SB 153 Text

Senate Bill No. 153
(By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Sprouse
By Request of the Executive)
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[Introduced January 14, 2004; referred to the Committee on Transportation; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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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 therefor; 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.

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