SB 244

This bill authorizes the citation of owners of vehicles for certain highway work

zone speed and failure to yield violations. The bill also requires driver education

instruction related to highway work zone safety.

Current law imposes, with exceptions, liability on the owner of a vehicle that

is observed violating certain traffic laws, including illegally passing a school bus or

fire truck, illegally crossing a railroad crossing or controlled school crossing, and

failing to yield the right-of-way to an emergency vehicle or a funeral procession.

This bill imposes liability on the owner of a vehicle involved in a violation

related to the failure to yield the right-of-way to certain persons engaged in

maintenance or construction work in a highway work zone. Under this bill, a

flagman who observes a vehicle involved in this sort of a failure to yield violation may

report the violation to a traffic officer so that a citation may be issued.

An owner is subject to the same forfeiture that would be applicable to the

vehicle operator for the violation, but the owner's operating privilege may not be

suspended or revoked, and no demerit points may be recorded against the owner's

driving record. Among the defenses available to an owner, the owner is not liable if

the owner identifies the operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation and the

operator admits to being the operator or if the owner has reported the vehicle as

stolen. If an owner successfully asserts certain defenses, the person operating the

vehicle at the time of the violation may be charged with the violation.

Under current law, the Department of Public Instruction must approve certain

driver education courses offered by school districts and establish minimum

standards for driver education courses offered by private driver schools, the

Technical College System Board must approve courses of study for each program

offered in technical college district schools, including driver education courses, and

the Department of Transportation licenses private driver schools and DOT may not

license a driver school unless its course of instruction includes the content required

for TCSB approval of a driver education course.

Under this bill, all approved driver education courses must acquaint each

student with the hazards posed by highway work zones and provide at least 30

minutes of instruction in safely dealing with these hazards.