BILL REQ. #:  H-3853.2 

Read first time 01/16/2004.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to physical and medical exemptions from motor vehicle safety belt requirements; amending RCW 46.61.688; adding a new section to chapter 46.61 RCW; creating a new section; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that persons with medical or physical conditions that prevent them from wearing safety belts in motor vehicles are being unnecessarily stopped by law enforcement officers and issued citations for failing to wear safety belts under RCW 46.61.688. This act is intended to assist law enforcement officers in identifying persons with medical or physical exemptions to safety belt requirements.

Sec. 2   RCW 46.61.688 and 2003 c 353 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) For the purposes of this section, the term "motor vehicle" includes:
     (a) "Buses," meaning motor vehicles with motive power, except trailers, designed to carry more than ten passengers;
     (b) "Multipurpose passenger vehicles," meaning motor vehicles with motive power, except trailers, designed to carry ten persons or less that are constructed either on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off-road operation;
     (c) "Neighborhood electric vehicle," meaning a self-propelled, electrically powered four-wheeled motor vehicle whose speed attainable in one mile is more than twenty miles per hour and not more than twenty-five miles per hour and conforms to federal regulations under Title 49 C.F.R. Part 571.500;
     (d) "Passenger cars," meaning motor vehicles with motive power, except multipurpose passenger vehicles, motorcycles, or trailers, designed for carrying ten passengers or less; and
     (e) "Trucks," meaning motor vehicles with motive power, except trailers, designed primarily for the transportation of property.
     (2) This section only applies to motor vehicles that meet the manual seat belt safety standards as set forth in federal motor vehicle safety standard 208 and to neighborhood electric vehicles. This section does not apply to a vehicle occupant for whom no safety belt is available when all designated seating positions as required by federal motor vehicle safety standard 208 are occupied.
     (3) Every person sixteen years of age or older operating or riding in a motor vehicle shall wear the safety belt assembly in a properly adjusted and securely fastened manner.
     (4) No person may operate a motor vehicle unless all child passengers under the age of sixteen years are either: (a) Wearing a safety belt assembly or (b) are securely fastened into an approved child restraint device.
     (5) A person violating this section shall be issued a notice of traffic infraction under chapter 46.63 RCW. A finding that a person has committed a traffic infraction under this section shall be contained in the driver's abstract but shall not be available to insurance companies or employers.
     (6) Failure to comply with the requirements of this section does not constitute negligence, nor may failure to wear a safety belt assembly be admissible as evidence of negligence in any civil action.
     (7) This section does not apply to an operator or passenger who possesses written verification from a licensed physician that the operator or passenger is unable to wear a safety belt for physical or medical reasons. A person who is unable to wear a safety belt for physical or medical reasons may apply to the department of licensing for a sticker to be displayed in a vehicle transporting the person. The sticker must be displayed as required by the rules adopted by the chief of the Washington state patrol.
     (8) The state patrol may adopt rules exempting operators or occupants of farm vehicles, construction equipment, and vehicles that are required to make frequent stops from the requirement of wearing safety belts.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 46.61 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department of licensing shall issue a safety belt exemption sticker under RCW 46.61.688(7) for a person on whose behalf a statement signed by a licensed physician is presented. For a physician's statement to qualify under this section, the physician giving the statement must set forth reasons in the statement why use of a safety belt by the person would be impractical or harmful to the person. The department shall charge a fee of not more than five dollars to cover the costs of the sticker. Fees collected must be deposited into the highway safety fund.
     (2) The sticker must be designed to show distinguishing marks, letters, or numerals indicating that the vehicle is being used to transport a person with a physical or medical condition that prevents him or her from wearing a safety belt.
     (3) A safety belt exemption sticker is valid for six months unless a shorter time period is indicated in the physician's statement. The safety belt exemption sticker may be renewed once for an additional consecutive six-month period.
     (4) The applications for safety belt medical exemption stickers are official state documents. Knowingly providing false information with the intent to obtain an exemption in conjunction with the application is a gross misdemeanor punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW.
     (5) Unauthorized use of a safety belt medical exemption sticker is a traffic infraction with a monetary penalty of two hundred fifty dollars.