BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 162
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
162 (Rodriguez)
As Amended May 19, 2015
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|ASSEMBLY: | 77-0 | (April 30, |SENATE: |38-0 | (June 25, 2015) |
| | |2015) | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY: Requires the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) by January 1, 2017, to update their 1989 report on
wrong-way driving to reflect recent technological advancements.
The Senate amendments:
1)Require that Caltrans submit the preliminary version of the
updated Prevention of Wrong-Way Accidents report to the
Legislature on or before December 1, 2015, and that the final
report be submitted to the Legislature on or before July 1,
2016.
2)Add an urgency.
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Generally requires that vehicles drive on the right hand side of
the road.
2)Specifies that willful violation of the requirement to drive on
the right hand side of a highway barrier or dividing section
that results in injury or death is punishable by imprisonment.
3)Required Caltrans to prepare a one-time study on the prevention
of wrong-way accidents on freeways.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill:
1)Made findings and declarations about the dangers of wrong-way
driving, the frequency of its occurrence in California, and the
need for preventative countermeasures.
2)Required Caltrans, in consultation with the California
Department of Highway Patrol (CHP), to update the report
entitled Prevention of Wrong-Way Accidents, dated June 1989.
3)Required that the updated report include a review of methods
studied and/or implemented by other states, as well as local or
non-governmental entities that could help to prevent wrong-way
drivers from entering state highways.
4)Required that the updated report include a plan to incorporate
the identified treatments and technologies into Caltrans' annual
wrong-way monitoring and mitigation program for the state
highway system.
5)Required that the updated report be provided to the Legislature
on or before January 1, 2017.
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FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS: Although wrong-way crashes occur relatively
infrequently, these types of crashes often result in fatalities
and serious injuries. The author points out that wrong-way
driving has been a persistent traffic safety problem in California
despite Caltrans' efforts to reduce it. The author contends that
recent reports produced by the National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) as well as those produced in other states indicate
that there may be additional wrong-way driving countermeasures
that could be effectively utilized in California.
To ensure that all potentially effective wrong-way driving
countermeasures are considered and utilized in California, the
author has introduced this bill which would require Caltrans, in
consultation with CHP, to update its 1989 wrong-way accident
prevention report to include recent technological advances. This
bill also requires Caltrans to include in the updated report, a
plan to incorporate the treatments and countermeasures into
Caltrans' annual wrong-way mitigation and monitoring program for
state highways.
Wrong-way driving, as the name implies, involves driving a motor
vehicle against the direction of traffic. Wrong-way driving can
occur on any roadway, but on divided highways and especially on
freeways and expressways, wrong-way driving typically results in
catastrophic head-on collisions. According to the NTSB, 360 lives
were lost annually between 2004 and 2009 as a result of wrong-way
driving. According to CHP, in California between 2001 and 2014,
there have been a total of 1,541 wrong-way driving collisions
resulting in 1,687 injuries and 271 fatalities.
Wrong way drivers typically enter divided highways at
intersections and off-ramps. The cause of these wrong-way entries
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has reportedly shifted over time. An investigation of
contributing factors for wrong-way driving prepared for the
Illinois Center for Transportation in 2012 reported that in the
past, most wrong-way entries were caused by drivers who were
confused by ramp configurations. Improved ramp designs, signage,
pavement markings, and lighting, however, have reduced driver
confusion and associated wrong-way entries. Currently, the NTSB
indicates that the majority (60%) of wrong-way crashes are
associated with driving under the influence of drugs and/or
alcohol (DUI). The NTSB also reports, and the CHP concurs, that
elderly and fatigued drivers also contribute to the number
wrong-way driving accidents nationwide.
In 1989, as a requirement of SB 233 (Davis), Chapter 153, Statutes
of 1987, Caltrans produced a report entitled Prevention of
Wrong-Way Accidents on Freeways. The purpose of the report was to
determine actions and measures needed to prevent wrong-way entries
onto state highways. The report, among other things, recommended
specific countermeasures and encouraged Caltrans to continue its
pro-active annual monitoring and reporting program for wrong-way
accidents that was initiated in 1985. Specifically, the annual
monitoring program, which is still conducted today, serves to
identify locations where wrong-way entries occur statewide,
followed by thorough site investigations that include, among other
things, follow-up officer interviews with those involved in the
accident as well as eyewitnesses. Based on the information
gathered in these investigations, Caltrans installs
countermeasures where appropriate. Caltrans notes that these
safety improvements are the department's top priority and that
they are initiated, programmed, and completed as soon as possible.
While Caltrans continues to rely upon the 1989 report to for
countermeasures, they also utilize information and countermeasures
contained in more recent studies and reports, including those
prepared by NTSB. Regardless, updating the 1989 wrong-way driving
report as required by this bill would no doubt offer Caltrans the
opportunity to evaluate newly available countermeasures and
technologies that have been developed and are currently being
effectively deployed in other states. A more up-to-date report
would undoubtedly allow for broader consideration and deployment
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of programs and technologies to reduce wrong-way accidents in
California.
Analysis Prepared by:
Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN:
0001063