Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez has introduced amendments to Assembly Bill 162 that will speed-up the legislation and expedite the timeline for the Department of Transportation to produce the wrong-way driving report required by the bill.
“The recent crashes in Sacramento and San Diego have shown us why we need answers now, not later,” said Rodriguez. “I have amended my bill so that Caltrans can begin working now to finding solutions to these wrong way accidents and hopefully prevent further, unnecessary losses of life.”
Assembly Bill 162 orders the Department of Transportation to study wrong-way driving accidents—which has not been done in California since 1989-- and look at safety measures pursued by other states that could prevent wrong way driving accidents.
Amendments to the bill move up the timeline of the report, which was originally due to the legislature by January 1, 2017. If AB 162 is approved by the legislature, a preliminary report would be required by December 1, 2015 and the full report by July 1, 2016. Amendments also add an urgency clause. The bill was unanimously approved by the State Assembly and is pending review by the State Senate.
A recent string of wrong-way crashes in both Sacramento and San Diego have made headlines across California. In Sacramento, 14 people have been killed in four wrong-way driving accidents since January. In San Diego, 6 people have been killed in 3 wrong-way accidents in the past month.
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News stories on the recent wrong-way driving incidents:
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article20734713.html
http://fox5sandiego.com/2015/05/16/2-killed-in-wrong-way-crash-on-sr-163/
CONTACT: Francisco Estrada, (916) 319-2052