BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 247
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Date of Hearing: June 29, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 247
(Lara) - As Amended June 8, 2016
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|Policy |Transportation |Vote:|13 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires charter buses to be equipped with specified
safety features. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires each vehicle used for charter bus transportation:
a) To be equipped with interior and exterior luminescent or
retroreflective emergency signage by July 1, 2019.
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b) Manufactured on or after July 1, 2020, to be equipped
with a secondary door for use as an additional emergency
exist, windows that can be easily opened and remain open
during an emergency, and emergency lighting fixtures that
will turn on in the event of an impact or collision.
c) To comply at all times with applicable federal motor
vehicle safety standards (FMVSS).
2)Requires the driver of each vehicle used for charter bus
transportation to instruct all passengers on the safety
equipment and emergency exits on the vehicle prior to the
beginning of any trip.
3)Requires the CHP, by July 1, 2017, to adopt standards and
criteria for the implementation of all of the above.
FISCAL EFFECT:
One-time minor costs ($20,000) for the CHP to adopt the required
standards. [Motor Vehicle Account]
COMMENTS:
1)Background. In April 2014, a tractor trailer drifted across
the median of Interstate 5 near Orland and collided with a
charter bus carrying high school students on a college visit
to northern California. The collision disabled the bus door
and caused diesel fuel from the tractor trailer's fuel tank to
spray into the passenger compartment of the bus and ignite.
Both drivers and eight bus passengers were killed from the
impact of the collision or injuries sustained in the fire.
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After its investigation of the accident, the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made a number of
recommendations to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) for ways to improve the safety of both
charter buses and motor carriers. These recommendations have
not yet been adopted.
2)Purpose. The author believes that SB 247 will close the gap in
safety standards between buses and other modes of
transportation, such as airplanes and rail, and address the
potentially dangerous conditions faced by bus passengers. The
author intends to ensure that, although accidents will
continue to happen, the survival rate of passengers in those
future accidents is as high as possible, and that no future
deaths are caused by inadequate emergency exit systems.
3)Opposition. Motor Coach Industries, a bus manufacturer,
argues that the safety requirements for new buses could be
either be duplicative or in conflict with NHTSA standards not
yet developed.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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