DRIVER TRAINING ON BICYCLISTS AND
OTHER VULNERABLE ROADWAY USERS
House Bill 4198 as enacted
Public Act 277 of 2018
Sponsor: Rep. Julie Alexander
House Committee: Transportation and Infrastructure
Senate Committee: Judiciary
Complete to 9-17-18
SUMMARY:
House Bill 4198 amends the Driver Education Provider and Instructor Act to require that segment 1 driver education include at least one hour of classroom instruction on laws pertaining to bicycles, motorcycles, and other vulnerable roadway users, including pedestrians, and that it include information concerning the proper actions a driver should take during a traffic stop.
The Act requires that a segment 1 curriculum (the initial teen driver education course) must include classroom instruction on laws that pertain to bicycles and motorcycles. House Bill 4198 further requires instruction on laws regarding “other vulnerable roadway users, including pedestrians,” and mandates that this component of classroom instruction must be at least one hour of the 24 hours of classroom instruction required for the segment 1 curriculum.
House Bill 4198 also requires that state laws pertaining to awareness of bicycles, motorcycles, and other vulnerable roadway users, including pedestrians, must be incorporated into other appropriate areas of the driver education curriculum, including both the model curriculum and an approved curriculum described in Section 35. The information must be incorporated into the segment 1 curriculum described in Section 37 or the segment 2 classroom course described in Section 39(b).
In addition, House Bill 4198 requires that classroom instruction must include information concerning the proper actions to be taken by a driver during a traffic stop, but does not specify any minimum time requirement for this instruction.
The bill was not given immediate effect and will therefore take effect on the 91st day after final adjournment of the 2018 regular session.
MCL 256.657
FISCAL IMPACT:
House Bill 4198 would result in an undetermined increase in administrative costs to the Department of State primarily due to the one-hour minimum time requirement for the added training. The bill would have no apparent impact on local units of government.
Fiscal Analyst: Michael Cnossen
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.