>>>>>>>>>>>&gt ;
Girl was killed attending a NASCAR race school, so motorsports unfamiliar lawmakers now want safety standards. Seems there is no regulation of racing schools in the US currently. This may affect driver's schools / clubdays / etc. also eventually.

http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/2...9_02282003.txt


H-1963.2
_____________________________________________

HOUSE BILL 2169
_____________________________________________

State of Washington 58th Legislature 2003 Regular Session

By Representatives Lovick, Ahern, Haigh, O'Brien, Lantz, Dunshee,
Dickerson, Sullivan, Hankins, Morris, Wood, Romero, Kenney, Simpson,
Quall, McCoy, Cooper, Edwards, Berkey, Eickmeyer, Chase, Hudgins,
Flannigan, Miloscia and Moeller

Read first time 02/28/2003. Referred to Committee on Transportation.


AN ACT Relating to regulation of race car driving schools; adding a new
chapter to Title 18 RCW; prescribing penalties; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

{+ NEW SECTION. +} Sec. 1. FINDINGS--INTENT--SHORT TITLE. The
legislature finds that currently in the state of Washington, race car driving
schools are not subject to any form of licensing or regulation. The lack of
oversight and industry accountability creates a potential for the operation of
unsafe equipment and the employment of inconsistent safety standards. Ashley
Bergman, who was sixteen years old, was killed while learning to drive a late
model division race car at a race car driving school in Yakima, Washington. The
death of Ashley caused many to evaluate the safety standards and emergency
preparedness of these types of schools. It was discovered in this evaluation
that no state in the United States regulates this industry and most of the
schools in Washington state operate in the absence of critical safety policies
and practices, such as having standby emergency care staff on the premises, and
conducting regular safety checks of the vehicle's equipment. It is therefore
the intent of the legislature to create a regulatory environment in which race
car driving schools must operate in order that the consumers of this industry
will be assured that steps have been taken to create a safe environment for them
to learn in. In memory of the tragic loss of Ashley Bergman, this act shall be
known as the "Ashley Bergman Safety Act."

{+ NEW SECTION. +} Sec. 2. DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this section
apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Department" means the department of licensing.
(2) "Director" means the director of the department of licensing.
(3) "School" means race car driving school.
(4) "Most recent standard" means standards specified by a sanctioning body
no more than six months before the date of registration or reregistration of a
school, whichever is later.

{+ NEW SECTION. +} Sec. 3. REGISTRATION REQUIRED. (1) All race car
driving schools operating in this state must register with the department and
obtain a license to operate in this state. The license is valid for a period
of two years. Applications for registration and licensing must be on forms
provided by the department.
(2) The director may require any information and documentation that
reasonably relates to the need to determine whether the applicant meets the
criteria for registration and licensing provided for in this chapter.

{+ NEW SECTION. +} Sec. 4. APPLICATION--FEE. Initial application to the
department for registration and licensing must be accompanied with the payment
of an application fee of fifty dollars, to be deposited into the multimodal
transportation account.

{+ NEW SECTION. +} Sec. 5. RENEWAL--FEE. Licenses issued by the
department to race car driving schools must be renewed on January 1st of the
second year after initial issuance and must meet the requirements set forth in
section 6 of this act. The fee to renew the license is thirty dollars and must
be deposited into the multimodal transportation account.

{+ NEW SECTION. +} Sec. 6. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND CRITERIA.
(1) For a race car driving school to qualify for a license to operate in this state,
the following must be demonstrated to the department's satisfaction:
(a) The vehicles in operation at the school and the track used by the
school must adhere to safety-related specifications set forth in the rule books
of one of the following sanctioning bodies:
(i) The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing;
(ii) The Sports Car Club of America;
(iii) The National Hot Rod Association;
(iv) The National Auto Sport Association;
(v) The Championship Auto Racing Teams; or
(vi) The Indy Racing League.
(b) If a school is using a vehicle type or a track not included in the
specifications of one of the sanctioning bodies provided for in (1) of this
section, the director shall determine the eligibility of the school and use of
the vehicle or track on a case by case basis under chapter 34.05 RCW.
(c) At the time the school is registered and licensed, the vehicles in
operation and the track being used must meet the most recent standards set forth
by the relevant sanctioning body.
(2) An ambulance, as provided for in RCW 18.73.030, and a certified
paramedic, as provided for in RCW 18.71.200, must be present and onsite at all
times when the school's track is in use.

{+ NEW SECTION. +} Sec. 7. OPERATING WITHOUT A LICENSE--PENALTY. It is
a gross misdemeanor for a race car driving school to operate in this state
without a valid license from the department.

{+ NEW SECTION. +} Sec. 8. INVESTIGATION OF BUSINESS PRACTICES. If a
vehicle operated by a race car driving school is involved in an accident during
operation by a student or employee of the school that results in an injury or
a death, an investigation by the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over
the school is required.

{+ NEW SECTION. +} Sec. 9. RULES. The director may adopt rules necessary
to carry out this chapter.

{+ NEW SECTION. +} Sec. 10. If any provision of this act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the
act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not
affected.

{+ NEW SECTION. +} Sec. 11. Captions used in this act are not part of the
law.

{+ NEW SECTION. +} Sec. 12. Sections 1 through 11 of this act constitute
a new chapter in Title 18 RCW.

{+ NEW SECTION. +} Sec. 13. This act takes effect January 1, 2004.

--- END ---

 

Well, NASA HPDE are not "race car driving schools", and nowhere is "race car driving school" defined, so groups like NASA might be in the clear (for HPDEs).

 

Hmm. Looks like this bill is aimed at schools which have a fleet of cars for students to use. Not the SCCA/NASA/BMWCC/PCA/etc model where students supply the vehicles.

 

I was contacted by someone representing the Washington State Legislature on just this topic. They are trying to regulate the types of driving schools that provide cars to the participants. Really they are trying to regulate the safety equipment, the preparation of the cars, and the maintenance personell. They currently had no plans to regulate other types of schools. If fact they were getting in touch with NASA, SCCA, IRL, CART, NASCAR, and NHRA as representatives of large sanctioning bodies who could provide them with standard safety guidelines used technically inspect and regulate race cars. That is all I know. They were very cordial.

 

Well, licensing schools would probably have to comply - by almost any definition, they are a "race car driving school". The issue here is too what extent is the sanctioning body (and particularly the tech inspectors) responsible for students' cars?

That's why I wish there was a definition of "race car driving school" in the legislation. Somethign along the lines of "A race car driving school shall be defined as any entity that maintains a fleet of vehicles for the purpose of teaching students to drive in a competitive environment". That would exclude SCCA/NASA, but include Skippy/Bondurant and the stock car schools.

 

There's been a lot of chatter on our local email lists on this matter.

 

A portion of the media's view!

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/motors...ashley05.shtml

 

I have a hard time understanding how this is a very bad thing. All the bill tries to do is enforce the kind of safety standards that we all expect at a sanctioned event...

The price of racing schools might go up a little to cover the costs of providing medical support but, as a percentage of the bucks that schools get? Seems reasonable.

Kirk