Utah Legislature 80825TST

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MINUTES OF THE
TRAFFIC SAFETY TASK FORCE
        August 25, 1998 - 1:30 p.m. - Room 403 State Capitol


Members Present:

    Sen. Robert Montgomery,
        Co-Chair
    Rep. Wayne A. Harper,
        Co-Chair
    Sen. Millie M. Peterson
    Rep. Patrice Arent
    Mr. K. Craig Allred
    Mr. Bill Barnes
    Mr. Patrick Casaday
    Ms. Laura Drew
    Ms. Rolayne Fairclough
    Mr. Aaron D. Kennard
    Dr. Thomas Metcalf
    Mr. David K. Miles
    Ms. Linda Plouzek
    Dr. Steve Ronnenkamp

Members Absent:

    Mr. Rod Betit
    Mr. Beau Babka
    Mr. Walter Borla
    Mr. David Creer

Staff Present:

    Benjamin N. Christensen,
        Research Analyst
    Dee S Larsen,
        Associate General Counsel
    Junie G. Anderson,
        Legislative Secretary

Note:    A list of others present and a copy of materials distributed in the meeting are on file in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.

1.     Task Force Business - Chair Harper called the meeting to order at 1:40 p.m.

    MOTION: Mr. Casaday moved to approve the minutes of the July 28, 1998 meeting. The motion passed unanimously. Sen. Montgomery, Sen. Peterson, Mr. Barnes, and Dr. Ronnenkamp were absent for the vote.

2.    Seat Belt Issues (Draft Legislation) - Mr. Dee Larsen, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel (OLRGC), referred to two bill drafts that had been mailed to the task force titled "Seat Belt Law Amendments" and "Seat Belt Use - Comparative Negligence." He discussed changes to the language as requested in the July meeting. He explained that comparative negligence issues have been put into a separate piece of legislation as requested by the task force.

     MOTION: Rep. Arent moved to amend the Seat Belt Law Amendments bill as follows:
Page 2, Line 10:     delete "18" and insert "16"
Page 2, Line 14:    delete "18" and insert "16"
The motion passed unanimously.
     MOTION: Mr. Casaday moved to amend the Seat Belt Law Amendments bill as follows:
Page 3, Line 9:     after "fined" insert "at least"
Page 3, Line 11:     after "against" delete "any person" and insert "a driver" and after "violation of" delete "Section 41-6-182" and insert "Subsection 41-6-182(1)"
The motion passed, with Mr. Kennard voting in opposition.

     MOTION: Mr. Allred moved to amend the Seat Belt Law Amendments bill as follows:
Page 2, Line 27:         after "law;" insert "or"
Page 2: Lines 28-29:    delete lines 28 and 29
Page 2, Line 30:         delete "(e)" and insert "(d)"
The motion passed unanimously.

    Mr. Lowell Smith, Smith & Glauser, representing Bear River Mutual Insurance Company, encouraged the passage of a primary enforcement of seat belt use. He also testified that the failure to use a seat belt should be allowed as evidence in a civil trial.

    Mr. Steve Sullivan, Robert DeBry and Associates, distributed a handout titled "What Really Convinces Drivers to Buckle Up?" He spoke in support of the Seat Belt Law Amendments legislation, but said that he opposes the Seat Belt Use - Comparative Negligence legislation because of unintended consequences.

    Mr. Chris Purcell, State Farm Insurance, spoke in support of Seat Belt Use - Comparative Negligence legislation. Mr. Ross Marchant, Farmers Insurance, also supported the legislation.

    Mr. Edward Havas, Utah Trial Lawyers Association, spoke against the Seat Belt Use - Comparative Negligence legislation. He warned against mixing the issues of fault and damages.

     MOTION: Mr. Allred moved to amend the Seat Belt Law Amendments as follows:
Page 1, Line 26:         after "except" delete "authorized"
Page 1, Lines 27-28: delete lines 27 through 28
Page 1, Line 29:         delete "transit district, commercial vehicles as defined in Section 72-9-102, or"
The motion passed unanimously.

     MOTION: Rep. Arent moved to approve the draft legislation Seat Belt Law Amendments as a task force bill.

     SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Mr. Kennard moved to amend the Seat Belt Law Amendments bill as follows:
Page 3, Line 6:     delete "Subsection 41-6-182(1)(b) or (c)" and insert "Section 41-6-182"
Page 3, Line 8-9:     delete lines 8 through 9
Renumber remaining subsections accordingly
The motion passed, with Rep. Harper, Mr. Casaday, and Dr. Ronnenkamp voting in opposition.
     MOTION: Rep. Arent moved to approve the draft legislation Seat Belt Law Amendments, as amended, as a task force bill. The motion passed unanimously.

     MOTION: Sen. Peterson moved to go to the next item on the agenda. The motion failed, with Sen. Montgomery, Sen. Peterson, Rep. Harper, Mr. Allred, Mr. Barnes, and Mr. Miles voting in favor of the motion.

     MOTION: Mr. Casaday moved that staff provide language from other states' laws that divide fault from damages on the Seat Belt Use - Comparative Negligence issue for discussion at a future meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

    Sen. Peterson requested that staff supply a summary of the data collected from other states that allow comparative negligence.

3.     Pedestrian Safety Issues - Mr. Benjamin Christensen, OLRGC, distributed handouts titled "Pedestrian Safety Provisions of Utah Law" and "Pedestrian Related Convictions." He discussed the information in each of the handouts. He also distributed handouts titled "Prevent Pedestrian Crashes - Elementary School Children" and "Walkable America Checklist."

    Mr. Allred distributed a handout titled "Fatal List - January 1998."

     Ms. Amy Lightfoot, Utah CODES, distributed a handout titled "Utah Crash Fact Sheet - Pedestrian Facts," and discussed the statistics as outlined in the document.

    Mr. David Miles, Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), gave a presentation on school zone traffic safety factors, implementing voluntary compliance, and incorporating techniques used by Arizona. He said that the top four factors leading to Arizona's safety record and obtaining voluntary compliance are the uniformity of crossing zones, short speed zones, strict and consistent enforcement, and stiffer penalties He also showed a video segment of Channel 4 News teaching children pedestrian safety. He explained the importance of parents educating their children.

    Mr. Fred Lewis, UDOT, showed slides demonstrating school zone markings and devices used to enhance school zone safety.

    Ms. Jan Yeckes, UDOT, distributed a handout titled "National Walk Our Children to School Day - September 23, 1998."

    Ms. Kiersten Hewitt, Davis County Safe Kids, distributed a handout titled "Green Ribbon Week" and encouraged the task force to participate in the effort which is being practiced statewide through the PTA.

    Ms. Lindsay Ferrari, UDOT I-15 Team, reported on the pedestrian/motorist safety issues that have been studied by the Governor's Task Force on Pedestrian/Motorist Safety. She discussed infrastructure, education, enforcement, and other issues relating to safety. She also reported on educational resources that are available to help people learn how to be safe pedestrians or motorists.
    Ms. Melanie Buck, UDOT, discussed efforts made by UDOT to identify areas of pedestrian risk. She distributed a handout titled "Pedestrian Safety Formula - Statewide Pedestrian Safety Needs," and explained how the formula works to determine the most important safety needs and the cost of acquiring those needs.

4.    Other Task Force Business -

    MOTION: Sen. Peterson moved to change the commencement time to 1:00 p.m. for all future meetings of the task force. The motion passed unanimously, with Mr. Kennard absent for the vote.

5.     Adjourn -

    MOTION: Sen. Peterson moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously at 4:12 p.m., with Mr. Kennard absent for the vote.

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