BILL REQ. #:  H-4805.1 

Read first time 02/03/2006.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to intermediate licenses; amending RCW 46.20.075; creating new sections; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   This act may be known as the intermediate license exception modification act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The legislature finds that:
     (a) In the United States, there were three hundred one alcohol-related fatalities between 6 p.m. on December 31, 2001, and 5:59 a.m. on January 2, 2002.
     (b) On Super Bowl Sunday 2002, 58.5 percent of traffic fatalities, occurring between 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m., were alcohol-related.
     (c) Each year, motor vehicle accidents cost the United States approximately fifty-one billion dollars.
     (d) In 2004, sixteen thousand six hundred ninety-four people in the United States died in alcohol-related vehicle accidents.
     (e) At all levels of blood alcohol concentration, young individuals are in greater risk of being involved in a motor vehicle accident than older individuals. In 2003, twenty-five percent of drivers, ages fifteen to twenty, who died in motor vehicle accidents had been drinking alcohol prior to the accident. Single individuals are approximately fifty percent more likely to report alcohol-impaired driving than individuals who are married or living with a partner.
     (f) Designated driver programs are a key component of a community-based, comprehensive impaired driving prevention effort. These programs are effective because they remove many of the risks related to impaired driving.
     (2) The purpose of this act is to:
     (a) Create safer roads for people who use the roads between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. and who are not intoxicated; and
     (b) Authorize holders of intermediate licenses to drive during curfew hours to pick up others in need of a ride, such as intoxicated people who may put their own and others' lives at risk.

Sec. 3   RCW 46.20.075 and 2000 c 115 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) An intermediate license authorizes the holder to drive a motor vehicle under the conditions specified in this section. An applicant for an intermediate license must be at least sixteen years of age and:
     (a) Have possessed a valid instruction permit for a period of not less than six months;
     (b) Have passed a driver licensing examination administered by the department;
     (c) Have passed a course of driver's education in accordance with the standards established in RCW 46.20.100;
     (d) Present certification by his or her parent, guardian, or employer to the department stating (i) that the applicant has had at least fifty hours of driving experience, ten of which were at night, during which the driver was supervised by a person at least twenty-one years of age who has had a valid driver's license for at least three years, and (ii) that the applicant has not been issued a notice of traffic infraction or cited for a traffic violation that is pending at the time of the application for the intermediate license;
     (e) Not have been convicted of or found to have committed a traffic violation within the last six months before the application for the intermediate license; and
     (f) Not have been adjudicated for an offense involving the use of alcohol or drugs during the period the applicant held an instruction permit.
     (2) For the first six months after the issuance of an intermediate license or until the holder reaches eighteen years of age, whichever occurs first, the holder of the license may not operate a motor vehicle that is carrying any passengers under the age of twenty who are not members of the holder's immediate family as defined in RCW 42.17.020. For the remaining period of the intermediate license, the holder may not operate a motor vehicle that is carrying more than three passengers who are under the age of twenty who are not members of the holder's immediate family.
     (3) The holder of an intermediate license may not operate a motor vehicle between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. except when the holder is accompanied by a parent, immediate family member as defined in RCW 42.17.020, guardian, ((or a)) licensed driver who is at least twenty-five years of age, or a person enrolled in a designated driver program. For purposes of this section, "designated driver program" means a program designed to promote the designation of sober drivers, such as Safe Ride, a program that provides transportation for persons who plan to consume alcohol. Any person authorized to accompany the holder of an intermediate license in this subsection shall not accompany the holder if the person has:
     (a) Violated RCW 46.61.502 and 46.61.503 within the previous seven years; or
     (b) Committed a felony within the previous seven years.
     (4) It is a traffic infraction for the holder of an intermediate license to operate a motor vehicle in violation of the restrictions imposed under this section.
     (5) Enforcement of this section by law enforcement officers may be accomplished only as a secondary action when a driver of a motor vehicle has been detained for a suspected violation of this title or an equivalent local ordinance or some other offense.
     (6) An intermediate licensee may drive at any hour without restrictions on the number of passengers in the vehicle if necessary for agricultural purposes.
     (7) An intermediate licensee may drive at any hour without restrictions on the number of passengers in the vehicle if, for the twelve-month period following the issuance of the intermediate license, he or she:
     (a) Has not been involved in an automobile accident; and
     (b) Has not been convicted or found to have committed a traffic offense described in chapter 46.61 RCW or violated restrictions placed on an intermediate licensee under this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   This act takes effect September 1, 2006.