Motorcycle Endorsements.
To legally operate a two-wheeled or three-wheeled motorcycle, a person must have a valid driver's license with a special motorcycle endorsement. To obtain an endorsement, a person must pass four total tests, unless waived by the Department of Licensing (DOL) for successful completion of a motorcycle skills education course or program:
The required exams are administered at motorcycle training schools approved by the DOL. In addition to offering stand-alone exams, motorcycle training schools offer testing as part of motorcycle training courses certified by the DOL.
Motorcycle Safety Education Advisory Board.
The Motorcycle Safety Education Advisory Board (Board) assists the DOL with the administration, application, and educational content of the Washington Motorcycle Safety Program (WMSP). The Board helps the DOL implement the priorities of the WMSP, which are public awareness of motorcycle safety, motorcycle safety education, classroom and on-motorcycle training, and improved motorcycle operator testing.
The Board consists of five members appointed by the Director of the DOL (Director) with the following requirements:
Members are appointed for a term of two years. Members are required to meet at least two times annually, and not less than five times during a term of appointment. Members are not compensated for their services, but they are reimbursed for Board-related travel.
The Board consists of seven members appointed by the Director, with two additional members appointed to represent motorcycle safety instructors. All members must be endorsed to drive a two-wheeled or three-wheeled motorcycle, and to the extent practicable, the Director should strive to appoint members who reflect diversity in race, ethnicity, and gender. Also to the extent practicable, the Director should strive to appoint members who reside in different areas of the state, with at least one member who resides east of the Cascade mountains.
In addition to being able to select a chair from among the active motorcycle rider members or members of nonprofit motorcycle organizations, the Board may also consider members who represent motorcycle safety instructors for this position.
The two-year term of Board members is extended until a successor is appointed. Member appointments are staggered, so that one or two members are appointed in every even-numbered year.
The substitute bill requires the Director to strive, to the extent practicable, to appoint members to the Board who reflect diversity in race and ethnicity, in addition to gender.
(In support) An expansion of the Board membership from five to seven members will provide broader representation of motorcyclists across the state without lessening the contributions of safety and training members. Adding members will enable the Board to use committee time more efficiently, while also reducing the risk of a lack of quorum—especially during winter meetings when there is inclement weather.
The Board should be expanded so that it can help address the number of unendorsed motorcycle riders in Washington. There are approximately 20,000 to 30,000 unendorsed motorcycle riders in the state, a number in the range of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) figure. If NHTSA's estimate for the proportion of motorcycle riders who are unendorsed motorcycle riders is applied to Washington, 30 out of 80 fatalities of motorcycle riders are unendorsed riders. That number needs to change.
Motorcycles make up 4 percent of the total registered vehicles in the state, but they account for 20 percent of the deaths on the highway annually. This bill would be a step in the direction of saving motorcycle riders' lives.
A change extending Board appointments from two-year terms to three-year terms to align the Board with other state and other Washington advisory boards should also be considered.
(Opposed) None.