AB 2522 Assembly Bill - Bill Analysis

BILL ANALYSIS

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THIRD READING

Bill No: AB 2522

Author: Shelley (D), et al
Amended: 8/31/00 in Senate
Vote: 21

SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 8/8/00

AYES: Karnette, Dunn, Costa, Figueroa, Hayden, Kelley,
Murray, Soto, Speier
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 12-0, 8/21/00
AYES: Johnston, Bowen, Burton, Escutia, Johnson, Karnette,
Kelley, Leslie, McPherson, Mountjoy, Perata, Vasconcellos
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 56-20, 5/31/00 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT : Vehicles: pedestrians: bicyclists

SOURCE : Author

DIGEST : This bill enacts the Pedestrian Safety Act of

2000 which enacts a number of provisions related to
improving roadway safety for bicycles and pedestrians.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, the California Bicycle
Transportation Act, declares that it is the intent of the
Legislature to establish a bicycle transportation system
to, among other things, achieve the functional commuting
needs of the public.
This bill establishes the Pedestrian Safety Account in the
State Transportation Fund to be available, upon
CONTINUED

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appropriation, for allocation by the State Department of
Transportation to local governmental agencies approved for
grants to undertake pedestrian safety improvement projects,
including projects designed to improve facilities for
pedestrians and bicyclists in areas where need has been
demonstrated by high pedestrian injuries or fatalities.
Existing law requires the driver of a vehicle to yield the
right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within
any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an
intersection, except as specified.
This bill prohibits any person from unnecessarily stopping
a vehicle in a manner that causes the vehicle to block a
marked or unmarked crosswalk or sidewalk. The bill thereby
creates a new crime and imposes a state-mandated local

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AB 2522 Assembly Bill - Bill Analysis

program. The bill also imposes specified fines for certain

violations that result in bodily injury to anyone other
than the driver.
The bill requires the State Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) to include at least one question in each test of an
applicant's knowledge and understanding of the provisions
of the Vehicle Code, as administered by DMV, to verify that
the applicant has read and understands the rights of
pedestrians.
The bill imposes a mandatory penalty of $100 for the first
conviction of violating a specified provision that
prohibits the driver of a vehicle from overtaking and
passing a vehicle that has stopped at a marked or unmarked
crosswalk to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway.
The bill prohibits the removal of existing marked
crosswalks without giving the public proper notice and
opportunity to be heard, thereby imposing a state-mandated
local program.
Existing law authorizes the use of automated enforcement
systems at official traffic control signals and requires
any city using the systems to provide warning notices prior
to issuing citations.
This bill provides that the authorization to use automated

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enforcement systems does not include the use of photo radar
for speed enforcement purposes by any jurisdiction.
Existing law requires the Director of the DMV to prescribe
rules and regulations for driving schools and for traffic
violator schools regarding, among other things, the conduct
of courses of education including the curriculum.
The bill requires the curriculum in those schools to
include the rights and duties of motorists as they pertain
to pedestrians and the rights and duties of pedestrians as
they pertain to traffic laws and traffic safety.
Existing law requires the adopted course of study for
grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to include, among other courses,
automobile driver education.
The bill requires the automobile driver education component
to include the rights and the duties of a motorist as they
pertain to pedestrians and the rights and duties of
pedestrians as they relate to traffic laws and traffic
safety. Because this increases the level of service
required of school districts, the bill imposes a
state-mandated local program.
The Budget Act of 2000 (Chapter 52, Statutes of 2000) made
available $8 million that was appropriated for a
competitive grant program to fund local pedestrian safety
and intersection traffic control measures pursuant to
enabling legislation enacted during the 1999-2000 Regular
Session.
This bill transfers those funds to the Pedestrian Safety
Account described above.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2000-01 2001-02
2002-03 Fund

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AB 2522 Assembly Bill - Bill Analysis

