BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 2398 (Levine) - Vehicles: pedestrians and bicyclists.
Amended: June 19, 2014 Policy Vote: T&H 10-1
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 14, 2014
Consultant: Mark McKenzie
SUSPENSE FILE. AS AMENDED.
Bill Summary: AB 2398 would establish a new infraction for a
driver who violates specified rules of the road offenses and
proximately causes bodily injury or great bodily injury to a
"vulnerable road user," as defined. The new infraction would be
punishable by a base fine of $220 to $300, and a conviction
would result in a violation point on the driver's record.
Fiscal Impact (as approved on August 14, 2014):
Minor one time implementation costs to the Department of
Motor Vehicles (DMV). (Motor Vehicle Account)
Unknown penalty revenue gains. (General Fund, various
special funds, local funds)
Background: Existing law specifies that a driver who violates
any statutory rule of the road that is an infraction, and
proximately causes bodily injury or great bodily injury to
another person, is guilty of the public offense of unsafe
operation of a motor vehicle with bodily injury or great bodily
injury. Existing law defines "great bodily injury" as a
significant or substantial injury. This infraction is
punishable by a fine of $70 for violations involving bodily
injury, and a base fine of $95 for violations involving great
bodily injury.
Existing law, AB 1371 (Bradford), Chap. 331/2013, requires a
driver to pass a bicycle at a distance of at least three feet
between the vehicle and the bicycle, or, if unable to provide
the three feet of passing distance, to slow to a reasonable and
prudent speed and to pass only when doing so will not endanger
the bicyclist's safety. A violation is punishable as an
infraction with a base fine of $35, or $220 if the violation
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results in a collision.
DMV assigns violation points against a driver's license for
certain traffic offenses to identify an individual as a
negligent operator. Violation points vary with the gravity of
the offense; for example, a "fix-it" ticket does not count for
any violation points, a speeding ticket counts for one violation
point, and driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
counts for two violation points. DMV may suspend a driver's
license for six months if a person receives four points in one
year, six points in two years, or eight points in three years.
Proposed Law: AB 2398 would provide that a driver who violates
any statutory rule of the road that is an infraction, and
proximately causes bodily injury or great bodily injury to a
"vulnerable road user," is guilty of the public offense of
unsafe operation of a motor vehicle with bodily injury or great
bodily injury. A violation would be an infraction punishable by
a fine of not less than $220 and not more than $300. The bill
would also require that a conviction be given a value of one
violation point. "Vulnerable road user" is defined as:
A pedestrian, including a highway construction or
maintenance worker.
A person on horseback.
A person operating equipment other than a motor vehicle,
including a bicycle, in-line skates, roller skates, a
scooter, or a skateboard.
A person operating or using a farm tractor.
A person on an electronic personal assistive mobility
device, such as a Segway.
A person in a wheelchair.
Staff Comments: This bill would increase the penalties for
convictions related to the unsafe operation of a motor vehicle
with bodily injury or great bodily injury if the injured party
is a vulnerable road user. This is intended to deter dangerous
driving and enhance the safety of those who share the roadway
with vehicles.
The total bail amounts imposed for convictions on drivers
causing bodily injury or great bodily injury to vulnerable road
users would include the base fine of $220 to $300 and any
applicable penalties, assessments, surcharges, or fees specified
in existing law. A base fine of $220, for example, would result
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in total bail of $1,033. This bill would result in unknown
increases to penalty revenues and fees that benefit the General
Fund and other special and local funds pursuant to statutory
formulas.
DMV would incur significant programming costs to implement the
bill, and would be unable to complete programming by the January
1, 2015 operative date. Staff notes that DMV is currently
engaged in a number of high priority programming projects, such
as those related to federally mandated improvements to the
Commercial Driver's License system, IT modernization efforts,
and implementation of AB 60 (Alejo), Chap. 524/2013. This bill
would negatively impact competing programming projects.
Committee Amendments (as adopted on August 14, 2014):
Amendments would place a new penalty in existing code for an
infraction in which a driver violates specified rules of the
road offenses and proximately causes bodily injury or great
bodily injury to a "vulnerable road user," rather than creating
a new stand-alone code section. The amendments also sunset this
new violation on January 1, 2020.