Amended in Assembly June 8, 2016

Amended in Assembly May 26, 2016

Amended in Senate January 26, 2016

Amended in Senate January 4, 2016

Amended in Senate July 16, 2015

Amended in Senate April 7, 2015

Senate Bill No. 247

Introduced by Senator Lara

February 18, 2015

An act to add Section 34505.8 to, and to add Article 3.6 (commencing with Section 27425) to Chapter 5 of Division 12 of, the Vehicle Code, relating to transportation safety.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 247, as amended, Lara. Charter bus transportation: safety improvements.

The Passenger Charter-party Carriers’ Act imposes various requirements on charter-party carriers of passengers, and provides for the safety regulation of charter-party carriers of passengers engaged in charter bus transportation, as defined, by the Public Utilities Commission.

Under existing law, the Department of the California Highway Patrol is responsible for specified vehicle safety and equipment regulation. Unless otherwise specified, a violation of these vehicle safety and equipment provisions is an infraction.

This bill, in addition to the above-referenced act, would require a charter-party carrier of passengers engaged in charter bus transportation to ensure that the driver of a charter bus provides oral and written instructions to all passengers on the safety equipment and emergency exits on the vehicle prior to the beginning of any trip and that the charter bus is begin delete equipped end delete begin insert equipped, by July 1, 2019, end insert with specified safety equipment. The bill would also require those vehicles manufactured after July 1, begin delete 2017, end delete begin insert 2020, end insert to be equipped with a secondary door for use as an additional emergency begin delete exit. end delete begin insert exit and other designated safety equipment. end insert The bill would require the department to adopt, no later than July 1, 2017, standards and criteria for the implementation of these equipment and safety requirements. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.

Because a violation of these provisions would be an infraction, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) The safety of passengers traveling in charter buses in
California is of the utmost importance. According to the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration, between 1975 and 2013,
there were over 11,000 fatal crashes involving charter buses,
including 1,615 occupant fatalities. Improved safety standards and
practices are necessary to better protect passengers in the event of
a charter bus crash.

(b) On April 10, 2014, in Orland, California, eight passengers
traveling on a charter bus, along with the driver, were tragically
killed in a freeway collision. In a report released in 2015, the
National Transportation Safety Board examined the crash and
made recommendations for safety improvements, including fire
performance standards for interior materials, requiring pretrip
safety briefings for passengers, improvements in vehicle design
to facilitate evacuation, and the installation of event data recorder
(EDR) technology for crash reconstruction and safety
improvements.

(c) These improvements would significantly increase passenger
safety and would reduce or prevent future deaths in traffic
collisions involving charter buses.

SEC. 2.  

Article 3.6 (commencing with Section 27425) is added
to Chapter 5 of Division 12 of the Vehicle Code, to read:

 

Article 3.6.  Charter-Party Carrier Safety Equipment

 

27425.  

(a) A charter-party carrier of passengers engaged in
charter bus transportation shall ensure that a vehicle as described
in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 5363 of the Public
Utilities Code is equipped with begin delete all of the following: end delete begin insert interior and
exterior luminescent or retroreflective emergency signage by July
1, 2019. end insert

begin delete

(1) Emergency lighting fixtures with self-contained, independent
power sources that will turn on in the event of an impact or
collision.

end delete begin delete

(2) Interior and exterior luminescent or retroreflective
emergency signage.

end delete begin delete

(3) Windows that can be easily opened and remain open during
an emergency.

end delete

(b) A vehicle as specified in subdivision (a), manufactured on
or after July 1, begin delete 2017, end delete begin insert 2020 end insert shall also be equipped with begin delete a secondary
door for use as an additional emergency exit. end delete begin insert all of the following: end insert

begin insert

(1) A secondary door for use as an additional emergency exit.

end insert begin insert

(2) Windows that can be easily opened and remain open during
an emergency.

end insert begin insert

(3) Emergency lighting fixtures that will turn on in the event of
an impact or collision.

end insert begin insert

(c) A vehicle as specified in subdivision (a) shall at all times
meet applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS)
issued by the United States Department of Transportation. This
section shall not be construed to conflict with those standards.

end insert

27426.  

The department shall adopt, no later than July 1, 2017,
standards and criteria for the implementation of the safety
equipment requirements specified in Section 27425.

27427.  

This act does not alter or affect the requirements of the
Passenger Charter-party Carriers’ Act (Chapter 8 (commencing
with Section 5351) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities Code).

SEC. 3.  

Section 34505.8 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

34505.8.  

(a) A charter-party carrier of passengers engaged in
charter bus transportation shall ensure that the driver of a vehicle
as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 5363
of the Public Utilities Code shall instruct all passengers on the
safety equipment and emergency exits on the vehicle prior to the
beginning of any trip and provide each passenger with written
instructions that include, at a minimum, a demonstration of the
location and operation of all exits, including emergency exits, and
the importance of wearing a seatbelt, if available.

(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the department shall adopt,
no later than July 1, 2017, standards and criteria for the
implementation of the safety requirements specified in this section.

(c) This section does not alter or affect the requirements of the
Passenger Charter-party Carriers’ Act (Chapter 8 (commencing
with Section 5351) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities Code).

SEC. 4.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.