Bill Text: MI HB6358 | 2017-2018 | 99th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Traffic control; speed restrictions; factors included in speed study; modify. Amends secs. 627 & 628 of 1949 PA 300 (MCL 257.627 & 257.628).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-09-26 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 09/25/2018 [HB6358 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2017-HB6358-Introduced.html

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HOUSE BILL No. 6358

 

 

September 25, 2018, Introduced by Reps. Chang, Green, Geiss and Love and referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

 

     A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled

 

"Michigan vehicle code,"

 

by amending sections 627 and 628 (MCL 257.627 and 257.628), section

 

627 as amended by 2016 PA 445 and section 628 as amended by 2016 PA

 

447.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 627. (1) A person operating a vehicle on a highway shall

 

operate that vehicle at a careful and prudent speed not greater

 

than nor less than is reasonable and proper, having due regard to

 

the traffic, surface, and width of the highway and of any other

 

condition existing at the time. A person shall not operate a

 

vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than that which will

 

permit a stop within the assured, clear distance ahead. A violation

of this subsection shall be known and may be referred to as a

 

violation of the basic speed law or "VBSL".

 

     (2) Except as provided in subsection (1), it is lawful for the

 

operator of a vehicle to operate that vehicle on a highway at a

 

speed not exceeding the following:

 

     (a) 15 miles per hour on a highway segment within the

 

boundaries of a mobile home park, as that term is defined in

 

section 2 of the mobile home commission act, 1987 PA 96, MCL

 

125.2302.

 

     (b) 25 miles per hour on a highway segment within a business

 

district.

 

     (c) 25 miles per hour on a highway segment within the

 

boundaries of a public park. A local authority may decrease the

 

speed limit to not less than 15 miles per hour in a public park

 

under its jurisdiction.

 

     (d) 25 miles per hour on a highway segment within the

 

boundaries of a residential subdivision, including a condominium

 

subdivision, consisting of a system of interconnected highways with

 

no through highways and a limited number of dedicated highways that

 

serve as entrances to and exits from the subdivision.

 

     (e) 25 miles per hour on a highway segment with 60 or more

 

vehicular access points within 1/2 mile.

 

     (f) 30 miles per hour on a highway segment with not less than

 

50 vehicular access points but no more than 59 vehicular access

 

points within 1/2 mile.

 

     (g) 35 miles per hour on a highway segment with not less than

 

45 vehicular access points but no more than 49 vehicular access

points within 1/2 mile.

 

     (h) 40 miles per hour on a highway segment with not less than

 

40 vehicular access points but no more than 44 vehicular access

 

points within 1/2 mile.

 

     (i) 45 miles per hour on a highway segment with not less than

 

30 vehicular access points but no more than 39 vehicular access

 

points within 1/2 mile.

 

     (3) A person operating a truck with a gross weight of 10,000

 

pounds or more, a truck-tractor, a truck-tractor with a semi-

 

trailer or trailer, or a combination of these vehicles shall not

 

exceed a speed of 35 miles per hour during the period when reduced

 

loadings are being enforced in accordance with this chapter.

 

     (4) Where the posted speed limit is greater than 65 miles per

 

hour, a person operating a school bus, a truck with a gross weight

 

of 10,000 pounds or more, a truck-tractor, or a truck-tractor with

 

a semi-trailer or trailer or a combination of these vehicles shall

 

not exceed a speed of 65 miles per hour on a limited access freeway

 

or a state trunk line highway.

 

     (5) All of the following apply to the speed limits described

 

in subsection (2):

 

     (a) A highway segment adjacent to or lying between 2 or more

 

areas described in subsection (2)(a), (b), (c), or (d) shall not be

 

considered to be within the boundaries of those areas.

 

     (b) A highway segment of more than 1/2 mile in length with a

 

consistent density of vehicular access points equal to the number

 

of vehicular access points described in subsection (2)(e), (f),

 

(g), (h), or (i) shall be posted at the speed limit specified in

the adjoining segment. A separate determination shall be made for

 

each adjoining highway segment where vehicular access point density

 

is different.

 

     (c) A speed limit may be posted on highways less than 1/2 mile

 

in length by prorating in 1/10 mile segments the vehicular access

 

point density described in subsection (2)(e), (f), (g), (h), or

 

(i).

 

     (6) A person operating a vehicle on a highway, when entering

 

and passing through a work zone described in section 79d(a) where a

 

normal lane or part of the lane of traffic has been closed due to

 

highway construction, maintenance, or surveying activities, shall

 

not exceed a speed of 45 miles per hour unless a different speed

 

limit is determined for that work zone by the state transportation

 

department, a county road commission, or a local authority, based

 

on accepted engineering practice. The state transportation

 

department, a county road commission, or a local authority shall

 

post speed limit signs in each work zone described in section

 

79d(a) that indicate the speed limit in that work zone and shall

 

identify that work zone with any other traffic control devices

 

necessary to conform to the Michigan manual of on uniform traffic

 

control devices. A person shall not exceed a speed limit

 

established under this section or a speed limit established under

 

section 628.

