BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2729
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 19, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
                               Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
                   AB 2729 (Ammiano) - As Amended:  March 25, 2010
           
          SUBJECT  :  Automated traffic enforcement: San Francisco

           SUMMARY  :  Allows San Francisco to utilize an automated traffic  
          enforcement system on a particular roadway.  Specifically,  this  
          bill  :  

          1)Allows the City and County of San Francisco to utilize an  
            automated traffic enforcement system to enforce the  
            prohibition against disobeying official traffic control  
            devices from Market Street onto the Central Freeway located at  
            the intersection of Market Street and Octavia Boulevard, if  
            the system meets existing statutory requirements for such  
            systems.  

          2)Finds and declares that this bill cannot be crafted as a  
            general statute due to the unique circumstances concerning  
            traffic enforcement in the City and County of San Francisco.    

           
          EXISTING LAW  :  

          1)Includes traffic signs within the meaning of "traffic control  
            devices."  

          2)Allows a limit line, intersection, or other place with a  
            traffic signal where a driver is required to stop, to be  
            equipped with an automated enforcement system if the  
            governmental agency utilizing the system meets all of the  
            various statutory requirements for such systems, including:  
            identifying the system by signs that clearly indicate its  
            presence; commencing a program to issue only warning notices  
            for 30 days; allowing only a governmental agency, in  
            cooperation with a law enforcement agency, to operate the  
            system (except that the operation can be contracted out if the  
            agency maintains overall control and supervision); keeping  
            photographic records confidential; and permitting the  
            registered owner or any individual identified by the  
            registered owner as the driver of the vehicle at the time of  
            the alleged violation to review the photographic evidence of  








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            the alleged violation.  

          3)Prohibits a contract between a governmental agency and a  
            manufacturer or supplier of automated enforcement equipment  
            from including provision for the payment or compensation to  
            the manufacturer or supplier based on the number of citations  
            generated, or as a percentage of the revenue generated, as a  
            result of the use of the equipment.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS  :  Existing law provides authority for automated  
          enforcement at places where a driver is required to respond to  
          an official traffic control signal.  Existing law does not  
          identify specific violations for which automated enforcement can  
          be used but implies that automated enforcement is intended for  
          red-light violations.  

          The author points out that the Market Street/Octavia Boulevard  
          intersection is one of the most dangerous traffic spots for  
          cyclists in the San Francisco, since automotive traffic  
          routinely makes illegal right turns off Market Street to access  
          the Highway 101 freeway ramp.  At this intersection, which is  
          controlled by a traffic signal, vehicles are never permitted to  
          turn right from Market onto the Central Freeway, even when the  
          traffic light is green.  This prohibition is marked by signage.   
          Collisions occur when vehicles make the prohibited right turn  
          and collide with bicyclists using the bike lane.  From 2002  
          through 2006, this intersection was ranked among the top five  
          locations with the highest incidents of automobile and bicycle  
          collisions in the City.  According to the sponsor, in 2005,  
          there were 13 collisions involving automobiles and bicyclists at  
          this intersection, as compared to an average of three collisions  
          at various intersections throughout the City.  

          Consequently, this bill expands the authority to use automated  
          traffic enforcement systems to include the enforcement of  
          unlawful turns.  

          The effectiveness of using automated traffic enforcement to  
          deter drivers from making specific turns has not been evaluated.  
           Nevertheless, the effectiveness of such systems to reduce  
          collisions due to red light running has received much research  
          attention and may provide some insight into the potential effect  
          of using this system to enforce other traffic laws.  In general,  








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          red light cameras have been associated with reductions in  
          violations of red light running and in front-to-side collisions,  
          the type of collision most closely associated with red light  
          running.  It should be noted that red light cameras have also  
          been associated with increases in rear-end collisions (from  
          people stopping at the intersection), though rear-end collisions  
          are generally less severe than front-to-side collisions.  

          The auto clubs have expressed a concern with the significant  
          expansion of automated enforcement represented by this bill.   
          They cite a history of abuse surrounding the use of automated  
          enforcement and a growing objection by the public for this form  
          of enforcement.  Consequently, they suggest that engineering  
          solutions be used on an expedited basis to remedy what they  
          acknowledge to be a significant safety problem, rather than  
          expanding the use of automated enforcement.  

          There has traditionally been a high degree of discomfort among  
          legislators as well as the public at large with automated  
          traffic enforcement technology in general.  Nevertheless, its  
          clear benefit in reducing red light violations has led the  
          Legislature to approve its use in that limited circumstance.   
          Although this bill represents an expansion of that authority, it  
          is restricted to one specific location, a location with a  
          well-deserved reputation for dangerous conditions.  

           Suggested committee amendment  :  The bill represents a  
          significant departure from the restrictions that the Legislature  
          has previously set on automated enforcement systems.  While a  
          compelling argument can be made for such departure in this  
          particular instance, the Committee may wish initially to limit  
          the time period during which automated enforcement may be  
          implemented and to have its impact evaluated before considering  
          making that authority permanent.  Accordingly, the bill should  
          be amended to make its provisions expire on December 31, 2013,  
          with the City and County of San Francisco reporting to the  
          Assembly Committee on Transportation and the Senate Committee on  
          Transportation and Housing, prior to that date, on the  
          effectiveness of the system in reducing traffic accidents and on  
          any other effects that it may have on traffic flow or driver  
          behavior.  

           Legislative history  :  AB 23 (Ma) of 2007 would have provided the  
          San Francisco with the explicit authority to automatically  
          enforce an illegal right turn violation at the intersection of  








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          Market Street and Octavia Boulevard.  That bill passed Assembly  
          in 2007, but failed in the Senate Transportation and Housing  
          Committee and was ultimately gutted and amended to deal with a  
          different subject.  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Walk San Francisco (sponsor)
          Delores Neighborhood Association
          Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association
          North Mission Neighborhood Alliance
          San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

           Opposition 
           
          Automobile Club of Southern California
          California State Automobile Association

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :   Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093