H. B. 4022
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegate Trump)
[By Request of the Executive]
[Introduced January 14, 2004; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §17C-24-1, §17C-24-2,
§17C-24-3, §17C-24-4, §17C-24-5, §17C-24-6 and §17C-24-7, all
relating to establishing the "All-Terrain Vehicle Safety
Regulation Act" and the reasons therefore; providing
definitions; requiring wearing of helmets on all-terrain
vehicles by persons under the age of eighteen; prohibiting
passengers by a person under the age of eighteen; prohibiting
the use of all-terrain vehicles by a person under eighteen
without a valid operator's license or completion of an
all-terrain vehicle training course; prohibiting operation of
all-terrain vehicles while under the influence of drugs or
alcohol; requiring accident reports; requiring an annual
report of accidents and injuries to the governor and the Legislature; and providing criminal penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §17C-24-1, §17C-24-2,
§17C-24-3, §17C-24-4, §17C-24-5, §17C-24-6 and §17C-24-7, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 24. THE ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE SAFETY REGULATION ACT.
§17C-24-1. Short title.
This article shall be known and may be cited as "The
All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Regulation Act."
§17C-24-2. Legislative findings.
The Legislature finds and declares that there is an increasing
need for regulation and control of the use and operation of all-
terrain vehicles in this state given the incidence of injury and
fatality witnessed in this state and nationwide:
(a) West Virginia has an average of twenty-four all-terrain
vehicle deaths per year from January, two thousand, through
December, two thousand three;
(b) Nearly twenty-five percent of the deaths were among
children sixteen years old and younger;
(c) More than ninety-five percent of all-terrain vehicle crash
victims in this state were not wearing helmets;
(d) One third of all-terrain vehicle crashes involved passengers on the machines intended for only one rider;
(e) Among the twenty-seven deaths in two thousand three,
thirty percent were children under age eighteen.
(f) Between one thousand nine hundred eighty-two and two
thousand one, one thousand seven hundred fourteen children were
killed riding all-terrain vehicles in the United States, seven
hundred ninety-nine of those children were under age twelve.
§17C-24-3. Definitions.
(a) "All-terrain vehicle" means any off-highway vehicle fifty
inches or one thousand two hundred seventy millimeters or less in
width, having a dry weight of eight hundred pounds or three hundred
sixty-three kilograms or less, traveling on three or more low-
pressure tires, having a seat or saddle designed to be straddled by
the operator and handlebars for steering control, and such other
off-highway vehicles as may be designated by the division.
(b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the division of
motor vehicles of this state.
(c) "Division" means the division of motor vehicles of this
state.
§17C-24-4. Requirements of an operator under the age of majority.
(a) No person under the age of eighteen may operate an
all-terrain vehicle unless he or she is wearing a protective helmet
of a type approved by the United States department of transportation.
(b) No person under the age of eighteen may operate an
all-terrain vehicle while another person under the age of eighteen
is a passenger, notwithstanding subsection (a), section five of
this article.
(c) A person under the age of sixteen must satisfactorily
complete an all-terrain vehicle rider training course approved by
the commissioner of the division of motor vehicles.
(d) A person under the age of eighteen must possess upon his
or her person any valid operator's license, in accordance with the
provisions of article two of chapter seventeen-b of this code,
or
proof of completion of the training course as provided in
subsection (c) of this section.
§17C-24-5. Requirements of an operator.
(a) No person may operate an all-terrain vehicle while another
person is a passenger
unless the all-terrain vehicle manufacturer's
prescribed usage includes the express representation that the
vehicle can accommodate a passenger.
(b) A person must not operate an all-terrain vehicle while
under the influence of alcohol or any controlled substance, or
under the influence of a prescription or nonprescription drug that
impairs vision or motor coordination.
§17C-24-6. Accidents and accident reports.
(a) If an all-terrain vehicle accident results in the death of
any person, or in the injury of any person which results in
treatment of the person by a physician, the owner of each all-
terrain vehicle involved in the accident shall give notice of the
accident in accordance with division rules. No later than one
hundred eighty days after the date of enactment of this article,
the commissioner shall promulgate emergency rules for giving such
notice.
(b) The commissioner shall provide an annual report to the
governor and the Legislature no later than the thirty-first day of
December concerning accidents, injuries and fatalities occurring on
all-terrain vehicles.
§17C-24-7. Violations of article; penalties for misdemeanor.
(a) It is a misdemeanor for any person to violate any of the
provisions of this article unless such violation is by this chapter
or other law of this state declared to be a felony.
(b) Any person convicted of a misdemeanor for a violation of
any of the provisions of this article for which another penalty is
not provided shall for a first conviction thereof be fined not more
than one hundred dollars; for a second such conviction such person
shall be fined not more than two hundred dollars; upon a third or
subsequent conviction such person shall be fined not more than five
hundred dollars or imprisoned in a county or regional jail for not more than one month or both fined and imprisoned.
(c) Any person who violates this article by operating an
all-terrain vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or any
controlled substance or impairing drug is guilty of a misdemeanor
and shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars for each
such
violation.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create "The All-Terrain
Vehicle Safety Regulation Act" to regulate the use of all-terrain
vehicles. The bill requires minors to wear protective helmets and
prohibits anyone under the age of eighteen to carry a passenger at
any time. It also requires operators under the age of eighteen to
have a valid operator's license or operators under age sixteen must
complete an ATV rider training course. The Commission of the
department of motor vehicles will provide the governor with an
annual report concerning injuries and accidents on all-terrain
vehicles. The bill provides criminal penalties for violations of
the act.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.