 

     (7) The state transportation department, a county road

 

commission, or a local authority shall decrease the speed limit in

 

a hospital highway zone by up to 10 miles per hour upon request of

 

a hospital located within that hospital highway zone. The state

transportation department, county road commission, or local

 

authority may decrease the speed limit in a hospital highway zone

 

by more than 10 miles per hour if the decrease is supported by an

 

engineering and safety study. The state transportation department,

 

county road commission, or local authority shall post speed limit

 

signs in a hospital highway zone that indicate the speed limit in

 

that hospital highway zone and shall identify that hospital highway

 

zone with any other traffic control devices necessary to conform to

 

the Michigan manual of on uniform traffic control devices. If a

 

change in a sign, signal, or device, is necessitated by a speed

 

limit decrease described in this subsection, the hospital

 

requesting the decrease shall pay the cost of doing so. As used in

 

this subsection, "hospital highway zone" means a portion of state

 

trunk line highway maintained by the state transportation

 

department that has a posted speed limit of at least 50 miles per

 

hour and has 2 or fewer lanes for travel in the same direction,

 

traverses along property owned by a hospital, contains an ingress

 

and egress point from hospital property, and extends not more than

 

1,000 feet beyond the boundary lines of hospital property in both

 

directions in a municipality.

 

     (8) Subject to subsection (17), the maximum speed limit on all

 

limited access freeways upon which a speed limit is not otherwise

 

fixed under this act is 70 miles per hour, which shall be known as

 

the "limited access freeway general speed limit". The minimum speed

 

limit on all limited access freeways upon which a minimum speed

 

limit is not otherwise fixed under this act is 55 miles per hour.

 

     (9) Subject to subsection (17), the speed limit on all trunk

line highways and all county highways upon which a speed limit is

 

not otherwise fixed under this act is 55 miles per hour, which

 

shall be known as the "general speed limit".

 

     (10) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the

 

speed limit on all county highways with a gravel or unimproved

 

surface upon which a speed limit is not otherwise fixed under this

 

act is 55 miles per hour, which shall be known as the "general

 

gravel road speed limit". Upon request of a municipality located

 

within a county with a population of 1,000,000 or more, the county

 

road commission in conjunction with the requesting municipality may

 

lower the speed limit to 45 miles per hour on the requested road

 

segment and if a sign, signal, or device is erected or maintained,

 

taken down, or regulated as a result of a request by a municipality

 

for a speed limit of 45 miles per hour, the municipality shall pay

 

the costs of doing so. If a municipality located within a county

 

with a population of 1,000,000 or more requests a speed different

 

than the speed described in this subsection, the county road

 

commission in conjunction with the department of state police and

 

the requesting municipality may conduct a speed study of free-flow

 

traffic on the fastest portion of the road segment in question for

 

the purpose of establishing a modified speed limit. A speed study

 

conducted under this subsection shall be completed between 3 and 14

 

days after a full gravel road maintenance protocol has been

 

performed on the road segment. A full gravel road maintenance

 

protocol described in this subsection shall include road grading

 

and the application of a dust abatement chemical treatment. A speed

 

study conducted under this subsection shall include local road

authority input and shall document the proximity of the road

 

segment in question to schools, parks, and recreation centers and

 

the number of children present in the surrounding community, and a

 

copy of this information shall be made available to the public. The

 

entity establishing the speed limit under this section shall hold a

 

public hearing before concluding the speed study. Following a speed

 

study conducted under this subsection, the speed limit for the road

 

segment shall be established at the nearest multiple of 5 miles per

 

hour to the eighty-fifth percentile of speed of free-flow traffic

 

under ideal conditions for vehicular traffic, and shall not be set

 

below the fiftieth percentile speed of free-flow traffic under

 

ideal conditions for vehicular traffic. When establishing a speed

 

limit following a speed study conducted under this subsection, the

 

proximity of the road segment in question to schools, parks, and

 

recreation centers and the number of children present in the

 

surrounding community shall be considered when determining whether

 

to set the speed limit below the eighty-fifth percentile of speed

 

of free-flow traffic under ideal conditions for vehicular traffic.

 

A speed study conducted under this subsection shall be the

 

responsibility of the department of state police, and if a sign,

 

signal, or device is erected or maintained, taken down, or

 

regulated as a result of a request by a municipality under this

 

subsection, the municipality shall pay the costs of doing so.

