Jerry Brown: Don’t tinker with L.A. carpool lanes

Assemblyman Mike Gatto introduced Assembly Bill 8, which when it becomes law in January, will place suspected hit-and-run vehicle descriptions up on Amber Alert billboards.

Acting on a spate of bills affecting California motorists, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a measure Monday that would have opened carpool lanes on two major Los Angeles County freeways to wider use during off-peak hours.

California’s freeway message signs will soon warn drivers about more than just snarled traffic and severe droughts.

Meanwhile Harris’ family said it is frustrating to hear Gatto’s legislation was vetoed by Brown previous year when the governor cited fears that the emergency alert system could be overwhelmed.

“We shouldn’t have to put up $50,000 rewards to try to catch somebody”.

Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition Executive Director Tamika Butler joined Gatto in urging the Brown to sign the bill. “We should give law enforcement tools to try to catch somebody by crowdsourcing it, if you will”. Alerts will only be issued if a person has been killed or sustained a serious injury in a hit-and-run collision, according to the bill.

“It’s a very common sense bill that statistics show would greatly reduce the amount of people who get away with this very bad crime”, Gatto said. “We shouldn’t have to flier our neighborhoods”, Gatto said.

A bill allowing the Amber Alert system to be used to broadcast alerts about suspected hit-and-run drivers was signed into law Monday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The Los Angeles City Council earlier this year approved standing rewards ranging from $1,000 to $50,000 aimed at generating leads to capture drivers who flee traffic collisions rather than stop to potentially render aid.