Title: An act relating to a motorcycle skills education program for three-wheeled motorcycles.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Highways & Transportation (originally sponsored by Senators Haugen, Horn, B. Sheldon, Zarelli, Poulsen, Jacobsen, Mulliken, Hargrove, Roach, Rossi, Stevens, T. Sheldon and West).

Brief Summary of Engrossed Substitute Bill

• Specifies that operators of three-wheeled motorcycles must obtain a special endorsement, and pay the associated endorsement fees.

• Requires the Department of Licensing (DOL) to establish separate examinations for two-and three-wheeled motorcycle endorsements.

• Requires the DOL to establish separate skills education courses for two and three-wheeled motorcycles operation.

Majority Report: Do pass. Signed by 27 members: Representatives Murray, Chair; Rockefeller, Vice Chair; Simpson, Vice Chair; Ericksen, Ranking Minority Member; Jarrett, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Anderson, Bailey, Campbell, Clibborn, Cooper, Dickerson, Edwards, Flannigan, Hankins, Hatfield, Hudgins, Kristiansen, Lovick, Mielke, Morris, Nixon, Romero, Shabro, Sullivan, Wallace, Wood and Woods.

Minority Report: Do not pass. Signed by 2 members: Representatives Armstrong and Schindler.

The motorcycle skills education program is a rider training program operated by the DOL’s Washington Motorcycle Safety Program. The DOL contracts with certified instructors to provide both novice and advanced rider training to operators of two-wheeled motorcycles, and the training is partially subsidized through the endorsement fees collected from motorcycle operators. The program does not, however, provide training to operators of three-wheeled motorcycles (e.g., motorized tricycles and side-car equipped motorcycles).

Currently the operator of a three-wheeled motorcycle may choose to operate their vehicle under a motorcycle endorsement or they may obtain a three-wheeled motorcycle restriction on their driver's license. Both the motorcycle endorsement and the license restriction require the operator to pass a motorcycle-related knowledge and skills examination, however the examination is oriented to two-wheeled, rather than three-wheeled motorcycles.

The fee for a motorcycle endorsement is $25, most of which is directed to the Washington Motorcycle Safety Program.

A three-wheeled motorcycle special endorsement is established. Persons operating a three-wheeled motorcycle must obtain the special endorsement. The DOL is required to establish separate driver exams for two- and three-wheeled motorcycle operators, testing the skills and maneuvers necessary to operate each type of motorcycle.

The DOL is required to establish separate novice and advanced motorcycle skills education courses for two- and three-wheeled motorcycles. To maintain their teaching eligibility, three-wheeled motorcycle instructors must conduct at least one class per year.

The definition of a motorcycle, under the motorcycle skills education program, is modified to include motorized tricycles and side-care equipped motorcycles.

Testimony For: This bill makes necessary training affordable and available for a whole segment of motorcyclists. Operating a three-wheeled motorcycle requires significantly different skills than a two-wheeled motorcycle. This bill is expected to affect a small number (under 200) of individuals per year, but it removes the current prohibition on providing training on three-wheeled motorcycle riding. By allowing the DOL to modify the endorsement codes, they will be better able to identify individuals who are operating with a three-wheel motorcycle endorsement, and allows the DOL to provide training to those individuals.

Testified: Karen Bolin, Washington Road Riders Association; Carl Spurgeon, Department of Licensing; and Dave Windell, Sidecar/Trike Education Program.