BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1101
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 13, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1101 (Chesbro) - As Amended: January 6, 2014
SUBJECT : Vehicles: length exemption
SUMMARY : Extends the vehicle length exemption for specified
livestock carriers on portions of State Route 101 (SR 101) in
Humboldt, Del Norte, and Mendocino Counties from 2015 to 2020;
amends other, related provisions accordingly.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides, until January 1, 2015, that a vehicle length
exemption for cattle hauling trucks using SR 101 in Del Norte,
Humboldt, and Mendocino Counties is in effect provided the
travel is incidental to the shipment of livestock. The
exemption does not apply to travel on the day prior to or the
day of any federally recognized holiday and applies only to
trucks meeting all of the following criteria:
a) The length of the truck tractor and semitrailer shall
not exceed 70 feet;
b) The distance from kingpin to the rearmost axle (KP-RA)
does not exceed 43 feet; and,
c) The total length of the semitrailer does not exceed 48
feet.
1)Specifies that, if prior to January 1, 2012, the Director of
the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) determines that
the only adjustment to SR 101 to accommodate trucks sizes, as
specified in the exemption, is the removal of any tree with a
diameter of 42 inches or greater, measured outside the bark,
at 12 inches above the ground on the side adjacent to the
highest ground level, the Director shall notify the Secretary
of State.
2)Specifies that, prior to January 1, 2015, if the Director of
Caltrans determines that safety improvements to the specified
portion of SR 101 have resulted in reclassification of the
entire segment as a terminal access route, the Director shall
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notify the Secretary of State of that determination.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The original sunset date of this exemption has been
extended multiple times in order to accommodate the transport of
livestock through this specific region. SR 101 is the primary
north-south route serving the north coast of California and has
historically contained a number of tight curves that were
difficult for long truck-trailer combinations to maneuver
without crossing over the centerline of the highway. In
addition to extending the sunset date, previous legislation also
required the California Highway Patrol (CHP), in consultation
with Caltrans, to report to the Legislature on the public safety
impacts of the exemption.
KP-RA length requirements for semitrailers that operate on the
state highway system have been extensively studied and evaluated
over time. A kingpin is the main pin used to connect a
semitrailer to a truck tractor. KP-RA distance determines the
width of the turning radius of a truck-trailer combination.
Generally, any increase in the wheelbase of any vehicle in a
combination of vehicles will result in the vehicle combination
using more of a road to complete a turn, thus potentially
encroaching into adjacent lanes, damaging curbs or road
fixtures, or compromising the safety of other motorists.
In order to accurately assess the impact of a semi-trailer with
a specific KP-RA on the state highway system, Caltrans utilizes
an off-tracking computer model program. The off-tracking
computer model program provides the maximum swept width (msw)
for a vehicle through a turn. An "msw" is defined as the
maximum lateral dimension between the path described by the
front axle wheel located on the outside of the curve and the
non-circular path on the rearmost axle wheel located on the
inside of a curve. The turning characteristics of vehicle
combinations are quantifiable and can be used as a measure of
compatibility between vehicle size and roadway geometry.
In 1989 Caltrans conducted a study entitled "Truck
Kingpin-To-Rear Axle Length State Highway System Evaluation" as
required by SB 2232 (McCorquodale), Chapter 1378, Statutes of
1986. In the study, Caltrans warned that out of the 15,166
total miles of state highway:
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1) 22% (3,364 miles) could not accommodate trucks with 40 foot
KP-RA lengths.
2) 21% (3,185 miles) could not accommodate trucks with 38 foot
KP-RA lengths.
3) 18.6% (2,831) miles could not accommodate trucks with 30
foot KP-RA lengths.
The results of the Caltrans study identified three segments of
SR 101 in Mendocino and Humboldt counties as being inadequate to
accommodate a truck tractor and semitrailer combination with a
40-foot KP-RA length. Since these restrictions have been
identified, Caltrans has been working on improving the road
conditions of these segments, totaling approximately 33.4 miles,
to allow longer truck tractor-semitrailer combinations to safely
operate within this region. To date, projects on two of the
three segments have been completed including the Big Lagoon
Widening Project (completed February 2008) and the Confusion
Hill Realignment Project (completed October 2009).
The remaining section needing repair is a segment of SR 101
passing through Richardson Grove State Park. This 1.1-mile
improvement project has been previously postponed due to a
number of environmental lawsuits. However, Caltrans has either
prevailed or taken the appropriate actions in response to these
lawsuits and is gearing up to submit the final environmental
review. Once work begins, which is projected to start sometime
during summer 2014, the Richardson Grove project is anticipated
to be completed within two years. Once this project is
completed, the need for the exemption provided to licensed
carriers of livestock will no longer be required.
Lastly, in the most recent report issued by CHP to the
Legislature related to this exemption (issued January 2011), CHP
found that there have been no collisions or incidents related to
the truck length exemption within this region.
Author's amendment : The author intends to amend this bill to
allow the sunset to expire upon completion of the Richardson
Grove project. Over the past 15 years, multiple bills have been
passed by the Legislature to extend and study this KP-RA
exemption. Over this period, CHP has not reported on any major
accidents or incidents related to this exemption. Accordingly,
with the final project expected to be completed within the next
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two years, this amendment will provide the assurance that the
exemption will remain in statute until no longer needed for this
region.
Due to legislative deadlines, the author intends to take these
amendments in the Appropriations Committee, assuming the bill
successfully passes out of this committee.
Previous legislation:
AB 349 (Chesbro), Chapter 172, Statutes of 2011, extended the
sunset date of the vehicle length exemption for livestock
carriers until January 1, 2015 in the counties of Humboldt, Del
Norte, and Mendocino.
SB 773 (Wiggins), Chapter 440, Statutes of 2007, expanded the
exemption to length limitations, until January 1, 2012, for
livestock carriers to semi-trailers up to 43 feet provided the
semi-trailer does not exceed a total of 48 feet.
SB 1224 (Chesbro), Chapter 449, Statutes of 2006, extended the
sunset date until 2012, and required CHP to continue the
comprehensive study of the effect of the exemption on public
safety and to make recommendations on future exemptions by
January 1, 2011.
SB 127 (Chesbro), Chapter 188, Statutes of 2003, extended the
sunset date until January 1, 2007, and required CHP to conduct a
third study on the safety impacts, which was issued on March 20,
2006.
AB 220 (Strom-Martin), Chapter 413, Statutes of 2001, continued
the exemption until January 1, 2004 and instructed the CHP to
conduct a second study on the possible safety impacts, which was
never issued.
AB 1474 (Cardoza), Chapter 911, Statutes of 1999, added one more
year to the exemption, and gave CHP until July 1, 2001 to
complete the study and report to the Legislature.
AB 2426 (Strom-Martin), Chapter 711, Statutes of 1998, created a
two-year exemption, until January 1, 2000, to permit livestock
carriers to travel on portions of SR 101 and required the CHP to
conduct a study on the possible safety impacts of the exemption.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Cattlemen's Association (Co-sponsor)
County of Humboldt (Co-sponsor)
Rural County Representative of California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Manny Leon / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093