BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 2477
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: garrick
VERSION: 4/23/12
Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: June 26, 2012
SUBJECT:
Video event recorders
DESCRIPTION:
This bill would authorize the placement of video event recorders
on the windshields of commercial vehicles.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law prohibits a person from driving any motor vehicle
with any object or material placed, displayed, installed,
affixed, or applied upon the windshield or the side windows
adjacent to the driver. Existing law makes exceptions for the
following:
Rearview mirrors;
Sunvisors that are not mounted on the windshield glass;
Electronic toll communication devices (e.g., FasTrak
transponders) or video event recorders affixed to the center
uppermost portion of the interior of the windshield within
an area that is not greater than five inches square;
Transparent material applied to the top most portion of
the windshield (i.e., tinting);
Stickers (e.g., parking decals), global positioning
systems (GPS), and video event recorders that are placed or
mounted on the windshield in the seven-inch square in the
lower corner farthest removed from the driver or in the
five-inch square in the lower corner nearest the driver but
outside of the airbag deployment zone.
AB 2477 (GARRICK) Page 2
Existing law defines "video event recorders" that can be placed
in small spaces in the two lower windshield corners or at the
center top of the windshield as a video recorder that
continuously records video, audio, and G-force levels but saves
a recording only when triggered by an unusual motion or crash or
when operated by the driver. Existing law restricts video event
recorders to storing no more than 30 seconds of footage before
and after an event, permits the registered owner to disable a
video event recorder, and requires posted visible notice in the
vehicle that it is equipped with a video event recorder.
This bill :
1.Authorizes the placement of a video event recorder on a
commercial vehicle's windshield in an area no more than
2-inches below the upper edge of the area swept by the
windshield wipers and outside the driver's line of sight to
the road and highway signs and signals. (For example, it
could be placed directly below the rearview mirror provided it
was not more than two inches below the top edge of the area
the wipers sweep.)
2.Provides that the authorization becomes inoperative when the
California Highway Patrol (CHP) declares that an existing
federal exemption for these recorders has expired or when the
CHP declares that a subsequent renewal of the federal
exemption has expired, whichever is later.
3.Declares the Legislature's intent to adopt a policy equivalent
to the federal exemption for the placement of video event
recorders in commercial motor vehicles.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . The author introduced this bill at the request of
two makers of video event recorders, DriveCam and SmartDrive,
who have sought and received an exemption from federal
regulations to allow the placement of their recorders on the
windshields of commercial vehicles. Because the federal
regulations govern only interstate commercial vehicles and not
those that operate solely in California, this bill is needed
to conform rules for California intrastate commercial vehicles
with those federal regulations.
The author asserts that video event recorders in commercial
AB 2477 (GARRICK) Page 3
vehicles promote safer, more fuel efficient driving and reduce
accidents. The author believes that the federal exemption
provides optimal placement of video event recorders over state
requirements that specify video event recorders must be placed
in the lower right- or left-hand corner of the windshield or
in the upper center of the windshield (generally above the
rearview mirror).
The author and sponsors suggest that placing video event
recorders in the area allowed by state law compromises the
ability of the camera to record suitable images both inside
and outside of the vehicle because of the severe angles that
must be used to capture images and because of potential
obstructions presented when cameras are aimed across the
dashboard, passengers, or the rearview mirror. Supporters
agree that placing a camera in the same area of the windshield
as federal exemption allows provides better, unobstructed
views to be captured both inside and outside of the vehicle.
A 2010 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration study of
two commercial carrier fleets showed that when those carriers
used video event recorders in this location they experienced a
tremendous reduction in safety-related events. One carrier
reduced safety-related events by more than 52% and the other
by more than 38% when measured per 10,000 miles driven. This
bill allows video recorders in intrastate commercial vehicles
in California as they are allowed under federal regulations,
provided those regulations remain in place.
2.Previous legislation . AB 1942 (Fletcher), Chapter 458,
Statutes of 2010, authorized the placement of video event
recorders on specified areas of vehicle windshields subject to
certain restrictions. That bill passed this committee by an 8
- 0 vote on June 29, 2010.
This bill expands the area of placement for video event
recorders when they are on the windshield of a commercial
vehicle but maintains the restrictions on their recordings.
3.Technical amendments .
On page 4, line 31, delete "paragraph" and insert "section"
On page 5, delete lines 15 through 19, inclusive and insert
"signals. Subparagraphs (B)"
Assembly Votes:
AB 2477 (GARRICK) Page 4
Floor: 70 - 0
Appr: 17 - 0
Trans: 13 - 0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 20,
2012)
SUPPORT: Drivecam (sponsor)
Smart Drive (sponsor)
Ampco System Parking
Access Services
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority
Loomis
Sysco Corporation
OPPOSED: None received.