Bill Text: CA SB961 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Vehicles: safety equipment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-07-03 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 3.) (July 2). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. [SB961 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB961-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Vehicles: safety equipment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-07-03 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 3.) (July 2). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. [SB961 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB961-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 961
| Introduced by Senator Wiener |
January 23, 2024 |
An act to add Article 19 (commencing with Section 28170) to Chapter 5 of Division 12 of, and to add Section 34512 to, the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 961, as introduced, Wiener.
Vehicles: safety equipment.
Under existing law, the Department of the California Highway Patrol regulates the safe operation of specified vehicles, including motortrucks of 3 or more axles that are more than 10,000 pounds, truck tractors, trailers, semitrailers, and buses. Existing federal law regulates required safety equipment on vehicles, including rear impact guards on certain large trucks to prevent rear underrides in collisions with passenger vehicles.
This bill would require certain trucks and trailers to also be equipped with side guards, as specified. The bill would also require the department to adopt rules and regulations requiring driver inspections of side guards and requiring the department to inspect side guards that have been involved in collisions.
Existing law prohibits a person from driving a vehicle upon a
highway at a speed greater than the speed limit.
This bill would require certain vehicles, commencing with the 2027 model year, to be equipped with an intelligent speed limiter, as specified, that would limit the speed of the vehicle to 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. The bill would exempt emergency vehicles from this requirement and would authorize the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol to authorize the disabling of the system on other vehicles based on specified criteria.
A violation of either of these prohibitions would be punishable as a crime.
By creating a new criminal offense, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish
procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Article 19 (commencing with Section 28170) is added to Chapter 5 of Division 12 of the Vehicle Code, to read:Article 19. Speed Limiter Technology
28170.
As used in this article, “intelligent speed limiter system” means an integrated vehicle system that uses, at minimum, the GPS location of the vehicle compared with a database of posted speed limits, to determine the speed limit, and electronically limits the speed of the vehicle to prevent the driver from exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour.28171.
(a) Commencing with the 2027 model year, every passenger vehicle, motortruck, and bus manufactured or sold in the state shall be equipped with an intelligent speed limiter system.(b) An intelligent speed limiter system required by this section shall operate passively and shall only be capable of being temporarily disabled by the driver of the vehicle.
(c) An intelligent speed limiter system shall be capable of being fully disabled by the manufacturer or a franchisee, but only as provided in Section 28172.
28172.
(a) Section 28171 does not apply to any vehicle sold as an authorized emergency vehicle.(b) An intelligent speed limiter system may be disabled on any authorized emergency vehicle or any vehicle for which written authorization has been received by the commissioner.
(c) The commissioner may, in the commissioner’s discretion, authorize the disabling of an intelligent speed limiter system in any vehicle if, based on the specialized usage of the vehicle, the disabling of the system is reasonable, practical, and would not pose a risk to public safety.
SEC. 2.
Section 34512 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:34512.
(a) Every motortruck, trailer, or semitrailer, having a gross vehicle weight rating exceeding 10,000 pounds, that is manufactured, sold, or registered in the state shall be equipped with functional side guards on both lateral sides of the vehicle.(b) The department shall adopt rules and regulations as follows:
(1) To require inspection by the department of the side guards of any vehicle involved in a collision impacting the side guards.
(2) To require drivers of vehicles equipped with side guards to conduct regular inspections of side guards for damage and functionality and to repair or replace damaged units as
necessary.
(c) As used in this section, “side guard” means a lateral protection system that meets both of the following requirements:
(1) Is able to provide vehicle crash protection for a midsize car to prevent the intrusion of the occupant survival space when struck at any location and from any angle ay any speed up to 40 miles per hour.
(2) Physically covers and protects any exposed space between the front and rear wheels of the motortruck, trailer, or semitrailer.
