AB 863, as amended, Dodd. Modified limousines: passenger safety.
Existing law, on and after January 1, 2016,begin delete prohibitsend deletebegin insert requiresend insert any personbegin delete fromend delete operating a modified limousine that is modified prior to July 1, 2015,begin delete unless itend deletebegin insert to ensure that the vehicleend insert is equipped with at least 2 rear side doors and one or 2 rear windows that the rear seat passengers or all passengers of the vehicle may open from the inside of the vehicle in case of any fire or other emergency, as specified.
This bill would instead make this prohibition operative on January 1, 2017.
end deleteExisting law requires, for modified limousines modified on or after July 1, 2015, that at least one of the side doors be located near the driver’s compartment and another near the back of the vehicle.
end deleteThis bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to this provision.
end deleteUnder this bill, the requirement that those modified limousines be equipped with one or 2 rear windows would instead apply on and after January 1, 2017.
end insertbegin insertThe bill would make other nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
end insertVote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 27375 of the Vehicle Code is amended
2to read:
(a) Any person who operates a modified limousine
4shall ensure that the vehicle has at least two rear side doors and
5one or two rear windows, as specified in paragraph (1), that the
6rear seat passengers or all passengers of the vehicle may open from
7the inside of the vehicle in case of any fire or other emergency that
8may require the immediate exit of the passengers of the vehicle.
9A limousine subject to thisbegin delete sectionend deletebegin insert subdivisionend insert shall be equipped
10with both of the following:
11(1) (A) Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), at least two
12rear push-out windows that are accessible to all passengers. At
13least one push-out window shall be located on each side of the
14vehicle, unless the design of the limousine precludes the installation
15of a push-out window on one side of the vehicle, in which case
16the second push-out window shall instead be located in the roof
17of the vehicle.
18(B) If the design of the limousine precludes the installation of
19even one push-out window on a side of the vehicle, one push-out
20window shall instead be located in the roof of the vehicle.
21(C) The Department of the California Highway Patrol shall
22establish, by regulation, standards to ensure that window exits are
23operable and sufficient in emergency situations for limousine
24passengers. The department shall ensure
that these regulations
25comply with any applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards.
26(2) At least two rear side doors that are accessible to all
27passengers and that may be opened manually by any passenger.
28At least one rear side door shall be located on each side of the
29vehicle. For modified limousines modified on or after July 1, 2015,
30at least one of these side doors shall be located near the driver’s
31compartment and another near the back of the vehicle. These side
32doors shall comply with any applicable federal motor vehicle safety
33standards as deemed necessary by the Department of the California
34Highway Patrol.
P3 1(b) In the case of a fire or other emergency that requires the
2immediate exit of the passengers from the limousine, the driver of
3the limousine shall unlock the
doors so that the rear side doors can
4be opened by the passengers from the inside of the vehicle.
5(c) An owner or operator of a limousine shall do all of the
6following:
7(1) Instruct all passengers on the safety features of the vehicle
8prior to the beginning of any trip, including, but not limited to,
9instructions for lowering the partition between the driver and
10passenger compartments and for communicating with the driver
11by the use of an intercom or other onboard or wireless device.
12(2) Disclose to the contracting party and the passengers whether
13the limousine meets the safety requirements described in this
14section.
15(3) If paragraph (3) of subdivision (d)
applies, the owner or
16operator of a limousine shall further disclose to the contracting
17party and the passengers that the limousine does not meet the safety
18requirements required in subdivision (a) regarding vehicle escape
19options because of its exempt status, and therefore may pose a
20greater risk to passengers should emergency escape be necessary.
21(d) (1) Subdivision (a) shall apply to all modified limousines
22modified on or after July 1, 2015.
23(2) begin deleteSubdivision end deletebegin insertParagraph (1) of subdivision end insert(a) shall, beginning
24January 1, 2017, apply to all vehicles that met the definition of
25modified limousine, as described
in subdivision (b) of Section 378,
26thatbegin delete areend deletebegin insert wereend insert modified prior to July 1, 2015.
27(3) Except as provided in paragraph (4), subdivision (a) shall
28not apply to any limousine manufactured before 1970 that has an
29active transportation charter-party carrier (TCP) number that was
30issued by the commission as of August 15, 2013.
31(4) Subdivision (a) shall apply to any limousine manufactured
32before 1970 if it was modified after August 15, 2013.
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