Committee requires motorcycle-safety questions in MVA exam pool and guarantees one on each test

The Judicial Proceedings Committee on Feb. 20 amended and passed Senate Bill 68, requiring the Motor Vehicle Administration to add at least five motorcycle-safety awareness questions to the pool the driver-skills examination draws from and to ensure at least one such question appears on the 25-question examination.

Counsel explained the MVA currently maintains a rotating bank of approximately 138 questions and that only three motorcycle-safety questions now exist in that pool. The amendment rewords the statutory provision so that five motorcycle-safety questions would be included in the pool the examination draws from and creates a separate clause requiring that at least one motorcycle-safety question appear on each administered examination.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about whether the bill meant every test must include five questions (it does not) and about how the rotation operates; counsel explained the change is intended to ensure consistent testing coverage of motorcycle-awareness topics (visibility, lane positioning, safe following distances, preventing crashes and other relevant safety topics). The amendment was adopted and the bill passed unanimously as amended.

Next steps: SB68 will proceed as amended to subsequent legislative steps.