HB1374 (2012) Detail

Relative to speed limits approaching toll booths.


HB 1374-FN – AS INTRODUCED

2012 SESSION

12-2316

06/05

HOUSE BILL 1374-FN

AN ACT relative to speed limits approaching toll booths.

SPONSORS: Rep. Ulery, Hills 27; Sen. Carson, Dist 14

COMMITTEE: Transportation

ANALYSIS

This bill makes speed in excess of 5 miles per hour over the posted speed limit in toll collection areas prima facie evidence of reckless driving.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

12-2316

06/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve

AN ACT relative to speed limits approaching toll booths.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Paragraph; Speed Limits in Toll Collection Area; Reckless Driving. Amend RSA 265:60 by inserting after paragraph VI the following new paragraph:

VII. The fines for exceeding by more than 5 miles per hour the posted speed limit approaching toll collection areas and in toll collection areas shall be doubled. In addition, such speed shall be prima facie evidence of reckless driving under RSA 265:79. The department shall post signs notifying motorists of the increased penalties for a violation of this paragraph.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2013.

LBAO

12-2316

10/26/11

HB 1374-FN - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to speed limits approaching toll booths.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Department of Safety states this bill will increase state restricted revenue by an indeterminable amount in FY 2013 and each year thereafter. The Department of Transportation states this bill will increase state restricted expenditures by $6,232 in FY 2013. There will be no fiscal impact on county or local revenue or expenditures.

METHODOLOGY:

    The Department of Safety states this bill makes speed in excess of 5 miles per hour over the posted speed limit in toll collection areas prima facie evidence of reckless driving and doubles the fine amount for such violations. The Department states it cannot predict the number of instances that will be covered by the fine increase, so it cannot estimate the increase in revenue as a result. The Department states it already patrols the state’s highways and turnpikes for speeding violations, and complying with this bill would not entail any extra costs for enforcement.

    The Department of Transportation states this bill requires signs notifying motorists of the increased fines to be installed approaching from each direction at each of the eight toll plazas on the turnpike system (Hooksett, Bedford, Merrimack Exit 10, Merrimack Exit 11, Merrimack Exit 12, Rochester, Dover, and Hampton Side). The Department states 16 signs (8 plazas x 2 signs apiece) would be needed and estimates the materials for each sign to cost approximately $275, with each sign being manufactured and installed by the Department’s bureau of traffic and billed to the turnpike system. The Department also estimates the manufacture and installation of the signs at each plaza will entail roughly $61 of equipment and $168 ((3 hours of Heavy Sign Foreman - LG 16 @ $30 per hour ) + (3 hours of Highway Maintainer III - LG 12 $26 per hour) = ($90 + $78) = $168) of labor, for total costs associated with the all of the signs as follows:

    Materials (16 signs x $275 per sign) $4,400

    Equipment (8 plazas x $61 per plaza) $488

    Labor (8 plazas x $168 per plaza) $1,344

    Total Cost $6,232