ENROLLED
H. B. 2615

(By Delegates Love, Linch, Williams and Given)

[Passed March 9, 1996; in effect ninety days from passage.]

AN ACT to amend and reenact sections two and seven, article one- d, chapter seventeen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact section five, article two of said chapter; to amend and reenact section forty-four, article fifteen, chapter seventeen-c of said code; and to amend and reenact section three, article six, chapter eighteen of said code, all relating to motorcycle safety education; requiring motorcycle courses to be conducted; extending motorcycle instruction permits; creation of motorcycle safety and education committee; powers and duties of the committee; authorizing the committee to make recommendations to the division of motor vehicles on the expenditure of funds; and motorcycle safety awareness in driver education courses.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections two and seven, article one-d, chapter seventeen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that section five, article two of said chapter be amended and reenacted; that section forty-four, article fifteen, chapter seventeen-c of said code be amended and reenacted; and that section three, article six, chapter eighteen of said code, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 17B. MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVER'S LICENSES.
ARTICLE 1D. MOTORCYCLE SAFETY EDUCATION.
§17B-1D-2. Program established.
(a) The West Virginia motorcycle safety education program is hereby established within the division to be administered by the commissioner. The program shall include rider training courses and instructor training courses. It may also include efforts to enhance public motorcycle safety awareness, alcohol and drug effects awareness for motorcyclists, driver improvement efforts, licensing improvement efforts, program promotion and other efforts to enhance motorcycle safety through education.
(b) The commissioner shall appoint a program coordinator who shall oversee and direct the program, and conduct an annual evaluation. Rider training courses shall be conducted annually in no fewer than four sites throughout the state, commencing no later than the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six.

§17B-1D-7. Motorcycle safety account.

(a) There is hereby created a special fund in the state treasury which shall be designated the "motorcycle safety fund". The fund shall consist of all moneys received from motorcycle driver licensing fees except instruction permit fees, one half of the moneys received from the motorcycle safety fee assessed with each motorcycle registration under section three-b, article ten, chapter seventeen-a of this code and any other moneys specifically allocated to the fund. The fund shall not be treated by the auditor and treasurer as part of the general revenue of the state. The fund shall be a special revolving fund to be used and paid out upon order of the commissioner of motor vehicles, based upon the recommendations of the motorcycle safety and education committee created under section forty-four, article fifteen, chapter seventeen-c of this code, solely for the purposes specified in this chapter.
(b) The fund shall be used by the division of motor vehicles to defray the cost of implementing and administering the motorcycle safety education program established in section two of this article. Moneys in the special revolving fund may also be used to defray the cost of implementing and administering the motorcycle driver licensing program.
ARTICLE 2. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE, EXPIRATION AND RENEWAL.

§17B-2-5. Qualifications, issuance and fee for instruction permits.

(a) Any person who is at least fifteen years of age may apply to the division for an instruction permit. The division may, in its discretion, after the applicant has appeared before the department of public safety and successfully passed all parts of the examination other than the driving test and presented documentation of compliance with the provisions of section eleven, article eight, chapter eighteen of this code, issue to the applicant an instruction permit which shall entitle the applicant while having such permit in such person's immediate possession to drive a motor vehicle upon the public highways when accompanied by a licensed driver of at least twenty-one years of age or a driver's education or driving school instructor that is acting in an official capacity as an instructor, who is occupying a seat beside the driver, except in the event the permittee is operating a motorcycle, but in no event shall the permittee be allowed to operate a motorcycle upon a public highway until reaching sixteen years of age.
Any such instruction permit issued to a person under the age of sixteen years shall expire sixty days after the permittee reaches sixteen years of age: Provided, That only permittees who have reached their sixteenth birthday are eligible to take the driving examination as provided in section six of this article. The instruction permit may be renewed for one additional period of sixty days. Any such permit issued to a person who has reached the age of sixteen years shall be valid for a period of sixty days and may be renewed for an additional period of sixty days or a new permit issued. The fee for such instruction permit shall be four dollars, one dollar of which shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the state road fund, and the other three dollars of which shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the general fund to be appropriated to the department of public safety for application in the enforcement of the road law.
(b) Any person sixteen years of age or older may apply to the division for a motorcycle instruction permit. The division of motor vehicles may, in its discretion, after the applicant has appeared before the division of public safety and successfully passed all parts of the motorcycle examination other than the driving test, and presented documentation of compliance with the provisions of section eleven, article eight, chapter eighteen of this code, issue to the applicant an instruction permit which entitles the applicant while having such permit in such person's immediate possession to drive a motorcycle upon the public streets or highways for a period of ninety days, during the daylight hours between sunrise and sunset only. No holder of a motorcycle instruction permit shall operate a motorcycle while carrying any passenger on the vehicle.
A motorcycle instruction permit is not renewable, but a qualified applicant may apply for a new permit. The fee for a motorcycle instruction permit shall be five dollars, which shall be paid into a special fund in the state treasury known as the motorcycle license examination fund as established in section seven-c, article two of this chapter.
CHAPTER 17C. TRAFFIC REGULATIONS AND LAWS OF THE ROAD.
ARTICLE 15. EQUIPMENT.

