H-3431              _______________________________________________

 

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1368

                        _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

 

By Representatives Tilly, Winsley and J. Williams

 

 

Prefiled with Chief Clerk 1/10/86.  Read first time 1/13/86 and referred to Committee on Financial Institutions & Insurance.

 

 


AN ACT Relating to abstracts of driving records; and amending RCW 46.52.130.

 

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

 

        Sec. 1.  Section 27, chapter 21, Laws of 1961 ex. sess. as last amended by section 11, chapter 1, Laws of 1985 ex. sess. and RCW 46.52.130 are each amended to read as follows:

          Any request for a certified abstract must specify which part is requested, and only the part requested shall be furnished.  The employment driving record part shall be furnished only to the individual named in the abstract, an employer, the insurance carrier that has insurance in effect covering the employer, or a prospective employer.  The other part shall be furnished only to the individual named in the abstract, the insurance carrier that has insurance in effect covering the named individual, or the insurance carrier to which the named individual has applied.  The director, upon proper request, shall furnish a certified abstract covering the period of not more than the last three years, and the abstract, whenever possible, shall include an enumeration of motor vehicle accidents in which the person was involved; the total number of vehicles involved; whether the vehicles were legally parked or moving; whether the vehicles were occupied at the time of the accident; and any reported convictions, forfeitures of bail, or findings that an infraction was committed based upon a violation of any motor vehicle law.  The enumeration shall include any reports of failure to appear in response to a traffic citation or failure to respond to a notice of infraction served upon the named individual by an arresting officer.

          The abstract provided to an insurance company shall have excluded from it any information pertaining to any occupational driver's license when the license is issued to any person employed by another or self-employed as a motor vehicle driver who during the five years preceding the request has been issued such a license by reason of a conviction or finding of a traffic infraction involving a motor vehicle offense outside the scope of his principal employment, and who has during that period been principally employed as a motor vehicle driver deriving the major portion of his income therefrom.  The abstract provided to the insurance company shall also exclude any information pertaining to law enforcement officers or fire fighters as defined in RCW 41.26.030, or any member of the Washington state patrol, while driving official vehicles in the performance of occupational duty during an emergency situation if the chief of the officer's or fire fighter's department certifies on the accident report that the actions of the officer or fire fighter were reasonable under the circumstances as they existed at the time of the accident.

          The director shall collect for each abstract the sum of three dollars and fifty cents which shall be deposited in the highway safety fund.

          Any insurance company or its agent receiving the certified abstract shall use it exclusively for its own underwriting purposes and shall not divulge any of the information contained in it to a third party.  No policy of insurance may be canceled or denied on the basis of such information unless the policyholder was determined to be at fault.  No insurance company or its agent for underwriting purposes relating to the operation of  commercial motor vehicles may use any information contained in the abstract relative to any person's operation of motor vehicles while not engaged in such employment.

          Any employer or prospective employer receiving the certified abstract shall use it exclusively for his own purpose to determine whether the licensee should be permitted to operate a commercial vehicle or school bus upon the public highways of this state and shall not divulge any information contained in it to a third party.

          Any violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor.