Legislative Proposal Would Allow Electric Vehicles to Use High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes, Make Additional Changes to Mitigate Traffic
/The Connecticut legislature is considering legislation that would make a number of changes in state law, all under the umbrella of “traffic mitigation,” according to the bill’s title. The legislation would:
require police officers receive training regarding traffic incident management,
require the removal of motor vehicles from the travel portion of any highway after an accident,
permit operators of battery electric vehicles to use high occupancy vehicle lanes, and
require the Commissioner of Transportation to submit a plan regarding the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to perform investigations and inspections.
The series of proposals, wrapped into Senate Bill 389, was subject of a public hearing by the legislature’s Public Safety Committee in mid-March, and with some revisions, the bill was approved 35-0 by the legislature’s Transportation Committee on March 24.
The most extensive written testimony provided as part of the public hearing was submitted by State Transportation Commissioner Joseph Giulietti.
Regarding High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV) lanes, Giulietti pointed out that currently, the Office of the State Traffic Authority regulates usage (type of vehicle and number of occupants) on existing HOV lanes on Interstates 84, 91, and 384. He cautioned the committee members that “designating lanes on any state highway as an HOV lane is broad and may lead to unintended consequences,” emphasizing that “safety on our roadways is a top priority.”
The State Department of Transportation (CTDOT) “would not object” to a new law that would allow battery electric vehicles or similar vehicles to use existing HOV lanes, “provided there is excess capacity to accommodate the battery electric vehicles and there is no Federal law, regulation, or rule that would prohibit it,” Giulietti said in written testimony submitted to the Committee. He added that “there may be a cost to the state to update/replace signing at the HOV entrances and other locations per federal regulation.”
The legislative proposal also would require CTDOT to “develop a plan to expand the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to investigate motor vehicle accidents and other traffic incidents and to inspect existing transportation facilities.” The Commissioner noted that “while CTDOT is in support of a plan to expand the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, we would recommend the plan for CTDOT to be focused on the inspection of existing transportation facilities.”
During the past four years, the department’s “in-house staff has performed numerous flights documenting bridge moves, corridor planning, live streaming of construction projects, aerial photo and video documentation of before and after for modern intersections such as roundabouts and its traffic flows, public outreach purposes, and bridge cable inspections,” Giulietti explained. He said CTDOT currently owns 12 fully insured Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
He added that “in order for CTDOT to inspect existing transportation facilities adequately, dedicated full-time staff would be needed.” Current grant funding expires next April, and as of now, additional funds have not been included in the proposed state budget under discussion at the State Capitol.
The proposed legislation would also require CTDOT and the State Police to establish a training curriculum for police officers concerning Traffic Incident Management (TIM). Giulietti told the committee “there is a coordinated effort between CTDOT and the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) to train more state police personnel in TIM. This training is for current DESPP personnel as well as new training troops at the State Police Training Academy.” He indicated that the Federal Highway Administration TIM training course is offered online and monthly as a one-day in-person training course offered to all Connecticut emergency response personnel.
“To date,” his testimony pointed out, “more than 1,000 CT emergency responders (including law enforcement, fire/rescue towing and recovery, EMS, and transportation/public works staff) have taken the online or in-person FHWA TIM training course.”
