2435.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the emergency
roadside assistance provided by highway service organizations is a
valuable service which benefits millions of California motorists.
The Legislature further finds and declares that emergency roadside
assistance is provided statewide, in cooperation with, and shares
resources with, public safety agencies.  The Legislature also finds
that the Department of the California Highway Patrol, in cooperation
with the Department of Transportation, is responsible for the rapid
removal of impediments to traffic on highways within the state and
that the Department of the California Highway Patrol may enter into
agreements with employers for freeway service patrol operations under
an agreement or contract with a regional or local entity.  The
Legislature declares that it is in the public interest to establish
minimum standards for the emergency roadside assistance provided, or
contracted for, by highway service organizations or operated under an
agreement with a regional or local entity.  The Legislature also
declares that it is necessary to increase the public input into the
development of minimum standards, and for that reason is creating an
Advisory Committee to provide advice on the standards.  The
Legislature declares that it is important to the public safety that
drivers who provide emergency roadside service not have criminal
records which include violent crimes against persons.
   (b) The Legislature also declares that the Department of the
California Highway Patrol, in cooperation with the Department of
Transportation, shall be responsible for establishing the minimum
training standards for highway service organization employees and
employers who participate in freeway service patrol operations
pursuant to an agreement or contract with a regional or local entity.




2436.  For the purposes of this article, each of the following terms
has the meaning given in this section:
   (a) "Committee" means the Emergency Roadside Assistance Advisory
Committee.
   (b) "Emergency road service" is the adjustment, repair, or
replacement by a highway service organization of the equipment,
tires, or mechanical parts of a motor vehicle so as to permit it to
be operated under its own power.  "Towing service" is the drafting or
moving by a highway service organization of a motor vehicle from one
place to another under power other than its own.
   (c) "Emergency roadside assistance" means towing service or
emergency road service.
   (d) "Employer" has the same meaning as defined in Section 2430.1.

   (e) "Freeway service patrol" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 2561 of the Streets and Highways Code.
   (f) "Highway service organization" means a motor club, as defined
by Section 12142 of the Insurance Code and, in addition, includes any
person or organization which operates or directs the operation of
highway service vehicles to provide emergency roadside assistance to
motorists, or any person or organization which is reimbursed or
reimburses others for the cost of providing emergency roadside
assistance, and any employer and include any person or organization
which directly or indirectly, with or without compensation, provides
emergency roadside assistance.
   (g) "Regional or local entity" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 2430.1.
   (h) "Tow truck driver" has the same meaning as defined in Section
2430.1.


2436.3.  (a) On and after July 1, 1992, every employer shall obtain
from the department a carrier identification number.  Application for
a carrier identification number shall be on forms furnished by the
department.  The number shall be displayed on both sides of each tow
truck utilized in any freeway service patrol operation, in accordance
with Section 27907.
   (b) No employer shall operate a tow truck in any freeway service
patrol operation if the carrier identification number issued pursuant
to subdivision (a) has been suspended by the commissioner pursuant
to Section 2432.1.
   (c) The carrier identification number shall be removed before
sale, transfer, or other disposal of the vehicle, or upon termination
of an agreement or contract for freeway service patrol operations.
   (d) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor.



2436.5.  (a) The department, in cooperation with the Department of
Transportation, shall provide training, pursuant to a reimbursable
agreement or contract with a regional or local entity, for all
employers and tow truck drivers who are involved in freeway service
patrol operations pursuant to an agreement or contract with the
regional or local entity.  Dispatchers for freeway service patrol
operations shall be employees of the department or the Department of
Transportation.
   (b) The training shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following:
   (1) Tow truck driver and motorist safety.
   (2) Patrol responsibility.
   (3) Vehicle operation.
   (4) Traffic control and scene management.
   (5) Communication procedures.
   (6) Demeanor and courtesy.


2436.7.  (a) Every tow truck driver and employer, involved in a
freeway service patrol operation under an agreement or contract with
a regional or local entity, shall attend the training specified in
subdivision (b) of Section 2436.5.
   (b) Upon successful completion of the training, each trainee shall
be issued a certificate of completion.  The certificate shall state
the name of the training organization, the name and signature of the
trainer, the name of the trainee, and the date of completion of the
training.
   (c) The trainee shall provide a copy of the certificate of
training to the employer.  The employer shall maintain this
information in the tow truck driver files established pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 2430.5.
   (d) Every employer shall make the file available for inspection by
the department at the employer's primary place of business in this
state.



2437.  (a) The committee is hereby created.  The committee shall
comprise 10 members which reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity
of California, and shall be appointed as follows:
   (1) The commissioner shall appoint one person representing law
enforcement agencies who shall serve as the committee chairperson and
the person who is the Chairperson of the California Service
Authority for Freeway Emergencies Committee.
   (2) The Governor, or his or her designee, shall appoint four
persons representing the general public, one person representing
highway service organizations, and one person representing towing
service organizations.
   (3) The Speaker of the Assembly shall appoint one person
representing the general public.
   (4) The Senate Committee on Rules shall appoint one person
representing the general public.
   (b) The committee shall function during the two-year period of the
project and shall submit its recommendations to the commissioner on
or before July 1, 1994.  Those recommendations shall be included in
the report submitted to the Legislature pursuant to subdivision (b)
of Section 2430.  The meetings of the committee shall be public and
shall be noticed.
   (c) The existence of the committee shall terminate on July 1,
1994, at which time the commissioner shall succeed to the powers and
duties of the committee.



2438.  (a) The committee shall recommend standards of training to be
provided to each tow service or emergency road service dispatcher
and tow service employee providing emergency roadside assistance
employed by, or under contract with, a highway service organization.

   (b) Training shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following:
   (1) Call evaluation.
   (2) Courtesy.
   (3) Dealing with panic.
   (4) Special populations, such as the young, the elderly, and
handicapped persons.
   (5) Evaluation of motorist safety.
   (6) Use of the "911" emergency telephone number.
   (c) Training, other than that required by Section 2436.5, may be
conducted by emergency roadside assistance organizations or their
trade organizations or local law enforcement agencies.



2439.  The committee shall recommend guidelines for the enhancement
of motorist safety setting forth procedures for telephone
dispatchers, tow truck drivers, and highway service organizations
that reimburse service recipients for emergency roadside assistance.
The guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following:
   (a) Enumeration of the order of response priority for dispatching
emergency roadside assistance to various types of roadside
emergencies requiring either towing service or emergency road
service.
   (b) Time frame response guidelines for highway service
organizations for responding to various categories of assistance
requests, including those emanating from freeways, rural areas, and
unsafe areas.
   (c) A process for highway service organizations to establish a
series of safe "pickup points" in appropriate locations, such as
parking lots and structures.  The process shall include soliciting
the recommendations of local law enforcement agencies.
   (d) A requirement that, when giving instructions to motorists, the
safety of the motorist shall be of primary consideration.
   (e) Guidelines for emergency roadside assistance services for
which reimbursement is provided.



2440.  Not later than May 15, 1993, and each May 15 thereafter,
every highway service organization and employer shall submit a report
to the commissioner showing, for the preceding year, the number of
calls for emergency roadside assistance received and responded to,
the range of response times, and a summary of the types and numbers
of safety-related complaints received from motorists regarding their
employees response to, or failure to respond to, motorist's requests
for emergency roadside assistance during freeway service patrol
operations.