RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, section 286-108(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires an applicant for a motorcycle drivers license to actually demonstrate the ability to operate a motorcycle or to complete the motorcycle education course approved by the Department of Transportation; and

WHEREAS, section 431:10G-104(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires a persons seeking to obtain motorcycle liability insurance coverage to also complete the same motorcycle education course approved by the Department of Transportation;

and

WHEREAS, the current motorcycle education course of the Department of Transportation is the Hawaii Motorcycle Safety and Education Program, which was first developed nearly twenty years ago and which is an outdated program that only two states today still administer; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Motorcycle Safety and Education Program has other deficiencies, such as a lack of nationally certified instructors, inadequate oversight of course sites, limited or non-existent availability of classes on the neighbor islands, and potential lawsuits due to use of an outdated curriculum; and

WHEREAS, the organization known as Street Bikers United Hawaii has offered assistance to the Department of Transportation to replace the Hawaii Motorcycle Safety and Education Program with the "Basic Rider Course"; and

WHEREAS, the Basic Rider Course was created in 2001 by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation to replace a previous program developed in 1986; and

WHEREAS, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation is nationally and internationally recognized for its more than thirty years of work in developing and publishing a comprehensive, research-based, rider education curriculum; and

WHEREAS, the military bases in Hawaii conduct the Basic Rider Course for military personnel; and

WHEREAS, military personnel in Hawaii are unable to obtain a Hawaii motorcycle drivers license or liability insurance because the Department of Transportation has not approved the Basic Rider Course; and

WHEREAS, in February 2001, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducted a motorcycle safety program assessment of the Hawaii Motorcycle Safety and Education Program which was reportedly critical of the program; and

WHEREAS, anyone who operates a motorcycle on United States military bases anywhere in the world is required to take a United States Department of Defense approved motorcycle training course, and the only approved course is the Basic Rider Course; and

WHEREAS, many states waive their motorcycle drivers license tests for military applicants who complete the Basic Rider Course, but in Hawaii, these applicants must still complete the Hawaii Motorcycle Safety and Education Program; and

WHEREAS, obtaining motorcycle liability insurance in Hawaii is difficult if not impossible for those who have completed the Basic Rider Course but not the Hawaii Motorcycle Safety and Education Program; and

WHEREAS, current motorcycle license holders may face problems when a new Basic Rider Course is adopted, such as whether they will have to be re-tested and re-licensed; and

WHEREAS, there are liability concerns for the State in continuing to operate an obsolete and decertified motorcycle education course; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Transportation is aware of the issue and problems and is purportedly working on a mutually agreeable solution with interested parties but nonetheless the creation of a task force is desirable to formalize the discussions; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Transportation convene a task force on motorcycle education to study and recommend:

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force consist of one representative of each of the following entities, to be selected by the entity:

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation report findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2007; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; U.S. Army, Pacific; Pacific Air Forces; U.S. Pacific Fleet; Marine Corps Pacific; 14th Coast Guard District; Director of Transportation; Honolulu Chief of Police; Examiner of Drivers of the City and County of Honolulu; Hawaii Insurers Council; State Director of Street Bikers United Hawaii; and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.

Report Title:

DOT; Motorcycle Education Course