calif
o
r
nia le
g
isl
a
t
ur
e
—
20
15
–
16 r
e
gul
ar sessio
n
ASSEMBL
Y BILL
No. 51
Intr
oduced by
Assembly Member Quirk
December 1, 2014
An act to amend Section 21658 of the
V
ehicle Code, relating to
v
ehicles.
le
g
isl
a
t
i
v
e c
ounse
l
’
s dig
es
t
AB 51, as introduced,
Quirk
.
V
ehicles: motorc
ycles: lane splitting.
(1)
Existing la
w requires, whene
v
er a roadw
ay has been di
vided into
2 or more clearly mark
ed lanes for traffic in one direction, that a v
ehicle
shall be dri
v
en as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane and
shall not be mo
v
ed from the lane until the mo
v
ement can be made with
reasonable safety
.
A violation of the
V
ehicle Code is a crime.
This bill w
ould authorize a motorc
ycle to be dri
v
en between ro
ws of
stopped or mo
ving v
ehicles in the same lane if the speed of traffic is
35 miles per hour or less and the motorc
ycle is dri
v
en no more than 10
miles per hour f
aster than the speed of traffic.
The bill w
ould pro
vide
that these pro
visions do not authorize a motorc
ycle to be dri
v
en in
contra
v
ention of other la
ws relating to the safe operation of a v
ehicle.
By creating a ne
w crime this bill w
ould impose a state-mandated local
program.
(2)
The California Constitution requires the state to reimb
urse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state.
Statutory pro
visions establish procedures for making that reimb
ursement.
This bill w
ould pro
vide that no reimb
ursement is required by this act
for a specified reason.
V
ote: majority
.
Appropriation: no.
Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
