BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1475
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
SB 1475 (Simitian) - As Amended: May 13, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 21-16
SUBJECT : Bicycles and motor vehicles: cell phone use and
texting
SUMMARY : Increases the penalties for using cell phones or
texting while driving a motor vehicle; prohibits the use of
handheld cell phones for conversing or for texting while riding
a bicycle. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the written examination for a driver's license to
include a test of the applicant's understanding of the
distractions and dangers of handheld cell phone use and text
messaging while operating a motor vehicle.
2)Assigns a violation point to the driving record of a motorist
who drives while using a handheld cell phone or while text
messaging.
3)Prohibits riding a bicycle while using a wireless telephone
unless that telephone is specifically designed and configured
to allow hands-free listening and talking, and is used in that
manner while riding the bicycle.
4)Prohibits riding a bicycle while using an electronic wireless
communications device to write, send, or read a text-based
communication.
5)Makes violation of either of the above prohibitions an
infraction punishable by a base fine of $20 for a first
offense and $50 for each subsequent offense but prohibits the
assignment of a violation point for such offenses.
6)Provides that the above penalties will comprise the total
amount collected and, notwithstanding any other provision of
law, no other penalties, assessments, surcharges, fees, or any
other charge may be imposed.
7)Increases the penalty for using a handheld cell phone or using
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a wireless communications device to write, send, or read a
text message when driving a motor vehicle to a base fine of
$50 for a first offense and $100 for each subsequent offense.
8)Repeals the prohibition against a law enforcement officer
stopping a vehicle solely to determine if a driver under the
age of 18 is violating the hands-free cell phone ban that
applies to drivers in that age group.
9)Requires each county treasurer to submit to the Controller $10
from each of the above-described fines. The Controller would
then deposit those revenues into the Distracted Driver
Education Fund, created in the State Treasury by this bill,
for an education program on the dangers of cell phone use and
text messaging while driving.
10) Requires the Legislature, upon appropriation in the Budget
Bill, to allocate this money to the Office of Traffic Safety.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits, with specified exceptions, a person from using a
handheld wireless phone or engaging in text-based
communication (e.g. text messages, instant messages, or email
messages) while operating a motor vehicle.
2)Establishes a base fine is $20 for an initial offense for
either violation and $50 for each subsequent offense.
3)Specifies that these violations are primary offenses such that
a law enforcement officer may stop a driver who he or she has
cause to believe is violating these laws. No points are
assigned to the license of a driver who is convicted of either
infraction.
4)Prohibits, with specified exceptions, a driver under 18 from
using any wireless communications device while operating a
motor vehicle, without regard to whether the device is
hands-free or handheld. The base fine for an initial offense
is $20 and $50 for each subsequent offense.
5)Provides that the use by a driver under 18 of a handheld cell
phone for talking while driving is a primary offense while
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using a hands-free device or engaging in text-based
communication on any mobile service device, is a secondary
offense, meaning that a law enforcement officer may not stop a
driver solely for the purpose of determining whether or not
the driver is violating this law.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee
analysis, there will be an unknown increase in penalty revenues,
minor Department of Motor Vehicles costs to modify its written
driving test, unknown revenue gains from fines, and minor costs
to county treasurers, which could be reimbursable from the
General Fund.
COMMENTS : This bill is a followup to the author's SB 28,
Chapter 270, Statutes of 2008, SB 33, Chapter 214, Statutes of
2007, and SB 1613, Chapter 290, Statutes of 2006, that
respectively prohibited the use of hand-held cell phones by all
drivers, prohibited the use of any cell phone configuration by
drivers under 18, and prohibited manual text-based
communication, such as text messaging, by all drivers.
In spite of these diligent efforts to reduce distracted driving,
and despite the unambiguous evidence that cell phone use in
general, and text-messaging in particular, constitutes highly
irresponsible and dangerous behavior, handheld cell phone and
text-messaging bans for drivers are largely ignored by a
significant segment of the population. Given the nominal
penalties for this behavior and scant enforcement efforts, it is
not surprising that the public does not take these bans
seriously.
