BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 882
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Fuller
VERSION: 5/4/09
Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: Yes
Hearing date: June 30, 2009
SUBJECT:
Accident victim memorial signs
DESCRIPTION:
This bill allows Caltrans to erect up to 20 signs per year in
memory of non-DUI accident victims to read "Please Drive Safely
- In Memory of (victim's name)."
ANALYSIS:
Current law establishes the "Please Don't Drink and Drive"
Victims Memorial Sign Program, which allows the Department of
Transportation (Caltrans), when requested or agreed to and paid
for by an immediate family member of a
driving-under-the-influence (DUI) accident victim, to place
signs along state highways in close proximity to the accident
site commemorating the victim and reminding motorists not to
drink and drive. The signs read, "Please Don't Drink and Drive
- In Memory of (victim's name)."
The program applies to accidents in which the at-fault driver
was convicted of second-degree murder, gross vehicular
manslaughter, or vehicular manslaughter while driving under the
influence or in which the at-fault driver was driving under the
influence but died in the accident or was not prosecuted due to
mental incompetence. Any victim involved in an accident after
January 1, 1991 may be memorialized, except for the intoxicated
driver him- or herself. An immediate family member or any other
person who obtains the consent of an immediate family member may
request a sign. If there is any opposition to the sign by an
immediate family member, however, no sign shall be placed.
Caltrans is required to charge the requesting party a fee to
AB 882 (FULLER) Page 2
cover the cost of the sign and the program. The fee is
currently $1000. The signs remain in place for seven years or
until the sign is no longer serviceable, whichever comes first.
Caltrans is also required to adopt guidelines for the program
and to place signs in accordance with its general sign placement
guidelines and with applicable federal limitations. During the
first four years of the program (2002-2006), Caltrans erected 29
DUI victim memorial signs. There are roughly 60 of these signs
in place now statewide.
This bill allows Caltrans to erect up to 20 signs per year in
memory of non-DUI accident victims to read "Please Drive Safely
- In Memory of (victim's name)." A sign may memorialize any
victim involved in an accident after January 1, 1991, provided
that the accident did not involve drugs or alcohol. An
immediate family member or any other person who obtains the
consent of an immediate family member may request a sign. If
there is any opposition to the sign by an immediate family
member, however, no sign shall be placed. Caltrans is required
to charge the requesting party a fee to cover the cost of the
sign and the program. The signs remain in place for seven years
or until the sign is no longer serviceable, whichever comes
first. Caltrans is also required to adopt guidelines for the
program and to place signs in accordance with its general sign
placement guidelines and with applicable federal limitations.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of the bill . According to the author, fatal accident
sites on state highways often become unofficial memorials to
their victims. Grieving family members often create memorials
that include flowers, balloons, and stuffed animals.
Caltrans, however, quickly removes these displays because it
is unlawful to place such items along a highway. The author
believes that memorial signs can both help families of victims
through the grieving process and provide a legal manner in
which to memorialize a lost loved one. In addition, the signs
help bring home the point to all drivers that unsafe driving
can be deadly.
2.Similar in concept to existing programs . This bill builds on
and uses the framework of the existing DUI victim memorial
sign program established in 2002. In report to the
Legislature on the DUI victim memorial sign program submitted
in 2006, Caltrans wrote that the number of alcohol-related
fatalities in the 16 counties in which signs had been erected
AB 882 (FULLER) Page 3
decreased from 789 in the three-year period prior to the
program to 710 during for the three-year period after the
program began, but that it could not be ascertained if the
drop was related to the memorial sign program. Caltrans also
noted that it had not observed a reduction in makeshift
memorials. Despites such findings, Caltrans endorsed the
permanent extension of the DUI victim memorial sign program,
citing benefits to victims' families, local communities, and
the state for very little cost and effort. It should also be
noted that this new, non-DUI victim memorial program would be
similar to the current practice of naming highway segments for
deceased individuals of note.
3.Different in practice to existing programs . While similar in
concept to the DUI victim sign program and the practice of
highway naming, this program will differ in significant ways.
First is potential volume. The DUI victim sign program has
very narrow qualifying criteria, and highway namings require
passage of a resolution by the Legislature. For this program,
the only criteria are that the person died in a non-DUI
accident and that the family members pay for the costs of the
sign and program. Hundreds, if not thousands, of persons are
killed on California highways each year, which could result in
a flood of applications for memorial signs, creating
significant workload for Caltrans and adding to driver
distraction. In the Assembly Transportation Committee, the
author accepted an amendment suggested by the committee chair
to limit the number of new non-DUI victim signs statewide to
no more than 20 per year.
While this amendment addressed the volume concern, it raises
new issues related to process. Caltrans administers the
existing DUI victim sign through its twelve districts. In
order to monitor the number of applications and maintain the
limit under this new program, Caltrans will have to centralize
operations at headquarters or at least establish new
procedures for coordination across districts. In addition,
Caltrans will probably have to require applicants to raise the
funds prior to submitting an application, date stamp every
request, and then, if the 20-sign limit has been reached, hold
on to applications and the collected funds until the next
year. These differences may increase the cost of the Please
Drive Safely signs above the $1000 Caltrans currently charges
for a DUI victim sign.
Assembly Votes:
AB 882 (FULLER) Page 4
Floor: 78-0
Appr: 16-0
Trans: 12-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 24, 2009)
SUPPORT: ABATE of California
AAA Northern California
Automobile Club of Southern California
OPPOSED: None received.