The Cooper Jones Active Transportation Safety Council submits annual recommendations to the Washington State Legislature in the form of a report that addresses the following topics:
- Data and programs related to fatalities and serious injuries involving pedestrians, bicyclists, and those using other forms of active transportation
- Points at which the transportation system can be improved, including (when possible) privately-owned areas of the system, such as parking lots
- Patterns in pedestrian, bicyclists, and other active transportation fatalities and serious injuries
Council recommendations are used to inform development of policy that is enacted statewide to increase safety for walkers and rollers. Examples include:
Passed in 2023
HB 1319, Driver Fitness Evaluation
This bill restored the intent of the “Cooper Jones Act” of 1998. The original act amended RCW 46.52.070 to require law enforcement to report a driver causing “serious bodily injury” to another person to the Department of Licensing (DOL) for re-examination of the driver’s fitness. After the Act passed, the Legislature changed the language in the vehicular assault statute to “substantial bodily harm.” In some cases, the difference in language may have led to confusion about the duty to report drivers for re-examination. To eliminate confusion, HB 1319 amended the language in RCW 46.52.070 to use the same “substantial bodily harm” language as the vehicular assault statute, RCW 9A.04.110.
Passed in 2022
SB 5687, Introduced by the chair and co-chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, along with other sponsors, this bill reflects recommendations from the Cooper Jones Active Transportation Safety Council (ATSC), an advisory group created by statute to make annual recommendations for improving the safety of non-motorized road users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and other rollers. The bill:
- Amended RCW 46.61.405 regarding speed limits on state highways. The legislation authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to establish a maximum speed limit of 20 mph on a nonarterial state highway.
- Amended RCW 46.61.415, which removed the limitation on local jurisdictions to lower speeds on nonarterial roads only in residential and business districts without requiring extensive engineering or safety studies.
- Amended RCW 46.61.250, to add “a pedestrian shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any vehicle upon the roadway.” This change is intended to place pedestrians on more equal footing with motorists and bicyclists regarding their use of public roadways.
SB 5975, Addresses additive transportation funding and appropriations, including:
Section 308 appropriates $157.1 million to WSDOT for local road projects that ensure slow vehicle speeds, walkability, multimodal mobility, safe routes to local schools, and safety for residents. Planning will identify projects to consolidate driveways and improve safety for vulnerable users, include installation of full curb and sidewalks to improve safety, mobility, transit ridership, equity, and work towards the goals set forth in Vision Zero, Target Zero, and the Washington State Active Transportation Plan.
SB 5974, Addressing transportation resources, this legislation promotes projects that repair damage done to marginalized communities by reconnecting pedestrian, transit, and other routes that have historically been disrupted by vehicle-centered highway and other road projects. This bill includes several traffic safety and active transportation provisions, including:
- Section 417 includes legislative findings that many communities across the state have not equitably benefitted from investments in the active transportation network and that state transportation networks designed for vehicles have caused disconnections for people to safely bike, walk, and roll to work and other daily activities.
- Section 418 requires WSDOT to incorporate the principles of complete streets, which provides street access to all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users in projects with a cost of $500.00 or more.
- Sections 420, 421, and 422 involve the establishment of incentivize programs to provide fare-free rides on Amtrak trains, Washington State Ferries, and local or regional public transit for children and youth 18 years and younger.
- Section 423 amends RCW 46.63.170 regarding the use of automatic traffic safety cameras in Washington. The law previously limited their use to enforcement at stoplights, rail crossings and school speed zones, and the small pilot projects in specified cities for other speed enforcement or violations involving blocking intersections or restricted lanes. The new law significantly expands allowed uses of automatic traffic safety cameras. Provisions and requirements include locations where speed cameras may be placed:
- Roadways within school walk areas as defined in RCW 28A.160.160
- Public park speed zones and hospital speed zones
- Subsection (1)(d) — In addition, cities may operate at least one speed camera and one additional speed camera for each 10,000 residents in the city’s population with the following requirements:
- A location identified as a priority location in a local road safety plan submitted by the city to WSDOT and where other speed reduction measures are not feasible or have not been effective
- A location with a higher rate of collisions than the city average over three years and where other measures are not feasible or have not been effective
- A location designated as a zone subject to restrictions on racing and race attendance
- The city locating a traffic safety camera under these provisions must complete an equity analysis that evaluates livability, accessibility, economics, education, and environmental health and use the analysis in identifying the location(s) for the camera(s)
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Washington Traffic Safety Commission
621 8th Avenue SE – Suite 409
Olympia, WA 98501
Phone: (360) 725-9860