CalBike
  • About
  • Advocacy
    • 2025 Legislative Watch
    • Keep Bike Highways Moving
    • Support the Quick-Build Pilot
    • Sign-On Letters
  • Resources
    • News
    • Report: Incomplete Streets
    • Bicycle Summit Virtual Sessions
    • California Bicycle Laws
    • E-Bike Resources
    • Map & Routes
    • Quick-Build Bikeway Design Guide
  • Support
    • Become a Member
    • Business Member
    • Shop
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • About
  • Advocacy
    • Legislative Watch
    • Invest/Divest
    • Sign-On Letters
    • Report: Incomplete Streets
    • Bike the Vote
  • Resources
    • News
    • California Bicycle Laws
    • E-Bike Resources
    • Map & Routes
    • Quick-Build Bikeway Design Guide
  • Support
    • Become a CalBike Member
    • Business Member
    • Shop
Zero Fatalities Task Force

Zero Fatalities Task Force Tackles Dangerous Street Design, Speeding

November 6, 2019/by Kevin Claxton

In 2018, Governor Brown signed AB 2363 to establish the Zero Traffic Fatalities Task Force to make recommendations for eliminating traffic fatalities in California. CalBike’s Executive Director, Dave Snyder, is a member of the task force.

 The bill, authored by Assembly Member Laura Friedman, originally removed the 85th percentile rule in current law about setting speed limits. The rule requires government agencies to set the speed limit at or near the 85th percentile speed of existing traffic on the street or road. In other words, before setting enforceable speed limits, a city has to measure existing speeds, and use the speed of the third fastest car out of 20 to set the speed limit. This requirement has forced cities to actually increase speed limits on many streets, resulting in higher speeds, more crashes, more killings, and more devastating injuries. 

Unfortunately, the bill’s provision to rescind this requirement was opposed by California’s AAA affiliates and other motorist advocacy organizations. In the end, the bill was amended to require a task force to study the issue. 

That Task Force has held three of four scheduled meetings before the Secretary of Transportation David Kim must submit a report of the Zero Traffic Fatalities Task Force’s findings to the Legislature. Its members have studied existing law and debated alternatives to the 85th percentile rule, the efficacy and feasibility of enforcement including automated enforcement (speed cameras), and the potential of engineering to reduce speeds and fatalities. 

A key change to existing law that CalBike has advocated in these meetings is the ability to set speeds lower than 25 mph on neighborhood greenways and other streets. These are places where we want to encourage calm, livable streets safe for walking and biking. On streets with higher speed limits, equitable and automatic enforcement can reduce crashes and save lives of people walking and biking.

Another recommendation is an expansion of the kinds of streets and areas where local agencies may reduce the speed limit below what current law allows. The most important expansion would be on streets identified as “high injury corridors,” where speeding motor vehicles demonstrably cause deaths and serious injuries. Another expansion would broaden the definition of a business district or a school zone. 

When the Task Force completes its work, CalBike, California Walks, and other allies will make sure the insights and recommendations from the Task Force are distributed broadly. More local partners and community members should be engaged in the discussion so that many more voices than were included in the Task Force can amplify the most important recommendations. Together, we can empower local residents and elected officials to set speed limits where they should be to support our goals of creating safe and healthy neighborhoods, and not crossed by streets designed for people to drive through quickly.

Tags: speeding, traffic deaths, vision zero
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on X
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share by Mail
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/37988989534_05d23e0000_k.jpg 1365 2047 Kevin Claxton https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Kevin Claxton2019-11-06 14:51:282019-11-08 13:39:17Zero Fatalities Task Force Tackles Dangerous Street Design, Speeding

Latest News

  • Automated Speed Enforcement Cameras Show Prevalence of SpeedingJuly 9, 2025 - 4:50 pm
  • Misery depicted in blurry traffic lights on a crowded rush hour freeway.
    Don’t Believe the Myths About VMT MitigationJuly 8, 2025 - 4:02 pm
  • Youth Bike Summit 2025: A Magical 3-Day WeekendJuly 7, 2025 - 7:40 pm
Follow a manual added link

Get Email Updates

Follow a manual added link

Join Calbike

  • Link to Facebook
  • Link to X
  • Link to LinkedIn
  • Link to Mail
  • Link to Instagram
About Us

Board
Careers
Contact Us
Financials & Governance
Local Partners
Privacy Policy
Staff
State & National Allies
Volunteer

Advocacy

California Bicycle Summit
E-Bike
Legislative Watch
Past and Present Projects
Report: Incomplete Streets
Sign On Letters

Resources

Maps & Routes
Crash Help and Legal Resources
Quick-Build Bikeway Design Guide
Report: Complete Streets
All Resources

Support

Ways to give
Become a Member
Donor Advised Funds
Donate a Car
Business Member

News

Blog
CalBike in the News
Press Releases

© California Bicycle Coalition 2025

1017 L Street #288
Sacramento, CA 95814
© California Bicycle Coalition 2025

#CABikeSummit: the View from Twitter#CABikeSummitbike by the CapitolCalBike 2019 Legislative Session Wrap-Up
Scroll to top