 

     (11) A public record of all traffic control orders

 

establishing statutory speed limits authorized under this section

 

shall be filed with the office of the clerk of the county in which

 

the county highway is located or at the office of the city or

village clerk or administrative office of the airport, college, or

 

university in which the local highway is located, and a certified

 

copy of the traffic control order shall be evidence in every court

 

of this state of the authority for the issuance of that traffic

 

control order. The public record filed with the county, city, or

 

village clerk or administrative office of the airport, college, or

 

university shall not be required as evidence of authority for

 

issuing a traffic control order in the case of signs temporarily

 

erected or placed at points where construction, maintenance, or

 

surveying activities is in progress. A traffic and engineering

 

investigation is not required for a traffic control order for a

 

speed limit established under subsection (2). A traffic control

 

order shall, at a minimum, contain all of the following

 

information:

 

     (a) The name of the road.

 

     (b) The boundaries of the segment of the road on which the

 

speed limit is in effect.

 

     (c) The basis upon which the speed limit is in effect.

 

     (d) The section of law, including a reference to the

 

subsection, under which the speed limit is established.

 

     (12) Except for speed limits described in subsections (1),

 

(2)(d), and (9), speed limits established under this section are

 

not valid unless properly posted. In the absence of a properly

 

posted sign, the speed limit in effect is the basic speed law

 

described in subsection (1). Speed limits established under

 

subsection (2)(b), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i) are not valid unless

 

a traffic control order is filed as described in subsection (11).

     (13) Nothing in this section prevents the establishment of a

 

modified speed limit after a speed study as described in section

 

628. A modified speed limit established under section 628

 

supersedes a speed limit established under this section.

 

     (14) All signs erected or placed under this section shall

 

conform to the Michigan manual on uniform traffic control devices.

 

     (15) If upon investigation the state transportation department

 

or county road commission and the department of state police

 

determine that it is in the interest of public safety, they may

 

order city, village, airport, college, university, and township

 

officials to erect and maintain, take down, or regulate speed limit

 

signs, signals, and devices as directed. In default of an order,

 

the state transportation department or county road commission may

 

cause designated signs, signals, and devices to be erected and

 

maintained, removed, or regulated in the manner previously directed

 

and pay the costs for doing so out of the designated highway fund.

 

An investigation, including a speed study, conducted under this

 

subsection shall be the responsibility of the department of state

 

police.

 

     (16) A person who violates a speed limit established under

 

this section is responsible for a civil infraction.

 

     (17) No later than 1 year after the effective date of the

 

amendatory act that added this subsection, January 5, 2018, the

 

state transportation department and the department of state police

 

shall increase the speed limits on at least 600 miles of limited

 

access freeway to 75 miles per hour if an engineering and safety

 

study and the eighty-fifth percentile speed of free-flowing traffic

under ideal conditions of that section contain findings that the

 

speed limit may be raised to that speed, and the department shall

 

increase the speed limit of 900 miles of trunk line highway to 65

 

miles per hour if an engineering and safety study and the eighty-

 

fifth percentile speed of free-flowing traffic under ideal

 

conditions of that section contain findings that the speed limit

 

may be raised to that speed.

 

     (18) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Traffic control order" means a document filed with the

 

proper authority that establishes the legal and enforceable speed

 

limit for the highway segment described in the document.

 

     (b) "Vehicular access point" means a driveway or intersecting

 

roadway.

 

     Sec. 628. (1) If the county road commission, the township

 

board, and the department of state police unanimously determine

 

upon the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation that the

 

speed of vehicular traffic on a county highway is greater or less

 

than is reasonable or safe under the conditions found to exist upon

 

any part of the highway, then acting unanimously they may establish

 

a reasonable and safe maximum or minimum speed limit on that county

 

highway that is effective at the times determined when appropriate

 

signs giving notice of the speed limit are erected on the highway.

 

A township board may petition the county road commission or the

 

department of state police for a proposed change in the speed

 

limit. A township board that does not wish to continue as part of

 

the process provided by this subsection shall notify in writing the

 

county road commission. A public record of a traffic control order

establishing a modified speed limit authorized under this

 

subsection shall be filed at the office of the county clerk of the

 

county in which the limited access freeway or state trunk line

 

highway is located, and a certified copy of a traffic control order

 

shall be evidence in every court of this state of the authority for

 

the issuance of that traffic control order. As used in this

 

subsection, "county road commission" means the board of county road

 

commissioners elected or appointed under section 6 of chapter IV of

 

1909 PA 283, MCL 224.6, or, in the case of a charter county with a

 

population of 2,000,000 or more with an elected county executive

 

that does not have a board of county road commissioners, the county

 

executive.

