WashingtonWashington commission reviews deadly and serious crashes
Washington’s Traffic Safety Commission may study crash and health records, review serious crashes, and share findings with the council focused on people outside motor vehicles.
What it does
The commission may study health records and bring experts together to review crashes that cause deaths or serious injuries. It may publish trends and safety recommendations without identifying people.
When reviewing fatal crashes involving people outside motor vehicles, the commission must include council members and share a review summary with the council. The council also reviews safety data and reports its findings each year.
Argument forReviews could help the commission find patterns in deadly and serious crashes and recommend safety changes for people using Washington roads.
Argument againstCrash victims and families could have less access to review discussions because the law keeps them confidential and limits their use in court.
More detail
The commission may gather health records, review crashes with experts, and publish safety findings. Reviews may cover Washington crashes that caused a death or serious injury, including crashes involving people walking, bicycling, or using other ways to travel outside a motor vehicle. Health records may be used only for purposes of this chapter, including reports that do not identify people. Review discussions and certain records are confidential and generally cannot be used in civil or administrative cases. Records that existed before a review do not become unusable just because the commission reviewed them. The commission may conduct these reviews as part of its work under this chapter.
The commission must involve council members in certain fatal crash reviews and share review results with the council. This applies to reviews of crashes that killed pedestrians, bicyclists, or other people traveling outside motor vehicles. Fewer than a quorum of council members may attend a review. The council must meet at least quarterly and send an annual report to the governor and legislative transportation committees by December 31. Grants for safety improvements depend on funds being appropriated for that purpose. The commission must present reports about these crashes during the calendar year in which it publishes the review. The council's annual report is due by December 31.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Mar 23Effective date 6/11/2026.Latest
- Mar 23Chapter 152, 2026 Laws.Major
- Mar 23Governor Bob Ferguson signed.Became Law
- Mar 10Delivered to Governor.To Governor
- Mar 9President signed.Passed Senate
- Mar 6Speaker signed.Passed House
- Vote recorded 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#7). Result: pass.Upper
- Mar 6Third reading, passed; yeas, 46; nays, 2; absent, 0; excused, 1.Minor
- Mar 6Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading.Minor
- Mar 3Placed on second reading by Rules Committee.Minor
- Mar 2Passed to Rules Committee for second reading.
- Feb 27Minority; without recommendation.Minor
- Feb 27Minority; do not pass.Minor
- Feb 27TRAN - Majority; do pass.Minor
- Feb 27Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Transportation at 2:30 PM.
- Feb 19First reading, referred to Transportation.Minor
- Feb 17Third reading, passed; yeas, 96; nays, 1; absent, 0; excused, 1.Minor
- Vote recorded 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#15). Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 17Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading.Minor
- Feb 17Floor amendment(s) adopted.
- Feb 171st substitute bill substituted (TR 26).Major
- Feb 12Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on second reading.Minor
- Feb 9Referred to Rules 2 Review.Minor
- Feb 5TR - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass.Major
- Feb 5Executive action taken in the House Committee on Transportation at 1:00 PM.
- Jan 22Public hearing in the House Committee on Transportation at 4:00 PM.
- Jan 12First reading, referred to Transportation.Minor
- 2025
- Dec 24Prefiled for introduction.Introduced
Public SafetyTransportationHealthcare