Legislature(2017 - 2018)GRUENBERG 120
04/13/2017 05:30 PM House JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB204 | |
| HB79 | |
| SB55 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 204 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 55 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 79 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 204-OVERTAKING/PASSING DOT VEHICLES
5:39:25 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 204, "An Act relating to overtaking and passing
certain stationary vehicles."
5:39:47 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SCOTT KAWASAKI, Alaska State Legislature, advised
that under current statute, AS 28.35.185, commonly known as the
"Move Over Law," drivers are required to move to the nearest
lane and slow down when approaching [stationary] vehicles, such
as fire, law enforcement and emergency vehicles, animal control
vehicles, and tow trucks in the act of loading a vehicle. This
bill includes, within those certain vehicles, the Department of
Transportation (DOT) vehicles when using their flashing lights,
and with workers performing road maintenance or road work. In
the event a driver approaches one of these vehicles, with their
lights flashing, on the highway with two or more lanes traveling
in the same direction, the driver would vacate that lane and
move safely into the closest lane. In the event there were
fewer than two lanes traveling in the same direction, the driver
would slow down to a reasonable speed.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI reminded the committee that in 2012,
Robert Hammel, a DOT employee, was tragically struck and killed
while laying down traffic cones to alert drivers of a stranded
vehicle on the side of the roadway at Mile 88 on the Seward
Highway. He related that Mr. Hammel's name was incorporated
into the committee substitute for HB 204.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI advised that the penalty under this
statute would be considered a "failure to move over," and is a
class A misdemeanor if personal injury resulted in a person's
failure to vacate a lane or slow down. In the event a "failure
to move over" did not result in personal injury it is punishable
by a $150 traffic infraction with two points assessed against
the person's driver's license. He offered that this statute has
been in effect since September 2005, and under this statute for
the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT) there
were 23 violations in 2016; 14 violations in 2015; and 53
violations in 2014. In March 2017, two South Carolina
Department of Transportation safety workers were killed while
working, and there is legislation across the nation dealing
specifically with this issue, he advised.
5:44:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN noted that the language deals solely with
stationary vehicles, and asked whether there had been a
discussion regarding vehicles moving at a slow speed performing
some type of road work.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI answered that issue was not specifically
addressed in this bill. He referred to slow moving vehicles
denoted with a "slow moving" vehicle sign, and said he was
unsure whether that was found in this statute.
5:45:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FANSLER moved to adopt CSHB 204, Version 30-
LS0685\D, Martin, 4/8/17, as the working document. There being
no objection, Version D was before the committee.
5:45:38 PM
MERCEDES COLBERT, Staff, Representative Scott Kawasaki, Alaska
State Legislature, responded to Representative Eastman that
there had been discussions with other contractors and DOT
representatives, and found there currently is not a statute in
place for slow moving vehicles, and she deferred to the
Department of Law and the Alaska State Troopers online.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN surmised that currently there is no
penalty in statute.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI reiterated that he did not include
language regarding slow moving vehicles within this bill.
5:47:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP said he strongly supports this bill, and
agreed that this section of title 28 deals solely with
stationary emergency vehicles. He described that the issue of
slow moving vehicles would require an extensive re-write because
if a driver comes upon a slow moving emergency vehicle, "we
don't know" which way it will travel. He commented that the law
should not direct a person to try to go around the emergency
vehicle because it may be more appropriate to move over and
stop, such as with oncoming emergency vehicles currently. It is
a different situation, he said, and should be addressed
separately in the law.
5:48:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether there are situations
wherein a DOT vehicle would stop to render aid to an emergency
situation.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI answered that Mr. Hammel was in that
particular type of situation, and described that at the time a
state trooper was rendering aid to a vehicle stopped on the side
of the road, and he was called to a case 10 miles away on the
Seward Highway. Mr. Hammel, in working alongside law
enforcement, placed the traffic cones to ensure the stranded
vehicle did not become a further hazard for other drivers when
he was struck and killed, he related.
5:49:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN opined that it was not immediately
apparent that someone not performing maintenance on the road
would be covered.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI replied that the language was accurate
because if the vehicle was in the act of performing maintenance
or road service work, that person would be covered.
CHAIR CLAMAN opened public hearing on CSHB 204.
5:50:16 PM
MIKE COFFEY, Director, South Coast Region, Statewide Maintenance
and Statewide Operation Director, Department of Transportation &
Public Facilities (DOTPF), advised he has been employed with the
Department of Transportation & Public Facilities for 35 years,
and approximately 20 years of that time involved maintenance and
operations in all three regions across the state. He
highlighted that every day Alaska DOT maintenance and operations
personnel serve in harm's way while working on the state's
highways. Throughout the state, he said, people often ignore
traffic work zones, they do not obey flaggers' order causing
flaggers to take evasive actions and numerous times have had to
jump in a ditch to get out of the way of errant vehicles.
Maintenance and operations folks perform "mobile operations"
such as filling a pot hole, and he described that the vehicle
pulls alongside the road with flashing lights, the maintenance
crew gets out, quickly fills the pot hole, and moves on. Also,
crews will lay out cones ahead of the workers establishing a
work zone, and without the work zone set up these are situations
where the department's employees are most vulnerable. He
pointed out that nationally, more than 35,000 people are injured
in work zones every year, and approximately 700 people,
including 130 maintenance and operations and construction
workers, are killed in work zones every year. The Alaska
Department of Transportation & Public Facilities supports CSHB
204, he stated.
5:54:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS related that he had the
opportunity to work with Mr. Coffey, and appreciates his
commitment to the Department of Transportation & Public
Facilities and the services he performs in Alaskan communities.
CHAIR CLAMAN, after ascertaining no one wished to testify,
closed public testimony on CSHB 204.
5:55:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked Captain Lowden whether it was his
understanding that this legislation would affect a situation
wherein a DOT employee was out of their vehicle rendering aid to
a disabled motorist or a car accident victim.
5:55:47 PM
CAPTAIN DAN LOWDEN, Division of Alaska State Troopers,
Department of Public Safety (DPS), pointed out that he is not a
lawyer, but surmised that because they were not doing road work,
maybe not. In the event there were other emergency vehicles
there, he opined, they would be covered in the sense that there
would be other vehicles there that the violator would be
passing. He added that in the event the employee and vehicle
were there by themselves, some folks may read this bill that
they were not covered.
5:56:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP reminded the committee that the mission of
the DOT is to keep Alaska moving; therefore, every single thing
they do is to keep motorists moving and road service work is a
"very broad" term. He related that in his plain view reading of
the bill, road service work is the broadest possible term that
would cover all possible work on the road to keep Alaska moving,
and certainly attending to motorists in need is included.
CHAIR CLAMAN added that a disabled vehicle on the roadside is a
hazard to traffic, and assisting in moving that vehicle off the
road, under the narrowest view of road service work, would
certainly be road service work.
5:58:11 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FANSLER moved to report CSHB 204 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, CSHB 204(JUD) passed from the
House Judiciary Standing Committee.