By Mark Wright
How long are you willing to wait for technology to solve a stubborn parking-safety problem? Five years? A lifetime? California Assembly member Bill Quirk had an easy answer: the seconds it took for a car to crash through the front wall of a childcare center.
The incident moved Quirk to introduce legislation-twice-he hoped would help protect people and property from such crashes. His second bill, AB2161, became law-a feat for which the California Public Parking Association named Quirk “Legislator of the Year” in 2016.
Quirk’s work made California the only state so far with a law on the books to address vehicle-into-building crashes. But several local jurisdictions around the country took matters into their own hands, passing ordinances to help protect people-usually after a tragedy made them painfully aware of the problem.
Find out how California’s law creates a carrot to get property owners’ attention (spoiler alert: insurance companies are involved) in this month’s issue of The Parking Professional: “Hitting the Gas.“
Mark Wright is a freelance writer and co-founder of the Storefront Safety Council.