California Gov. Gavin Newsom has acted to thwart a rule that is touted to help reduce traffic deaths by requiring speed warnings on certain new vehicles. The effort initially required all cars and trucks sold in the state to include speed-assistance technology.
Newsom vetoed the bill that sought to establish a first-in-the-nation mandate for speed-assistance technology.
Senate Bill 961
As introduced, SB961 included a requirement for every car, truck and bus manufactured and sold in the state to be equipped with speed governors. The devices limit vehicle speed based on the speed limit for the roadway segment.
Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, amended his bill after receiving pushback on his plan to use technology to prevent drivers from exceeding the posted speed by more than 10 mph for any reason.
The bill revision instead would have required vehicles manufactured or sold in the state to be equipped with “passive intelligent speed assistance.”
SB961 defined the technology as “an integrated vehicle system that determines the speed limit of the roadway the vehicle is traveling on and utilizes a brief, one-time visual and audio signal to alert the driver each time the driver exceeds the speed limit by more than 10 mph.”
All new vehicles would have been required to be equipped with the passive system by 2030.
One notable revision to the bill was the removal of a requirement that included trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating exceeding 8,500 pounds “for which a federal motor vehicle safety standard of any kind or character exists requiring either the passive or active control of speed.”
The governor wrote in a veto letter that he appreciated the intent to improve traffic safety but that the bill “presents several challenges.”
“Federal law, as implemented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, already regulates vehicle safety standards, and adding California-specific requirements would create a patchwork of regulations that undermines this longstanding federal framework,” Newsom wrote.
He added that NHTSA is “actively evaluating intelligent speed-assistance systems, and imposing state-level mandates at this time risks disrupting these ongoing federal assessments.”
Reaction to veto
Wiener called the veto a “setback for street safety at a time Californians are feeling extremely unsafe.”
“The evidence is clear: Rising levels of dangerous speeding are placing all Californians in danger, and by taking prudent steps to improve safety, we can save lives.”
He added that the “veto resigns Californians to a completely unnecessary risk of fatality.”
California Senate Republicans welcomed the governor’s action.
“The state’s traffic safety crisis will not be solved by government taking the wheel,” Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Roger Niello said in prepared remarks.
Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, has said that driver training for all motor vehicles would go farther in improving highway safety in California and elsewhere.
🙄 https://t.co/Th2u2lKLe9
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) September 28, 2024
What’s next?
The California Legislature could bring up the bill for consideration of a veto override. A two-thirds majority would be necessary for a successful override.
The Senate voted 26-9 in favor of the bill. Assembly lawmakers approved SB961 on a 47-17 vote. Both margins exceed the two-thirds majority for a veto override.
Despite the veto-proof margins at the statehouse, a veto override attempt is not expected.
California state lawmakers have not overridden a gubernatorial veto in more than 40 years. LL
More Land Line coverage of California news is available.
Credit: Source link
