadways by means of intermittent barriers or by means of specified kinds of dividing sections, existing law makes it unlawful to drive a vehicle on that highway, except to the right of the intermittent barrier or dividing section that separates 2 or more opposing lanes of traffic.

This bill would require the Department of Transportation, in consultation with the Department of Motor Vehicles, to initiate a 12-month study on wrong-way driving on state highways. The bill would require the study to incorporate findings and recommendations to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislation, including solutions to reduce the number of instances of wrong-way driving and a proposed schedule for implementation of those solutions. The bill would make related findings and declarations.

The bill would provide that its provisions are repealed as of January 1, 2021.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

3(a) Wrong-way driving on state highways kills or injures
4hundreds of Californians each year.

5(b) Accidents caused by wrong-way driving on highways are
6more likely to result in fatal and serious injuries than other types
7of accidents.

8(c) From 2003 to 2012, drivers traveling the wrong way caused
9436 fatal collisions and 5,006 injury collisions in California, as
10reported by the Department of the California Highway Patrol.

11(d) Innovative countermeasures are needed to prevent drivers
12from entering the highway the wrong way.

13

SEC. 2.  

Section 21651.1 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

14

21651.1.  

(a) The Department of Transportation, in consultation
15with the Department of Motor Vehicles, shall initiate a 12-month
16study on wrong-way driving on state highways and shall provide,
17on or before January 1, 2017, its recommendations to the
18appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Senate and the
19Assembly. The study shall incorporate findings and any other
20information that the Department of Transportation deems helpful.
21The study shall include proposed solutions to reduce the number
22of instances of wrong-way driving on state highways and a
23proposed schedule for implementing those solutions.

24(b) This section is repealed on January 1, 2021, pursuant to
25Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.



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