HB 204-OVERTAKING/PASSING ROAD WORK VEHICLES  1:44:33 PM CHAIR STEDMAN announced the consideration of HB 204. 1:45:03 PM WILLIAM JODWALIS, Staff, Representative Kawasaki, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, disclosed that Dan Carson, former DOT&PF equipment operator in Fairbanks, brought the issue forward. He said he would speak briefly as to current statute what the bill does, what changes have been made from its original version and the penalties that come with any violation of what this bill puts forward as follows: Under AS 28.35.185(a), drivers are required to vacate the nearest lane or slowdown when approaching certain stationary emergency and service vehicles which are flashing emergency lights on a highway or roadway. Such vehicles currently include: emergency, fire, law enforcement, animal control vehicles, and tow trucks in the act of picking up a vehicle. This bill adds, "Vehicle in the act of performing maintenance or road- service work," to the list of vehicles subject to the existing move-over law, allowing private contractor, municipal maintenance vehicles to fall under its jurisdiction, including the Department of Transportation. Under this bill if a driver approaches one of these vehicles, those preforming maintenance or road service work which is displaying flashing emergency lights on a highway, with two or more lanes the driver shall vacate the lane closest to the vehicle or slow down to a reasonable speed if they cannot vacate the closest lane safely. On a road with fewer than two lanes, the driver shall slow down to a reasonable speed considering traffic, roadway, and weather conditions. 1:47:33 PM MR. JODWALIS explained changes made from the original version of HB 204 during committee proceeding in House Transportation. CHAIR STEDMAN asked Mr. Jodwalis to address the bill's current version. MR. JODWALIS explained the penalties related to the bill as follows: Under AS 28.35.185, failure to move over is a class A misdemeanor if personal injury results from a person's failure to vacate the lane or slow down. Failure to move over that does not result in personal injury is punishable by a $150 fine and 2 points assessed against the driver's license. This statute has been effective since September 2005. We confirmed with municipal police departments that they enforce the same statute. He summarized that HB 204 would help reduce the likelihood of work-zone-related accidents and tragedies and help make Alaska's roads a safer place to drive and work. SENATOR WILSON asked how the bill differs from current laws regarding highway work zones. MR. JODWALIS specified that the bill would apply to situations where someone is working on the side of the road. 1:51:32 PM SENATOR WILSON asked what the requirement and process is from DOT&PF for an individual to work on potholes or guardrails. MR. JODWALIS replied that DOT&PF can better answer Senator Wilson's question. SENATOR BISHOP commented as follows: Let me help you explain this. So, you have a construction project that has an improved traffic plan in it, let's say it's a bid awarded DOT&PF highway construction project. So, we have two issues here, this bill with a DOT&PF approved traffic plan, okay, that's over here. This bill is, as I interpret it, is trying to fix what's not a DOT&PF awarded construction plan to a private contractor. This bill is, like Senator Wilson said, there could be a maintenance issue here where DOT&PF is doing pothole repairs or doing an overlay where they will have two flaggers, they will have two lighted signs on either end of the job, but this is getting a little tighter yet where it might just be a one-truck pothole patch or a recovery effort of a tow vehicle, etc. This is covering outside of a controlled traffic plan outside of DOT&PF. 1:53:37 PM CHAIR STEDMAN opened public testimony. 1:53:53 PM BOB ANDERSON, Central Region Chief of Maintenance and Operations, Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF), Anchorage, Alaska, testified in support of HB 204 and commented as follows: DOT&PF supports HB 204 as it has potential to provide additional safety to crews that are working along the road and highways every day. Our maintenance operators are the people you see every day working to provide safe routes for Alaskans, higher risk situations they face daily include out of control vehicles, road debris, and close proximity to traffic. The approval of this bill could potentially minimize these risks. He provided national work-zone accident statistics from the US Department of Transportation as follows: • Work-zone accidents: o 2015: 96,000; o 2014: 89,000; o 2013: 68,000. • Work-zone accidents occur every 5.4 minutes with 0.7 percent resulting in a fatality. MR. ANDERSON disclosed that during the previous month a maintenance worker in Colorado sustained fatal injuries while filling potholes. He added that Alaska experienced a loss in [2016] when [Robert Hammel] was struck [on the Seward Highway] while assisting Alaska State Troopers. He noted accidents in work zones that occurred without serious injuries as well. He summarized that DOT&PF staff take pride in the work they do and want to make Alaska's road safe for all motorists. 1:56:22 PM SENATOR WILSON asked Mr. Anderson to explain the safety-zone procedures for DOT&PF maintenance work. MR. ANDERSON replied as follows: I believe this bill is more pointed towards work that is done by one or two personnel at one time where we don't have to go through the process of setting up a complete traffic control plan. We do have policies that dictate that we use traffic control plans, but they are quite a bit different than what we typically see on a construction project for issues like a guardrail repair. We dictate that our crews park safely off the side of the road and out of harm's way and we have emergency flashing lights on, but there might not be the whole contention of warning signs leading up to the work zone. SENATOR WILSON asked him to provide a copy of the procedures to the committee. 