BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        AB 198|
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                                      CONSENT 


          Bill No:  AB 198
          Author:   Frazier (D)
          Amended:  6/2/15 in Senate
          Vote:     21  

           SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE:  11-0, 6/9/15
           AYES:  Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,  
            McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  75-0, 3/26/15 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   Vehicles:  tow truck assistance


          SOURCE:    Author


          DIGEST:  This bill authorizes tow truck operators to operate in  
          the center median or right shoulder of a roadway under specified  
          conditions.


          ANALYSIS:   Existing law prohibits an individual from stopping,  
          parking, or leaving a vehicle parked upon a freeway except under  
          specified conditions, including, among other conditions:



          1)When the vehicle is so disabled that it is impossible to avoid  
            temporarily stopping and another vehicle has been summoned to  
            render assistance.

          2)When necessary for a tow truck owner or operator who is  
            operating under an agreement with the California Highway  
            Patrol to rapidly remove impediments to traffic.








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          This bill explicitly authorizes a tow truck operator providing  
          emergency roadside assistance to utilize the center median  
          (including making a U-turn across the median) or the right  
          shoulder of a roadway if all of the following conditions are  
          met:

          1)The tow truck operator is operating under an agreement with  
            the law enforcement agency responsible for investigating  
            traffic collisions on the roadway;

          2)The tow truck operator is summoned by the owner or operator of  
            a vehicle involved in a collision or that is otherwise  
            disabled on the roadway;

          3)A peace officer at the scene of the roadway obstruction has  
            determined that the obstruction has caused an unnecessary  
            delay to motorists;

          4)The peace officer has determined that a tow truck can provide  
            emergency roadside assistance by removing the disabled vehicle  
            and has given explicit permission to the tow truck driver to  
            use the center median or right shoulder of the roadway; 

          5)The tow truck operator operates the tow truck on the center  
            median or right shoulder at a speed that is reasonable and  
            prudent with due regard for weather, visibility, traffic, and  
            the surface and width of the roadway; and 

          6)The tow truck displays flashing amber warning lights to the  
            front, rear, and both sides while driving in the center median  
            or right shoulder. 

          Comments

          Purpose.  The author states that existing law does not authorize  
          law enforcement to allow tow trucks responding to an emergency  
          to utilize the center median or right shoulder of a roadway.   
          However, the center median or right shoulder would often provide  
          the quickest access on a congested roadway where a traffic  
          collision has occurred.  This bill will help speed removal of  
          traffic impediments by authorizing tow trucks to use the median  








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          or shoulder when appropriate.

          Costs of congestion.  A new Federal Highway Administration  
          (FHWA) report indicates that in 2011, the most recent year for  
          which data are available, Interstate 5 in California was the  
          most congested interstate highway in the nation.  Interstates 10  
          and 110 in California were the second and third most congested.   
          Research indicates that traffic congestion is a major economic  
          development issue:  Unexpected delays add costs to goods  
          movement, regional congestion hurts business competitiveness,  
          and congestion diminishes residents' quality of life.  In  
          addition, traffic congestion leads to wasted fuel, increased  
          carbon dioxide emissions, lost productivity, and higher chances  
          of collisions due to tight spacing and constant stopping and  
          starting.
          
          Implementing an FHWA recommendation.  To address the social and  
          economic costs of traffic collisions, FHWA developed the Traffic  
          Incident Management Program (TIM) in collaboration with a number  
          of state and local stakeholders involved in highway incident  
          response and traffic management.  The TIM, under FHWA's Office  
          of Transportation Operations, consists of a coordinated,  
          multi-disciplinary process to detect, respond to, and clear  
          traffic incidents.  The goal of the TIM is to reduce the  
          duration and impacts of traffic incidents and to improve the  
          safety of motorists, crash victims, and emergency responders.  

          The TIM provides a number of recommendations and best practices  
          related to the safe and timely removal of wreckage and debris.   
          One of these recommendations is to provide law enforcement with  
          flexibility to determine the most effective approach in removing  
          disabled vehicles impeding highway traffic.  This bill will  
          implement this recommendation by facilitating rapid removal of  
          traffic impediments and/or removal of a disabled vehicle  
          obstructing a roadway.

          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:NoLocal:    No


          SUPPORT:   (Verified6/11/15)









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          California Association of Highway Patrolmen
          California Peace Officers' Association
          California Police Chiefs Association
          California State Sheriffs' Association
          California Tow Truck Association
          Official Police Garage Association of Los Angeles
          United Coalition for Motor Club Safety


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified6/11/15)




          None received


          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  75-0, 3/26/15
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,  
            Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,  
            Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Cristina Garcia,  
            Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray,  
            Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Kim,  
            Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes,  
            McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,  
            O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas,  
            Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond,  
            Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Gallagher, Grove, Jones-Sawyer, Mathis,  
            Rendon


          Prepared by:Erin Riches / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
          6/12/15 10:55:55


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