Grants 8,000*

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8,000 8,000 State Hwy
Drivers ed Unknown, reimbursable
mandate of General
up to $100k annually
Notice & hearing Unknown, reimbursable mandate
General
DMV Minor, absorbable costs
Motor
Vehicle
Caltrans Minor, costs to
administer grant State Hwy
*funded in 2000-01 budget
SUPPORT : (Unable to verify at time of writing)
Planning and Conservation League
Orange County Transportation Authority
Alameda City Transit Advocates
Bicycle-Friendly Berkeley Coalition
California Association of Bicycling Organizations
California Bicycle Coalition
Chico Velo Cycling Club
Davis City Council
City of Richmond
Coalition of Community Trails
Endangered Habitats League
Fresno Area Citizens for an Effective Transportation System
Fresno Cycling Club
Marin County Bicycle Coalition
Livable Streets Coalition
Older Women's League of California
Pedestrian Safety Task Force
Rails to Trails
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department
San Diego Coalition for Transportation Choices
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District
Sierra Club
Sonoma County Transportation Land Use Coalition
Surface Transportation Policy Project
Sustainable San Mateo County
Walk Sacramento

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Walk San Francisco
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : This bill creates the "Pedestrian

Safety Act of 2000." The author's office contends that the
incidence of pedestrian injuries and fatalities is
significant, and current law does not provide adequate
protection for pedestrians.
The author's office indicates that approximately 600
pedestrians are killed and 13,000 injured each year in
California. While pedestrian fatalities represent a

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AB 2522 Assembly Bill - Bill Analysis

significant percentage of all transportation-related

fatalities, transportation funding projects designed to
improve pedestrian safety account for less than one percent
of the total transportation funding n the state. According
to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, "Pedestrians
account for more than a third of all motor vehicle deaths
in large cities. But less attention often is paid to
pedestrian deaths and injuries than to motor vehicle
occupant deaths. And when attention is paid to
pedestrians, the focus usually is on their behavior, even
though drivers probably are negligent in about half of all
fatal collisions between pedestrians and vehicles."
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently
reported that California has one of the highest death rates
related to accidents caused by vehicles that had disobeyed
a red traffic signal. More than half of these deaths were
pedestrians that were lawfully crossing the roadway and
were struck by these vehicles.
The problem of pedestrian death and injuries is
particularly troublesome in the City and County of San
Francisco, which is second only to the City of New York in
the number of traffic fatalities involving pedestrians.
According to the CHP, 135 pedestrians were killed and 467
injured in San Francisco between 1995 and 1999. In light
of the high level of pedestrian injuries and fatalities,
city officials recently convened an emergency pedestrian
safety summit to consider ways to more effectively address
this problem. The summit made a number of recommendations,
including narrowing streets and assessing increased fines

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on motorists that violate traffic laws, and the officials
indicate the recommendations may be used to create a
pedestrian safety master plan for the city.
Pedestrian safety experts contend the key elements in
reducing pedestrian injuries are better awareness and
knowledge by both vehicle operators and pedestrians,
comprehensive traffic safety planning, and reducing vehicle
speeds, including incorporating so-called "traffic calming"
projects. For example, the City of Oakland recently
dramatically reduced pedestrian fatalities by modifying
traffic flows and instituting vehicle speed reduction
measures. This bill enacts several comprehensive
provisions that address the problem of pedestrian safety in
a number of ways, including enhancing traffic law
protection and improving driver education and awareness.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Alquist, Aroner, Bock, Briggs, Calderon, Cardenas,
Cardoza, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Cunneen, Davis,
Ducheny, Dutra, Firebaugh, Florez, Frusetta, Gallegos,
Havice, Honda, Jackson, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Leach,
Lempert, Longville, Lowenthal, Machado, Maldonado,
Margett, Mazzoni, Migden, Nakano, Robert Pacheco, Papan,
Pescetti, Reyes, Romero, Scott, Shelley, Steinberg,
Strom-Martin, Thomson, Torlakson, Villaraigosa, Vincent,
Washington, Wayne, Wesson, Wiggins, Wildman, Wright,
Zettel, Hertzberg
NOES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Ashburn, Bates, Battin, Brewer,
Campbell, Dickerson, Granlund, House, Kaloogian, Leonard,
Maddox, McClintock, Olberg, Oller, Rod Pacheco, Runner,
Strickland, Thompson

RJG:cm 9/18/00 Senate Floor Analyses

SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE

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