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 AB 2729 Page 2 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, AB 2729 Page 3 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 AB 2729 Page 4 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