Liability of owners of vehicles involved in certain speed limit and failure to yield right-of-way violations, driver education instruction, and providing a penalty. (FE)

This bill imposes liability on the owner of a vehicle involved in a violation related to the failure to yield the right-of-way to certain persons engaged in maintenance or construction work in a highway work zone. Under this bill, a flagman who observes a vehicle involved in this sort of a failure to yield violation may report the violation to a traffic officer so that a citation may be issued.

An owner is subject to the same forfeiture that would be applicable to the vehicle operator for the violation, but the owner's operating privilege may not be suspended or revoked, and no demerit points may be recorded against the owner's driving record. Among the defenses available to an owner, the owner is not liable if the owner identifies the operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation and the operator admits to being the operator or if the owner has reported the vehicle as stolen. If an owner successfully asserts certain defenses, the person operating the vehicle at the time of the violation may be charged with the violation.

Under current law, the Department of Public Instruction must approve certain driver education courses offered by school districts and establish minimum standards for driver education courses offered by private driver schools, the Technical College System Board must approve courses of study for each program offered in technical college district schools, including driver education courses, and the Department of Transportation licenses private driver schools and DOT may not license a driver school unless its course of instruction includes the content required for TCSB approval of a driver education course.

Under this bill, all approved driver education courses must acquaint each student with the hazards posed by highway work zones and provide at least 30 minutes of instruction in safely dealing with these hazards.