§17C-15-44. Safety equipment and requirements for motorcyclists, motorcycles, motor-driven cycles and mopeds; motorcycle safety standards and education committee.

(a) No person shall operate or be a passenger on any motorcycle or motor-driven cycle unless the person is wearing securely fastened on his or her head by either a neck or chin strap a protective helmet designed to deflect blows, resist penetration and spread impact forces. Any helmet worn by an operator or passenger shall meet the current performance specifications established by the American National Standards Institute Standard, Z 90.1, the United States Department of Transportation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218 or Snell Safety Standards for Protective Headgear for Vehicle Users.
(b) No person shall operate or be a passenger on any motorcycle or motor-driven cycle unless the person is wearing safety, shatter-resistant eyeglasses (excluding contact lenses), or eyegoggles or face shield that complies with the performance specifications established by the American National Standards Institute for Head, Eye and Respiratory Protection, Z 2.1. In addition, if any motorcycle, motor-driven cycle or moped is equipped with a windshield or windscreen, the windshield or windscreen shall be constructed of safety, shatter-resistant material that complies with the performance specifications established by Department of Transportation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 and American National Standards Institute, Safety Glazing Materials for Glazing Motor Vehicles Operated on Land Highways, Standard Z 26.1.
(c) No person shall operate a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle or moped on which the handlebars or grips are more than fifteen inches higher than the uppermost part of the operator's seat when the seat is not depressed in any manner.
(d) A person operating a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle or moped shall ride in a seated position facing forward and only upon a permanent operator's seat attached to the vehicle. No operator shall carry any other person nor shall any other person ride on the vehicle unless the vehicle is designed to carry more than one person, in which event a passenger may ride behind the operator upon the permanent operator's seat if it is designed for two persons, or upon another seat firmly attached to the vehicle to the rear of the operator's seat and equipped with footrests designed and located for use by the passenger or in a sidecar firmly attached to the vehicle. No person shall ride side saddle on a seat. An operator may carry as many passengers as there are seats and footrests to accommodate those passengers. Additional passengers may be carried in a factory produced sidecar provided that there is one passenger per seat. Passengers riding in a sidecar shall be restrained by safety belts.
(e) Every motorcycle, motor-driven cycle and moped shall be equipped with a rearview mirror affixed to the handlebars or fairings and adjusted so that the operator shall have a clear view of the road and condition of traffic behind him for a distance of at least two hundred feet.
(f) There is hereby created a six member motorcycle safety and education committee consisting of: The superintendent of the state police or a designee; the commissioner of motor vehicles or a designee; the director of the West Virginia safety council or a designee; a licensed motorcycle operator; an owner of a motorcycle dealership; and a supplier of aftermarket nonfranchised motorcycle supplies. The nongovernmental representatives shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall serve without compensation, and the terms shall be for three years, except that as to the members first appointed, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one shall be appointed for a term of two years and one shall be appointed for a term of three years. Members may be reappointed to the committee.
The committee shall continue to exist pursuant to the provisions of article ten, chapter four of this code until the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, to allow for the completion of a preliminary performance review by the joint committee on government operations.
The committee is hereby authorized to recommend to the superintendent of public safety types and makes of protective helmets, eye protection devices and equipment offered for sale, purchased or used by any person. The committee is authorized to make recommendations to the commissioner of motor vehicles regarding the use of the moneys in the motorcycle safety fund created under section seven, article one-d, chapter seventeen-b of this code.
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 6. DRIVER EDUCATION.

§18-6-3. State board to establish minimum course standards; students with mental or physical defects; minimum standards specified.

(a) The state board of education shall establish minimum standards for all driver education courses offered and made available to persons within the state, regardless of whether the courses are offered by public, private, parochial, denominational or commercial schools, but no person shall be permitted to enroll in any driver education course who has a known mental or physical defect that would prevent the person from qualifying for an operator's license, unless the mental or physical defect is controlled or corrected so the person could so qualify.
(b) The minimum standards shall provide at least that:
(1) All driver education courses offered within the state are taught by instructors certified by the state board as qualified for these purposes.
(2) Each person enrolled in a driver education course shall receive practice driving and observation in a dual control automobile and instruction in at least the following:
(A) Basic and advanced driving techniques, including techniques for handling emergencies.
(B) Traffic regulations and laws of the road as provided in chapter seventeen-c of this code, and other applicable state and local laws and ordinances.
(C) Critical mechanical parts of vehicles requiring preventive maintenance for safety.
(D) The vehicle, highway and community features that aid the driver in avoiding crashes; protect him and his passengers in crashes; and maximize the salvage of the injured.
(E) Signs, signals, highway markings and highway design features which require understanding for safe operation of motor vehicles.
(F) Differences in characteristics of urban and rural driving, including safe use of modern expressways.
(G) Pedestrian safety.
(H) Motorcycle safety awareness.
(c) In addition, in driver education courses participating students shall be encouraged to acquire first aid skills.