BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1175
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 23, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
SB 1175 (Walters) - As Amended: June 25, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 36-0
SUBJECT : Vehicles: length exemption: motorsports
SUMMARY : Allows extra-long semitrailers (up to 56 feet) used in
connection with the motorsports industry to operate on certain
roadways in California, under certain circumstances.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Updates requirements for the California Department of
Transportation (Caltrans) to conduct field tests of 56-foot
truck tractor semitrailer combinations used in connection with
motorsports on transition routes in California connecting
sanctioned motorsport racecourses to the national highway
network.
2)Makes findings and declarations that Caltrans established
existing transition routes to racecourses used for sanctioned
motorsports events based on records from the 1990's.
3)Requires Caltrans to update transition routes to sanctioned
motorsports events to reflect road projects completed since
the 1990s and to update the transition routes every five years
thereafter.
4)Requires Caltrans to develop new transition routes for the
truck tractor semitrailer combinations for motorsport trucks
with a trailer length of 56 feet.
5)Updates field test reporting requirements by requiring
Caltrans to submit a report to the Legislature, no later than
January 1, 2017, that includes the results of field testing
movements of 56-foot truck tractor semitrailer combinations on
transition routes to and from sanctioned racecourses, an
overview of roadway improvements that should be made on the
transition routes to allow for safe passage of the 56-foot
truck tractor semitrailer combinations, and, in consultation
with the California Highway Patrol (CHP), a recommendation as
to whether the 56-foot truck tractor semitrailer combinations
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should be reauthorized.
6)Makes the reporting requirement inoperative on January 1,
2019.
7)Requires Caltrans to issue permits for 56-foot truck tractor
semitrailer combinations used in connection with motorsports
for travel on specified transition routes to and from
sanctioned motorsports events until which time that field
tests determine that no additional projects need to be
performed on the route to allow for the safe passage of these
vehicles or until all projects identified in the field tests
are completed.
8)Makes related technical, non-substantive changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Permits extra-long semitrailers of up to 56 feet, if the
semitrailer is used primarily in connection with motorsports,
on certain California roadways until January 1, 2016.
2)Requires Caltrans, in consultation with CHP, to conduct a
field test of the 56 foot motorsport vehicle combinations to
evaluate their performance on various segments of the National
Network and transition routes and submit the results of the
field test along with a recommendation on whether or not the
56 foot motorsport vehicle combinations should be reauthorized
to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2014.
3)Provides, in accordance with federal law, that on the National
Network and Terminal Access Routes, a semitrailer being towed
by a motor truck or truck tractor may not exceed 53 feet long
provided the distance from the KPRA (kingpin to rear axle)
does not exceed 40 feet for semitrailers with 2 or more axles
or 38 feet for semitrailers with one axle.
4)Authorizes Caltrans and local authorities to permit the
operation of combination of vehicles consisting of a truck
tractor semitrailer combination with a KPRA of up to 46 feet
on trailers used exclusively or primarily in connection with
motorsports.
5)Specifies the Legislature's intent that by increasing the
maximum permissible KPRA up to 46 feet for motorsport trucks
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does not demonstrate the Legislature's intent to set a
precedent for future increases in truck size and length
limitations.
6)Authorizes Caltrans and local jurisdictions, in consultation
with CHP, to establish shorter KPRA distances than those
authorized under existing law if it is determined that public
safety considerations preclude the use of longer vehicles on
portions of the state highway system under their jurisdiction.
7)Authorizes a local authority to condition the issuance of a
special permits to establish reasonable controls on the
allowable hours of operation of over length vehicles.
8)Defines motorsports as any event, and all activities leading
up to that event, that is sanctioned under member
organizations of the Automobile Competition Committee for the
United States.
9)Prohibits the Legislature from enacting legislation containing
specific individual transportation projects.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, this bill would result in one-time Caltrans costs of
approximately $300,000 over two years to conduct field tests on
the remaining 14 transition routes to sanctioned race tracks.
Further, one-time Caltrans costs of up to $150,000 in 2016-17 to
prepare a report to the Legislature that includes results of
field tests on the remaining transition routes and an overview
of necessary improvements identified and made as well as costs
of approximately $300,000 in 2015-16 to update transition routes
to reflect projects completed since the original routes were
identified, and to develop new transition routes that could
accommodate the vehicle-trailer combinations specified in this
bill.
COMMENTS : Most large vehicles on the highway are truck
tractor-trailer combinations. Typically, a truck tractor pulls
a semitrailer. A semitrailer is a trailer that is constructed
so that some part of its weight and load rests upon or is
carried by another vehicle, usually a truck tractor. A kingpin
is the main pin used to connect a semitrailer to a truck
tractor. The distance from the kingpin to the rear axle,
determines the turning radius of the truck-semitrailer
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combination.
An increase in the KPRA distance results in the
truck-semitrailer combination using more space to complete a
turn. Thus, a semitrailer with a longer KPRA distance is more
likely to go into an adjacent lane when rounding a curve on a
road. To account for this, existing law limits KPRA length to
40 feet when the semitrailer has two rear axles, and provided
the truck tractor is pulling only the semitrailer. Further
existing law limits the semitrailer's total length to 53 feet.
Until 2013, existing law allowed over-length semitrailers (those
with a 46-foot KPRA distance but an overall length of no more
than 53 feet) used in motorsports to travel on specified roads
with a Caltrans or a local road authority issued special trip
permit. SB 1174 (Walters), Chapter 292, Statutes of 2012,
deleted the authority of Caltrans or a local government to issue
those permits. Instead, SB 1174 explicitly allowed, on
specified federal and state routes and until January 1, 2016,
semitrailers of up to 56 feet in length, if the distance from
the KPRA is not more than 46 feet and the semitrailer is used
primarily in connection with motorsports.
