Bill Text: CA AB652 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Vehicles: vehicle length limitation.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Passed) 2009-10-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 369, Statutes of 2009. [AB652 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB652-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 652 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 369
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 11, 2009
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 11, 2009
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 31, 2009
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 2, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 24, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 15, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Skinner
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
An act to add Section 35400.7 to the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 652, Skinner. Vehicles: vehicle length limitation.
Existing law imposes a 40-foot limitation on the length of
vehicles that may be operated on the highways, with specified
exemptions. Existing law exempts from this limitation an articulated
bus or trolley and a bus, except a schoolbus, that is operated by a
public agency or passenger stage corporation that is used in a
transit system if it is equipped with a folding device attached to
the front of the vehicle that is designed and used exclusively for
transporting bicycles, does not materially affect efficiency or
visibility of vehicle safety equipment, and does not extend more than
36 inches from the front of the body of the bus or trolley when
fully deployed. In addition, existing law prohibits a bicycle that is
transported on the above-described device from having the bicycle
handlebars extend more than 42 inches from the front of the vehicle.
This bill would authorize the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit
District to install folding devices attached to the front of its
buses that are designed and used exclusively for transporting
bicycles as long as those devices meet certain requirements,
including, but not limited to, extending not more than 40 inches from
the front of the bus when fully deployed, and that the handlebars of
the bicycles being transported extend not more than 46 inches from
the front of the bus. If Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District
installs the bicycle racks, the bill would require the district to
report to the Assembly Committee on Transportation and the Senate
Committee on Transportation and Housing on or before December 31,
2014, regarding safety issues and mobility improvements.
This bill would also require the district, prior to installing a
folding device on a bus that is 45 feet in length, to establish a
route review committee, as specified, in order to determine, by
unanimous vote of the voting members, which routes proposed by the
district are suitable for the safe operation of a 45-foot bus that is
equipped with a front-mounted bicycle rack. The bill would require
the committee's initial review to include a field review of the
proposed routes.
The bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 35400.7 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
35400.7. (a) Notwithstanding Section 35400, the Alameda-Contra
Costa Transit District created pursuant to Part 1 (commencing with
Section 24501) of Division 10 of the Public Utilities Code may
install a folding device attached to the front of a bus that is
designed and used exclusively for transporting bicycles if the
following conditions are met:
(1) The device does not extend more than 40 inches from the front
body of the bus when fully deployed.
(2) The device, including all bicycles transported thereon, is
mounted in a manner that does not materially affect efficiency or
visibility of vehicle safety equipment.
(3) The handlebars of a bicycle that is transported on a device
described in this subdivision does not extend more than 46 inches
from the front of the bus.
(b) (1) The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District shall establish
a route review committee prior to the installation of the initial
folding device, pursuant to subdivision (a), on a bus that is 45 feet
in length. The purpose of the committee is to ensure the safe
operation of a 45-foot bus that is equipped with a front-mounted
bicycle rack.
(2) The committee established pursuant to this subdivision shall
perform an initial review of the routes on which the district
proposes to operate a 45-foot bus equipped with a front-mounted
bicycle rack. The review shall include a field review of the proposed
routes.It is the intent of the Legislature that the field review
required under this paragraph include consultation with traffic
engineers from affected public agencies that have jurisdiction over
segments of the route or routes under review, to ensure coordination
with all affected state and local public road agencies that may
potentially be impacted due to the operation of a 45-foot bus with a
front-mounted bicycle rack.
(3) By unanimous vote of all voting members, the committee shall
make a determination of the routes that are suitable for the safe
operation of a 45-foot bus that is equipped with a front-mounted
bicycle rack.
(4) Upon any proposal to make substantive changes or additions to
approved routes, those changes shall be subject to review and
certification pursuant to paragraph (2) prior to being approved by
the committee.
(5) The members of the committee shall be selected not more than
30 days after receipt of the district proposal to equip a 45-foot bus
with a front-mounted bicycle rack and shall be comprised of the
following members:
(A) One member from the district who shall be appointed by the
district's general manager and who shall be a voting member of the
committee.
(B) One member who is a traffic engineer selected by the district
and who shall be a voting member of the committee.
(C) One member appointed by the labor organization that is the
exclusive representative of the busdrivers of the district. If there
is no exclusive representative of the busdrivers, a busdriver member
shall be chosen by a majority vote of the busdrivers employed by the
district. This member shall be a voting member of the committee.
(D) One member appointed by the governing board who shall be a
representative of the bicycling community and who shall reside in the
district. This member shall be a nonvoting member of the committee.
(c) If a folding device is installed pursuant to subdivision (a),
the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District shall submit a report to
the Assembly Committee on Transportation and the Senate Committee on
Transportation and Housing on or before December 31, 2014. The report
shall include a summary of any incidents where the size of the
folding devices was a factor, and a summary of the mobility
improvements these folding devices provide.
SEC. 2. Due to the unique circumstances of a large number of
bicycle riders using buses operated by the Alameda-Contra Costa
Transit District and the need to determine whether there are safety
considerations in having 40-inch bicycle racks on the front of its
buses, it is necessary that, and the Legislature finds and declares
that, a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning
of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution.
