BILL REQ. #:  Z-0739.2 

Read first time 01/14/2004.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to clarifying damages recoverable in highway accidents; and amending RCW 46.44.110.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 46.44.110 and 1984 c 7 s 59 are each amended to read as follows:
     Any person operating any vehicle or moving any object or conveyance upon any public highway in this state or upon any bridge or elevated structure that is a part of any such public highway is liable for all damages that the public highway, bridge, or elevated structure may sustain as a result of any illegal operation of the vehicle or the moving of any such object or conveyance or as a result of the operation or moving of any vehicle, object, or conveyance weighing in excess of the legal weight limits allowed by law. This section applies to any person operating any vehicle or moving any object or contrivance in any illegal or negligent manner or without a special permit as provided by law for vehicles, objects, or contrivances that are overweight, overwidth, overheight, or overlength. Any person operating any vehicle is liable for any damage to any public highway, bridge, or elevated structure sustained as the result of any negligent operation thereof. For purposes of this section, the terms "damage" or "damages" include expenses incidental to repairing the damage to the structure or the cleaning of the accident site including, but not limited to, engineering costs, contract costs, traffic control activities, and equipment rental. When the operator is not the owner of the vehicle, object, or contrivance but is operating or moving it with the express or implied permission of the owner, the owner and the operator are jointly and severally liable for any such damage. Such damage to any state highway or structure may be recovered in a civil action instituted in the name of the state of Washington by the department of transportation. Any measure of damage to any public highway determined by the department of transportation by reason of this section is prima facie the amount of damage caused thereby and is presumed to be the amount recoverable in any civil action therefor.