In 2008, the AAA Foundation reported that "over half of U.S.
drivers report having used a cell phone while driving in the
past 30 days, and one in seven even admits to text messaging
while driving." At any given time, according to the Automobile
Club of Southern California, 1.1% of motorists are texting and
3.6% are using a hand-held cell phone. (A casual observation on
the streets of Sacramento would seem to indicate that these
estimates are significantly understated.) The AAA Foundation
also reported the results of a driving study which found that:
"Dialing a hand-held device was associated with nearly triple
the odds of being involved in a crash or near-crash, and talking
or listening to a hand-held device was associated with about a
30% increase in the odds of being involved in a crash or
near-crash. Dialing hand-held devices was found to have been a
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contributing factor in 3.58% of crashes and near-crashes, and
talking/listening on hand-held devices was a contributing factor
in 3.56% of crashes and near-crashes. Both dialing and
talking/listening on handheld devices contributed to
significantly greater percentages of crashes and near-crashes
than did any of the other secondary tasks that were studied-even
though some of the other secondary tasks were associated with
higher risk-because drivers dialed and talked on cell phones
much more frequently than they engaged in most other secondary
tasks."
Nevertheless, the author of this bill contends that the laws
regarding the use of wireless communications devices while
operating a motor vehicle have been effective, as rates of
hand-held cell phone use have declined about 60% since the
enactment of SB 1613. (Texting by drivers initially declined by
70% after the enactment of SB 28 but has since risen back close
to its earlier rate of occurrence.) The author believes,
however, that these laws would have a higher rate of compliance
if stronger penalties were established, such as assessing higher
fines and assigning points against a violator's driving record.
Furthermore, this bill seeks to strengthen efforts to reduce
distracted driving by establishing an education program designed
to inform drivers of the risks of cell phone use and text
messaging while driving. Finally, in regard to phoning and
texting while driving, the bill adds distracted driving to the
list of items that must be included in a driver's license exam.
This provision would be helpful in making California eligible
for a federal grant under the Distracted Driving Prevention Act
of 2009, which is currently pending in Congress.
While the dangers of using electronic devices while driving are
well-documented, this bill extends the reach of current law by
proposing a prohibition against bicyclists using a handheld
phone, text messaging. Although such behavior by bicyclists is
clearly irresponsible, poses an obvious and substantial danger
to themselves, and puts pedestrians, runners, and other
bicyclists at some risk, it pales in comparison to the specter
of a 2-ton steel-and-glass vehicle moving at 60 miles per hour
with the driver's attention focused on a device on his or her
lap. Nevertheless, as the bill establishes a comparatively
small fine ($20 to $50) with no penalty assessments and no
assignment of driver violation points for bicycle violations,
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one might judge these provisions to be more educational in
nature than punitive.
The California State Automobile Association supports this bill
stating "Driver inattention is a factor in more than one million
crashes annually and results in many thousands of deaths and
serious injuries. Studies show that using a cell phone while
driving quadruples the risk of crashing. Increasing the base
fines for cell phone and texting violations could result in
better compliance with those prohibitions in California.
Raising the base fine to $50 makes the total fine for a first
time violation about $250 once penalty assessments are added.
In addition, drivers will have points imposed on their record,
which could potentially affect their insurance rates. These
financial incentives should serve as a deterrent to picking up
the phone or sending a message while operating a vehicle when
alternatives are available - such as pulling over to a safe
location before making the call or sending the message."
The Teamsters state in opposition "SB 1475 would treat citations
issued for violation of the prohibition against driving while
texting or using a cell phone as a moving violation, for which
the driver would be assigned a 'point' on their record. This
bill will have a disproportionate impact on commercial drivers,
whose commercial licenses will be affected even if the violation
occurs in a private automobile."
Author's amendment : The author proposes to amend the bill to
remove the assignment of a point for the first violation of
driving while texting or using a handheld cell phone. A point
will be assigned only for second and subsequent violations.
This will remove the opposition of the Teamsters Public Affairs
Council.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Automobile Club of Southern California
California Bicycle Coalition
California State Automobile Association
Cheap School (Traffic School)
Comedy Traffic School
Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety
Driving School Association of California, Inc.
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Great Comedians 2 (Traffic School)
Pizza 4U (Traffic School)
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
Traffic Safety Consultants, Inc.
Opposition
California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union
California Conference of Machinists
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093