H. B. 2135
(By Delegate Blair)
[Introduced February 11, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then the
Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §17C-4-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §17D-2A-6 of said
code, all relating to providing for reexamination of drivers
holding valid drivers licenses who are observed by police
officers violating traffic laws, or who appear to have caused
motor vehicle accidents as the result of negligence or
inadequate driving skill; requiring accident reports to
include a check-off square indicating the need for
reexamination; providing a procedure for notifying the
Division of Motor Vehicles of a police officer's opinion that
a motorist should be reexamined; and, providing due process
protections for motorists identified by police officers as
needing reexamination.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17C-4-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that §17D-2A-6 of said code be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 17C. TRAFFIC REGULATIONS AND LAWS OF THE ROAD.
ARTICLE 4. ACCIDENTS.
§17C-4-7. Written reports of accidents.
Every law-enforcement officer who, in the regular course of
duty, investigates a motor vehicle accident occurring on the public
highways of this state resulting in bodily injury to or death of
any person or total property damage to an apparent extent of $500
or more shall, either at the time of and at the scene of the
accident or thereafter by interviewing participants or witnesses,
within twenty-four hours after completing such investigation,
forward a written report of such accident to the division. The
division shall prepare a form for such accident report and, after
approval of such form by the commissioner, the superintendent of
the West Virginia State Police and the Commissioner of Highways,
shall supply copies of such form to police departments, sheriffs
and other appropriate law-enforcement agencies. Each form shall
include a check-off square which may be marked by an investigating
officer having reasonable grounds to believe that a motorist
involved in an accident has been negligent or has otherwise
exhibited inadequate driving skill and whose qualifications and
driving ability should be reexamined by the Division of Motor
Vehicles. Every accident report required under the provisions of this section shall be made on such form.
CHAPTER 17D. MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY RESPONSIBILITY LAW.
ARTICLE 2A. SECURITY UPON MOTOR VEHICLES.
§17D-2A-6. Investigation by duly authorized law-enforcement
officer to include inquiry regarding required
security; notice by officer or court to Division
of Motor Vehicles.
(a) At the time of investigation of a motor vehicle offense or
accident in this state by the State Police or other law-enforcement
agency or when a vehicle is stopped by a law-enforcement officer
for reasonable cause, the officer of the agency making the
investigation shall inquire of the operator of any motor vehicle
involved as to the existence upon the vehicle or vehicles of the
proof of insurance or other security required by the provisions of
this code and upon a finding by the law-enforcement agency, officer
or agent thereof that the security required by the provisions of
this article is not in effect, as to any vehicle, he or she shall
notify the Division of Motor Vehicles of the finding within five
days if no citation requiring a court appearance is issued:
Provided, That the law-enforcement officer or agent may not stop
vehicles solely to inquire as to the certificate of insurance.
(b) A defendant who is charged with a traffic offense that
requires an appearance in court shall present the court at the time
of his or her appearance or subsequent appearance with proof that the defendant had security at the time of the traffic offenses as
required by this article.
(c) If, as a result of the defendant's failure to show proof,
the court determines that the defendant has violated this article,
the court shall notify the Division of Motor Vehicles within five
days. For purposes of this section, presentation of a certificate
of insurance reflecting insurance to be in effect on the date in
question shall constitute proof of surety.
(d) In the event a driver of a motor vehicle receives a
citation for a moving violation or is involved in an accident in
which a citation issued for a moving violation, and in the informed
opinion of the investigating officer, who, upon reasonable grounds,
determines the driver was negligent or otherwise exhibited
inadequate driving skill, the officer may so designate on the
uniform citation form, and, in the case of an accident, on the
accident form required under section seven, article four, chapter
seventeen-c of this code. The officer shall designate on the
citation issued to the driver, precisely, the traffic infraction,
to which the driver shall be required to answer, either in the
municipal or magistrate court having jurisdiction over the matter.
In the event the officer makes a determination that a motorist
should be reexamined for purposes of retaining his or her driver's
license, a copy of the accident report and uniform citation shall
be forwarded to the Division of Motor Vehicles within five days of the issuance of the citation and the division shall notify the
driver, in writing by certified mail, that the driver must submit
to reexamination for purposes of retaining his or her driver's
license.
(e) The division shall also advise the driver that he or she
may request a hearing in writing by certified or registered mail to
contest the law-enforcement officer's determination. In the event
the driver requests a hearing within thirty days from the date the
notice is received by the driver the division shall promptly
schedule a hearing in which the driver may contest the officer's
determination or otherwise notify the driver in writing that
reexamination will not be required. In the event the driver is
acquitted of the alleged violation, or the citation is otherwise
dismissed, the municipal or magistrate court wherein the acquittal
or dismissal occurred shall so inform the Division of Motor
Vehicles within five days of such acquittal or dismissal, and the
driver shall not be required to be reexamined upon the
investigating officer's publication of cause. In the event,
however, the citation is not dismissed and the driver fails to
request a hearing within thirty days, or after a hearing is held a
determination is made, upon the preponderance of the evidence
presented, that the driver was negligent or otherwise exhibited
inadequate driving skill, the division shall suspend the driver's
license until such time that the driver successfully passes a standard reexamination. The Division of Motor Vehicles shall
propose legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code designed to implement the
provisions of this subsection.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a procedure in
which a driver may be required to be reexamined for purposes of
maintaining his or her driving privileges after a police officer,
upon reasonable grounds, determines that a driver, as the result of
an accident or by otherwise committing a driving violation, has
exhibited negligence or inadequate driving skill. To this end, the
bill requires that every accident report include a check-off square
for an officer to mark when the officer believes a driver should be
reexamined. The bill includes provisions respecting a driver's
right to due process in the event a police officer opines that the
driver needs to be reexamined.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.