HBA-JLV H.B. 3358 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3358 By: Martinez Fischer Criminal Jurisprudence 4/2/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Over the last several years, there has been a growing concern about aggressive driving and an increased level of apprehension among public motorists about this traffic safety problem, as evidenced by self-report surveys and national media attention. According to a survey by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, more than 60 percent of drivers consider unsafe driving by others a personal threat to themselves and their families, and 98 percent of respondents think it important that something be done to reduce speeding and unsafe driving. Heightened awareness of the harm caused by aggressive driving and incidents of road rage, particularly the incidents that result in serious injury or death, has prompted many to seek to criminalize road rage incidents and to increase the penalty for incidents of aggressive driving. House Bill 3358 creates an offense of aggressive driving and increases penalties for aggressive driving. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 3358 amends the Transportation Code to provide that a person commits an offense if the person: _drives a vehicle in a manner in violation of law with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm an occupant of another vehicle; _while driving a vehicle, displays to an occupant of another vehicle what reasonably appears to be a deadly weapon, with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm the other person; or _intentionally causes the person's vehicle to collide with another vehicle with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm an occupant of the other vehicle. The bill provides that such an offense is a Class B misdemeanor, unless the offense results in serious bodily injury or death, in which case such an offense is a felony of the second degree. The bill applies to a private access way or parking area provided for a client or patron by a business, other than a private residential property or the property of a garage or parking lot for which a charge is made for the storing or parking of motor vehicles, and a highway or other public place. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.