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| SPONSOR: | Rainaldi | DATE TYPED: | 02/15/01 | HB | |||
| SHORT TITLE: | Driving Restrictions on Certain Vehicles | SB | 338 | ||||
| ANALYST: | Rael | ||||||
| Recurring
or Non-Rec |
Fund
Affected | ||||
| FY01 | FY02 | FY01 | FY02 | ||
| $ 486.5 | Non-recurring | OSF | |||
| $ 50.0 | Recurring | OSF | |||
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
| Subsequent
Years Impact |
Recurring
or Non-Rec |
Fund
Affected | ||
| FY01 | FY02 | |||
| See Narrative | Recurring | Motor Vehicle
Suspense | ||
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)
Relates to HB414
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
Tax and Revenue Department (TRD)
State Highway and Transportation Department (SHTD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
The Driving Restrictions of Certain Vehicles Bill would require a reduction of the allowable speed from 75 mph to 65 mph for truck tractors or road tractors having a gross vehicle weight of 48,000 pounds or more and would restrict those vehicles to traveling in the right-hand lane except while passing.
Significant Issues
The new law may be difficult to enforce.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The fiscal impact to NMSHTD of legislation would be the fabrication and installation of additional signs indicating reduced truck speed limits and lane restrictions. Considering NM has 2000 miles of interstate (1000 miles for each direction of travel) and two signs for each direction of travel should be placed at 10 mile intervals, a total of 400 reduced speed limit signs and 400 lane restriction signs would need to be manufactured and installed. A breakdown of the cost to manufacture and install the signs is as follows:
Signs $176,000
Posts $304,000
Mobilization $6500
Estimated total $486,500
Besides the initial capital cost of the sign materials and installation, annual sign maintenance and replacement costs would be incurred. Assuming an incident rate of 10%, an estimate of $50,000 for annual expenses would be expected. NMSHTD does not expect any effect on federal or other funding as a result of this bill.
The TRD reports that the proposed bill would probably increase penalty assessments against large vehicles for a short period of time. However, since the restrictions do not vary greatly from current law and practices, revenue impacts would be minor if not insignificant.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
The AOC reports that any administrative impact would be related to any increased cases filed as a result of the new provisions.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
The State Highway and Transportation Department reports that the new law would result in greater speed variances and increase car/truck interactions which is a significant factor in crash frequency. Enforcement of current speed limits would provide for a reduced speed dispersion and enhance drivers' safety.
TRD reports that this bill may be difficult to enforce. If a truck was clocked at 75 miles per hour, a law enforcement officer may need to guess whether the truck weighed over 48,000 pounds for probable cause to pull him over. The officer would not actually know the weight of the truck without weighing it since a truck with a gross vehicle rating on its place may still weigh over 48,000 pounds.
FAR/njw:ar