AB-2161, written and championed by California State Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-20), passed the California Assembly and Senate with no dissenting votes, and was signed into law July 22 by Governor Jerry Brown. The new law makes California the first state in the U.S. to encourage through statute the use of protective safety barriers at vulnerable locations including parking lots, retail centers, office buildings and restaurants.

The law "provides that the use of certain vehicle barriers at a commercial property may be considered by insurers as safety devices that qualify for a discount on the owner's insurance premiums," explained Storefront Safety Council Co-Founder Rob Reiter. "Prior to adoption of the appropriate standards by the California Building Standards Commission, the new law defines an appropriate barrier as a device 'that is installed to protect persons located within, in, or on the property of, buildings, or to protect pedestrians, from collisions into those buildings by motor vehicles'."

Assemblyman Quirk
Assemblyman Quirk worked on the bill for two years, with support from The Storefront Safety Council and many stakeholders, and with staff support from Legislative Assistant Miranda Flores in the 2016 term and from Dr. Scott Sellars, 2014-2015 Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the California State Legislature, during the 2015 term. The full text of the bill and the legislative counsel's digest is available online, and is reprinted below:

The Storefront Safety Council applauds the hard work of Assemblyman Quirk and his staff.  This important legislation sets the pace for the rest of the nation, costs taxpayers nothing, and will help guide standards and building codes in California and nationally in the coming months and years.  The use of discounts as an incentive to property owners and businesses will encourage adoption of these safety measures even for older properties that want to reduce liability risks today and amortize savings over longer timelines.


Assembly Bill No. 2161
CHAPTER 73

An act to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 11895) to Part 3 of Division 2 of the Insurance Code, relating to parking lots.

[Approved by Governor July 22, 2016. Filed with Secretary of State July 22, 2016.]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2161, Quirk. Parking lots: design: insurance discount.
Existing law provides that building standards shall be filed by the California Building Standards Commission with the Secretary of State and codified only after they have been approved by the commission. Existing law regulates the issuance and renewal of liability insurance policies in this state.
This bill would authorize an insurer to consider the installation of vehicle barriers as a safety measure and would authorize an insurer to provide or offer a discount on the property owner’s insurance covering damage or loss to the covered commercial property or liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of the commercial property relative to the reduced risk of installation of the barriers. The bill would require that any discounts be determined to be actuarially sound and approved by the Insurance Commissioner prior to their use.



BILL TEXT
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

• SECTION 1. Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 11895) is added to Part 3 of Division 2 of the Insurance Code, to read:
  CHAPTER 6. Commercial Property Parking Lots: Vehicle Barrier Discount
  11895. (a) An insurer may consider the installation of vehicle barriers as a safety measure and may provide or offer a discount on the property owner’s insurance covering damage or loss to the covered commercial property or liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of the commercial property relative to the reduced risk to the property as a result of installation of the barriers if the discount provided or offered is provided or offered consistent with Article 10 (commencing with Section 1861.01) of Chapter 9 of Part 2 of Division 1.
  (b) For the purposes of this section, a vehicle barrier is a safety device that meets, at a minimum, the vehicle impact protection standards as provided by the State Fire Marshal and adopted by the California Building Standards Commission and that is installed to protect persons located within, in, or on the property of, buildings, or to protect pedestrians, from collisions into those buildings by motor vehicles.
  (c) Any discounts on insurance provided in accordance with this section shall be determined to be actuarially sound and approved by the commissioner prior to their use.

Hey Wendy's -- Your customers are getting injured and killed in your restaurants.  Where is your national program to upgrade the safety of your storefronts?

Here is just the BASIC list of vehicle-into-restaurant crashes at Wendy's in 2015.  These do not include parking lot accidents, simple building scrapes, or drive thru lane mishaps;  these are crashes where the vehicle broke the envelope of the building and caused damages and/or injuries.  In at least one case, a customer was killed.

February 17th  Key Largo Florida  Injuries
February 19th  Bayonne New Jersey  Fatality
February 20th  Las Vegas Nevada 
April 17th  Terre Haute Indiana  Injuries
June 16th  Paramus New Jersey  Injuries
August 18th  Jacksonville Florida
September 3rd  Paramus New Jersey  Injuries  SECOND CRASH IN 11 WEEKS!
September 4th  Troy Ohio
November 3rd  Chantilly Virginia  Injuries

One common element is these eight different sites is that the storefronts are unprotected, and a review of all eight of the sites listed above shows that most have nose-in parking and a lack of safety barriers installed.  Seeing the number of crashes and injuries so far this year, you would think that Wendy's would understand the need to take corrective action in the design of parking lots, the layout of new stores, and require the addition of simple barriers in vulnerable areas.  You would think that -- but unfortunately you would be wrong.  Here are some photos of NEWLY REMODELED OR NEWLY BUILT RESTAURANTS which as you can see continue the vulnerabilities that death and injury and repetition have already exposed.

Wendy's YOU ARE ON NOTICE as a result of more than 100 accidents since 2012 -- persisting in poor design, poor layout, and the lack of safety barriers at your restaurants have resulted in deaths and injuries to your patrons and employees.  Wendy's risk managers -- at what point do the costs of doing the wrong thing finally result in your company doing the right thing?