1:58:03 PM SENATOR MACKINNON addressed her concern for increased liability as follows: Could you tell me is there any increased liability as we expand our definition beyond the public sector? I see we have tow trucks listed in here so he have made an exception once now for tow trucks, but the bill as it was introduced was limited to state, so it seems like we are expanding it which would be a good thing in the sense that more people would be protected, but will the general public be able to recognize those that are performing maintenance that might be in these corridors? MR. ANDERSON answered that he does not see any added liability. He noted that the requirement for emergency flashing lights continues which adds additional protection. SENATOR BISHOP suggested that DOT&PF consider doing public service announcements to inform the public if the bill became law. 2:00:16 PM DAN CARSON, representing self, Fairbanks, Alaska, testified in support of HB 204. He disclosed that he used to work for DOT&PF in Fairbanks as an equipment operator and that was where he came up with the idea for the bill. He said his experience was that motorists were not slowing down or moving over in road maintenance areas. He opined that HB 204 would protect workers that are out on the road. 2:02:17 PM DUSTIN WITTE, employee, Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Fairbanks, Alaska, testified in support of HB 204. He said there were a lot of distracted drivers on the road and the bill will keep everybody that works on the road from tow truck drivers to DOT&PF personnel safe. CHAIR STEDMAN said Captain Dan Lowden of the Alaska State Troopers would address the committee. He asked if the Alaska State Troopers supported the bill. 2:03:31 PM DAN LOWDEN, Captain, Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS), Anchorage, Alaska, replied that he was not certain if the department has taken a position on HB 204. He admitted that the bill was clearly intended to make people safe that are working along the roadway. SENATOR MACKINNON asked if the requirement for flashing lights creates problems. CAPTAIN LOWDEN answered as follows: I don't know of a regulation that specifically states that there is a regulation about towing vehicles having flashing lights, but I suspect from what I've seen almost all vehicles that are doing roadwork in manners that put them alongside the roadway, they already have lights. I think as it was discussed earlier, I don't believe that this bill was intended for construction sites that extend a distance along the highway, I think this was intended for the single kind of vehicle that they might be changing a street light, doing potholes, working on a guardrail, clearing brush, that sort of thing. I would suspect that they would all have lights and it certainly would seem to me that if they didn't it would in fact be hard for the public to understand what is going on for compliance to the statute. 2:06:20 PM SENATOR MACKINNON noted that Anchorage has had casualties and commented as follows: In Anchorage we have had casualties beyond performing maintenance or road service, but when contractors are out in the right-of-way, they are doing the same thing and they usually have stationary equipment along side of the road as well and those Alaskans are in harms way if you don't slow down or move over. We've had some near-death experiences with contractors having people in those right-of-ways and to me it seems like it would qualify based on the new language coming out of the Judiciary Committee that a vehicle performing maintenance, maintenance is reconstruction of a road or road service work, that's reconstruction that it would qualify. So, I guess it's two-fold, I need to know whether this definition will extend to contractors in a roadway and then if not, why? Then, I also need to know in the summer if you don't have flashing lights then that would exempt those contractors or require additional expense on state contacts or municipal contracts to add the flashing lights and is that what we want to do? 2:08:21 PM MATT WALKER, State Traffic and Safety Engineer, Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Juneau, Alaska, testified in support of HB 204 and commented as follows: To fulfill the department's mission to keep Alaska moving, our employees are frequently on or adjacent to roadways and moving traffic. We are inspecting bridges and roadways to identify repair that extend our infrastructure's life. We are designing our infrastructure for safer and more efficient movement by the public. We are assisting with emergency response. We are performing maintenance and operation activities like snow and ice removal, and repairing signs and pavement markings, and roads and bridges, and guardrails. CHAIR STEDMAN asked Mr. Walker to address Senator MacKinnon's previous questions. SENATOR MACKINNON restated her questions as follows: We have construction crews that, I'll use the Muldoon bridge as an example where there was construction and barriers and cones, everything set up, and it seems to me that based on the language that's coming over from the other body the act of performing maintenance or road service work that private contractors would now be included in this new definition, that's the first question. Is that accurate, because before it was much narrower. I certainly supported the previous iteration of the bill where it was DOT&PF, that's who we were protecting, but I think it's a good conversation that we have contractors on the roadway that are placing their lives at risk as well as DOT&PF employees or other municipal folks. 2:11:14 PM MR. WALKER replied as follows: These contractors do work for the department, so I think the fact that they are on the road performing maintenance work they would be covered as they have their flashers up; they are still required to put up traffic control when they are doing work for the department according to the Alaska Traffic Manual, just as our maintenance personnel are required to do. SENATOR MACKINNON asked him to touch base with the Department of Law and provide a definitive answer. She continued as follows: Those contractors who are working in the roadway should be protected and we should educate, as Senator Bishop suggested, the general population to know that if somebody is stationary in the roadway operating on a road, they should move to the left, they should vacate the closest lane to provide additional protection to those working in the roadway. My secondary concern is requiring the flashing lights. I'm not sure they are always there in the summer. Now, maybe I'm just not seeing them because it's light for some time during an Alaska summer, but if we could check on whether those lights are required currently on all projects or whether those lights stop flashing during daytime hours because that might negate them from being part of this if the flashers aren't going. MR. WALKER answered that the DOT&PF Alaska Traffic Manual requires lights to be on during roadwork. CHAIR STEDMAN asked if DOT&PF was in support of the HB 204. MR. WALKER answered yes. 2:13:56 PM TRENTON ENGLISH, Business Representative, Public Employees Local 71, Juneau, Alaska, testified in support of HB 204. He disclosed that the labor union represents many men and women throughout the state that spend a great deal of time working along the state's roadways. He asserted that the additions HB 204 makes to the Move Over Law will go along way to keeping workers safe. 2:14:58 PM DON ETHRIDGE, Lobbyist, Alaska AFL-CIO, Juneau, Alaska, testified in support of HB 204. He addressed Senator McKinnon's question and noted that the bill is intended to cover all construction workers and DOT&PF maintenance personnel on the highways. 2:15:45 PM At ease. 2:16:15 PM CHAIR STEDMAN called the committee back to order. MR. ETHRIDGE added that traffic supervisors are trained to let everyone know that "caution lighting" is required with signage. 2:17:18 PM CHAIR STEDMAN closed public testimony. 2:17:44 PM CHAIR STEDMAN held HB 204 in committee.