SB 1174 further required Caltrans to conduct field tests of
these motorsport truck tractor-semitrailer combinations, and
then by January 1, 2014, report to the Legislature on results of
the tests and make recommendations, as to whether legislation
should reauthorize the 56-foot trailer length. Caltrans issued
this report for transition routes to the Sonoma and Pomona
Raceways on March 27 of this year.
The Caltrans report presented the results of field tests that
involved driving a truck-semitrailer combination with a 56-foot
semitrailer length and a 46 foot KPRA on roads leading to the
Sonoma and Pomona raceways, referred to as transition routes as
they serve as the transition from the interstate freeway to the
racetrack. The report indicated that the vehicles remained in
their lanes on the straight sections of roads, but sometimes
traveled into other lanes on freeway on/off ramps or when making
turns. Because of the danger of a vehicle crossing into an
adjacent lane, Caltrans, after consulting with CHP, recommended
that the Legislature only reauthorize the length exemption for
motorsport truck-semitrailers, following completion of the
following tasks:
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Field test all transition routes from freeways to race tracks .
Noting that California has 16 sanctioned race tracks with
authorized routes allowing access for motorsport trucks from
the interstate, Caltrans recommends that sufficient time and
resources be provided to test all of these to ascertain if
these longer trailers can travel safely on the transition
routes before authorizing these vehicles on them without the
need for a permit.
Make the needed roadway improvements identified in the field
tests . Based on the field tests Caltrans has already
conducted, the needed improvements on transition routes appear
to be limited to restriping of roads to widen lanes or combine
double turn lanes into single, wider lanes to accommodate the
greater turning radii of the motorsport vehicles.
Develop new transition routes . Caltrans notes that it
established the existing transition routes based on records
from the 1990s, so there is a need to update these to reflect
road projects since then and should do so every five years.
Proponents of this bill argue that motorsport racing events are
significant economic generators in the state, creating and
sustaining thousands of jobs in the racing and manufacturing
industries, and causing millions of dollars to be spent in the
state's economy. The author notes that for years these
nationwide organizations have used 56-foot racing trailers to
transport their cars and equipment around the country. These
trailers best serve the needs of racing teams and eliminate the
need for them to add more vehicles and pollution to the state's
highways and roads.
The author asserts that every other state that hosts racing
events provides these longer motorsports trailers an exemption,
a permitting process, or a withholding of enforcement so they
can operate within the state's jurisdiction. The author states
that failure to provide a motorsport exemption could result in
racing organizations and teams pulling out of events in
California to avoid the risk of these costly regulations. This
would have a negative impact on the current economic recovery
and would also result in revenue reductions to the General Fund.
Allowing the continued operation of these semitrailers would
keep California in line with the rest of the country and
encourage racing teams and organizations to continue bringing
their business to California.
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An example of locations where similar exemptions have applied
for over length trucks is on State Route (SR) 101, which has
historically contained a number of tight curves that were
difficult for long truck-trailer combinations to maneuver
without crossing the centerline of the highway into oncoming
traffic. While the curve correction projects were being
completed, the Legislature continuously authorized over length
cattle trailers to utilize the route, with certain restrictions,
including the requirement that CHP, in consultation with
Caltrans, conduct a comprehensive study of the effect of the
exemption and make a recommendation to the Governor and the
Legislature on whether the exemption should remain operative (SB
773, Wiggins, Chapter 440, Statutes of 2007). The studies
prepared by CHP for the cattle truck exemption on SR 101, while
it did note that allowing trucks to crossover into oncoming
lanes was inherently unsafe, did not identify any accidents that
occurred as a result of the exemption.
Since the studies conducted on transition routes to two major
raceways showed that these longer trucks present a safety hazard
(crossing over into oncoming traffic); efforts to protect public
safety are needed. Therefore, this bill was amended to require
the 56-foot truck tractor semitrailer combinations, when
traveling on transition routes to and from a sanctioned
motorsports events, to obtain a special trip permit from
Caltrans until all transition route field tests are finalized
and any projects identified in the field studies are completed,
making the route able safely accommodate the passage of these
longer trucks. The special permits issued by Caltrans would
include provisions for the safe travel of these vehicles over
the transition routes.
If a field study for a given transition route does not identify
projects needed to allow the vehicles to safely traverse the
route, then a Caltrans' issued special trip permit will not be
needed on those particular transition routes. For the
transition routes to the Pomona and Sonoma Raceways, where field
tests have already been conducted, special trip permits issued
by Caltrans for travel on these routes will be required until
such time as the projects identified in the field tests are
completed.
This bill, as amended in the Senate, required that the work
identified in the field studies for the Pomona and Sonoma
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Raceways be completed by Caltrans on or before January 1, 2018.
While making these roadways accessible for these longer trailers
is important, it would be presumptuous to require that this work
be prioritized over other safety projects. Further, existing
law prohibits the Legislature from enacting legislation
mandating the completion of specific individual projects.
Therefore, the author has agreed to remove this provision.
Previous legislation : SB 1174 (Walters, Chapter 292, Statutes
of 2012) deleted the authority of Caltrans or a local government
to issue those permits. Instead, SB 1174 explicitly allows, on
specified federal and state routes and until January 1, 2016,
semitrailers of up to 56 feet in length, if the distance from
the KP-RA is not more than 46 feet and the semitrailer is used
primarily in connection with motorsports.
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 provided the
semi-trailer does not exceed a total of 48 feet.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
National Hot Rod Association (sponsor)
Don Schumacher Racing
Professional Racers Owners Association
Sonoma Raceway
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-
2093