5050 AMH TR H2115.2

SB 5050 - H COMM AMD
By Committee on Transportation

ADOPTED 04/09/2013

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"Sec. 1   RCW 46.61.625 and 1999 c 398 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) No person or persons shall occupy any trailer while it is being moved upon a public highway, except a person occupying a proper position for steering a trailer designed to be steered from a rear-end position.
     (2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, no person or persons may occupy a vehicle while it is being towed by a tow truck as defined in RCW 46.55.010.
     (3)(a) A tow truck operator may allow passengers to ride in a vehicle that is carried on the deck of a flatbed tow truck only when the following conditions are met:
     (i) The number of people that need to be transported exceeds the seating capacity of the tow truck or a person needing to be transported has a disability that limits that person's ability to enter the tow truck;
     (ii) All passengers in the carried vehicle and in the tow truck comply with RCW 46.61.687 and 46.61.688;
     (iii) Any passenger under sixteen years of age is accompanied by an adult riding in the same vehicle; and
     (iv) There is a way for the passengers in the carried vehicle to immediately communicate, either verbally, audibly, or visually, with the tow truck operator in case of an emergency.
     (b) No passenger of such a carried vehicle may exit the carried vehicle, ride outside of the passenger compartment of the carried vehicle, or exhibit dangerous or distracting behaviors while in the carried vehicle."

Correct the title.

EFFECT: Clarifies that the bill applies to all tow truck operators whether or not they are registered with the department of licensing; allows persons with disabilities to ride in a passenger vehicle being carried on the back of a flatbed tow truck irrespective of whether or not the tow truck has sufficient seating capacity; provides additional requirements for riding in a passenger vehicle that is being carried by a flatbed tow truck, including that minors be accompanied by an adult and that passengers be able to communicate with the driver of the tow truck in case of an emergency; and prohibits dangerous or distracting behavior by passengers in such a vehicle being carried.

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