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) |
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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