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Unfortunately the Governor has vetoed SB 936, my legislation prioritizing road safety improvements on some of California’s deadliest roads.
This bill would have tasked the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) with publishing a study that identifies the top 15 locations in the state highway system with the highest rate of vehicle collisions in an effort to then properly fund and prioritize rehabilitation for those roads.
This legislation was inspired in particular by some dangerous stretches of road across the state, including the infamous “Dead Man’s Curve” on the Pacific Coast Highway and the Ramona Expressway going through San Jacinto and Perris. Local municipalities have resorted to declaring a state of emergency to free up resources to deal with such dangerous roads, with little to no state action taken in response.
Car crashes are consistently a top cause of unintentional injury or death for Californians. Traffic fatalities surged 22% from 2019 to 2022, while severe and fatal traffic crashes resulted in $166 billion in economic and quality-of-life costs for Californians in 2022 alone.
SB 936 was a critical step toward addressing the safety risks that countless Californians face every day on our highways.
We cannot afford to continue patching up dangerous roads with short-term fixes that cost lives and escalate expenses in the long run. This bill would have provided a targeted, data-driven approach to ensuring that our most hazardous roadways receive the attention and rehabilitation they desperately need.
I'm deeply disappointed by the veto, as it sends a message that road safety isn’t being prioritized at a time when fatalities are on the rise.
I will continue to fight for our road and public safety in Sacramento.