 

     (2) In the case of a county highway, a township board may

 

petition the county road commission, or in counties where there is

 

no road commission but there is a county board of commissioners,

 

the township board may petition the county board of commissioners

 

for any of the following:

 

     (a) A proposed change in the speed limit without the necessity

 

of a speed study consistent with the methods prescribed for

 

establishing speed limits under section 627.

 

     (b) A proposed change in the speed limit consistent with the

 

provisions for establishing speed limits under this section.

 

     (c) The posting of an advisory sign or device for the purpose

 

of drawing the attention of vehicle operators to an unexpected

 

condition on or near the roadway that is not readily apparent to

 

road users.

 

     (3) The state transportation department and the department of

state police shall jointly determine any modified maximum or

 

minimum speed limits on limited access freeways or trunk line

 

highways consistent with the requirements of this section. A public

 

record of a traffic control order establishing a modified speed

 

limit authorized under this subsection shall be filed at the office

 

of the county clerk of the county in which the limited access

 

freeway or trunk line highway is located, and a certified copy of a

 

traffic control order shall be evidence in every court of this

 

state of the authority for the issuance of that traffic control

 

order.

 

     (4) A local road authority shall determine any modified speed

 

limits on local highways consistent with the requirements of this

 

section. A public record of a traffic control order establishing a

 

modified speed limit authorized under this subsection shall be

 

filed at the office of the city or village or administrative office

 

of the airport, college, or university in which the local highway

 

is located, and a certified copy of the traffic control order shall

 

be evidence in every court of this state of the authority for the

 

issuance of that traffic control order.

 

     (5) A speed limit established under this section shall be

 

determined by an engineering and safety study and by the eighty-

 

fifth percentile speed of free-flowing traffic under ideal

 

conditions of a section of highway rounded to the nearest multiple

 

of 5 miles per hour. An engineering and safety study conducted

 

under this subsection shall include local road authority input and

 

shall document the proximity of the road segment in question to

 

schools, parks, and recreation centers and the number of children

present in the surrounding community, and a copy of this

 

information shall be made available to the public. The entity

 

establishing the speed limit under this section shall hold a public

 

hearing before concluding the engineering and safety study. When

 

establishing a speed limit following an engineering and safety

 

study conducted under this subsection, the proximity of the road

 

segment in question to schools, parks, and recreation centers and

 

the number of children present in the surrounding community shall

 

be considered when determining whether to set the speed limit below

 

the eighty-fifth percentile of speed of free-flow traffic under

 

ideal conditions for vehicular traffic. A speed limit established

 

under this act shall not be posted at less than the fiftieth

 

percentile speed of free-flowing traffic under optimal conditions

 

on the fastest portion of the highway segment for which the speed

 

limit is being posted.

 

     (6) If a highway segment includes 1 or more features with a

 

design speed that is lower than the speed limit determined under

 

subsection (5), the road authority may post advisory signs.

 

     (7) If upon investigation the state transportation department

 

or county road commission and the department of state police find

 

it in the interest of public safety, they may order township, city,

 

or village officials to erect and maintain, take down, or regulate

 

the speed limit signs, signals, or devices as directed, and in

 

default of an order the state transportation department or county

 

road commission may cause the designated signs, signals, and

 

devices to be erected and maintained, taken down, regulated, or

 

controlled, in the manner previously directed, and pay for the

erecting and maintenance, removal, regulation, or control of the

 

sign, signal, or device out of the highway fund designated.

 

     (8) Signs posted under this section shall conform to the

 

Michigan manual on uniform traffic control devices.

 

     (9) A person who violates a speed limit established under this

 

section is responsible for a civil infraction.

 

     (10) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "County road commission" means any of the following:

 

     (i) The board of county road commissioners elected or

 

appointed under section 6 of chapter IV of 1909 PA 283, MCL 224.6.

 

     (ii) In the case of the dissolution of the county road

 

commission under section 6 of chapter IV of 1909 PA 283, MCL 224.6,

 

the county board of commissioners.

 

     (iii) In the case of a charter county with a population of

 

1,500,000 or more with an elected county executive that does not

 

have a board of county road commissioners, the county executive.

 

     (iv) In the case of a charter county with a population of more

 

than 750,000 but less than 1,000,000 with an elected county

 

executive that does not have a board of county road commissioners,

 

the department of roads.

 

     (b) "Design speed" means that term as used and determined

 

under "A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets", sixth

 

ed., 2011, or a subsequent edition, issued by the American

 

Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

 

     (c) "Local road authority" means the governing body of a city,

 

village, airport, college, or university.

 

     (d) "Traffic control order" means a document filed with the

proper authority that establishes the legal and enforceable speed

 

limit for the highway segment described in the document.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.