BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1532
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 24, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1532 (Gatto) - As Introduced: January 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Vehicles: accidents.
SUMMARY : Requires that the privilege to operate a motor vehicle
be suspended for six months for any person convicted of being a
driver of a vehicle involved in an accident where a person is
struck but not injured and the driver of the vehicle leaves the
scene of the accident without exchanging required information.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident where
a person is struck but not injured to immediately stop the
vehicle at the scene of the accident and give his or her name,
current residence address, the names and current residence
addresses of any occupant of the driver's vehicle injured in
the accident, the registration number of the vehicle he or she
is driving, and the name and current residence address of the
owner to the person struck and the driver or occupants of any
vehicle collided with, and to give the information to any
traffic or police officer at the scene of the accident.
2)Requires a driver or injured occupant of a driver's vehicle
subject to the above provision to also, upon being requested,
exhibit his or her driver's license, if available, or, in the
case of an injured occupant, any other available
identification, to the person struck or the driver or
occupants of any vehicle collided with, and to any traffic or
police officer at the scene of the accident.
3)Specifies that a person failing to comply with the above
requirements is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction,
shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not
exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding $1000, or
both.
4)In addition to the punishment specified above, requires the
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to immediately suspend the
driver's license of the convicted driver for six months.
EXISTING LAW :
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1)Provides that a court may suspend, for not more than six
months, the privilege of a person to operate a motor vehicle
upon conviction of any of the following offenses:
a) Failure of a driver involved in an accident, where
property is damaged, to stop and exchange specified
information;
b) Reckless driving proximately causing bodily injury;
c) Failure of a driver to stop at a railroad crossing as
required;
d) Evading or fleeing from a peace officer in a motor
vehicle or upon a bicycle; and,
e) Knowingly causing or participating in a vehicular
collision, or any other vehicular accident, for the purpose
of presenting or causing to be presented any false or
fraudulent insurance claim.
2)States that DMV immediately shall revoke the privilege of a
person to operate a motor vehicle upon receipt of a duly
certified abstract of the record of a court showing that the
person has been convicted of any of the following crimes or
offenses:
a) Failure of the driver of a vehicle involved in an
accident resulting in injury or death to stop or otherwise
comply, as specified;
b) A felony in which a motor vehicle is used, except as
specified; and,
c) Reckless driving causing bodily injury.
3)Provides that the driver of any vehicle involved in an
accident resulting in damage to any property, including a
vehicle, shall immediately stop the vehicle and exchange
information, as specified, or leave in a conspicuous place on
the vehicle or other property damaged written notice giving
the name and address of the driver of the vehicle involved,
and the failure to comply with these requirements is a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to
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exceed six months, or by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or by
both a fine and imprisonment.
4)Requires the driver of any vehicle involved in an accident
resulting in injury to any person, other than himself or
herself, or in the death of any person shall immediately stop
the vehicle at the scene of the accident and shall fulfill
specified requirements, and the failure to comply is a
punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for16 months,
two, or three years or, by imprisonment in a county jail not
to exceed one year, or by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor
more than $10,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment. If the
accident results in death or permanent, serious injury, the
offense is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for
two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not less
than 90 days nor more than one year, or by a fine of not less
than $1,000 nor more than $10,000, or by both a fine and
imprisonment.
5)Provides that a person who flees the scene of the crime after
committing vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence or
vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, upon conviction for
that offense, in addition and consecutive to the punishment
prescribed, shall be punished by an additional term of
imprisonment of 5 years in the state prison. Existing law
provides that this additional term shall not be imposed unless
the allegation is charged in the accusatory pleading and
admitted by the defendant or found to be true by the trier of
fact.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Current law establishes three categories of
hit-and-run charges. The most serious is hit-and-run resulting
in permanent, serious injury or death. It is a wobbler, meaning
it can be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor, and conviction
results in an automatic one-year driver's license revocation.
The second category is hit-and-run resulting in injury. It is
also a wobbler that brings a mandatory one-year license
revocation. The third category is hit-and-run with property
damage, which is a misdemeanor with a license suspension of up
to six months at the discretion of the court or the DMV.
This bill creates a fourth category of hit-and-run charge to
address situations in which a pedestrian is struck but not
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injured. The charge would be a misdemeanor that would bring a
mandatory six-month license suspension upon conviction. The
intent is to ensure that anyone convicted of hit-and-run where
another person was struck, regardless of injury, loses his or
her driving privileges.
According to the author, "There has been a growing hit-and-run
epidemic across the state. Nowhere has it run more rampant than
the Los Angeles area. A recent investigation by L.A. Weekly
found that nearly 20,000 hit-and-run crashes, everything from
fender benders to multiple fatalities, are recorded annually by
the Los Angeles Police Department. These incidents made up an
astonishing 48% of all vehicle crashes in 2009, compared to an
average rate of just 11% nationwide. In spite of steps taken by
government to curb this epidemic, the situation has not been
getting any better, with reports of new hit-and-runs coming at
least once, sometimes twice a week.
"This bill will provide justice for those victims of hit-and-run
whose perpetrators often get off with little or no punishment
for no reason other than that the victim's injuries were not
deemed serious enough. The fact remains that a person was
struck, major injury or not. A driver should always stop upon
striking another person with their vehicle, if for no other
reason than to determine the extent of injuries suffered. This
bill will force drivers to take responsibility for their actions
and provide real consequences, the loss of driving privileges,
when they don't."
Related Legislation : AB 184 (Gatto), Chapter 765, Statutes of
2013, allows the prosecuting attorney to criminally charge a
person of fleeing the scene of an accident that causes death or
permanent, serious injury within one year after the person is
initially identified by law enforcement as a suspect in the
commission of the offense, or within the existing statute of
limitations, whichever is later, but in no case later than six
years after the commission of the offense.
Double Referral : This bill was also referred to the Committee
on Public Safety, where it passed on March 11 on a vote of 7-0.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
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Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
Benjamin Franklin Elementary Association
California Bicycle Coalition
Citizens for Law and Order, Inc.
City of Los Angeles
City and County of San Francisco
Conor Lynch Foundation
Crime Victims Action Alliance
Finish the Ride
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
Los Angeles County Deputy Probation Officers Union, AFSCME Local
658
Los Angeles Walks
Missing Link Bicycle Cooperative
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
Safe Routes to School National Partnership
Walk Bike Glendale
Walk San Francisco
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093