Olympia…A bill increasing the penalties for drivers who intentionally fail to yield to emergency or police vehicles will now head to the governor’s desk to become law.  

Senate Bill 5038, sponsored by Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, will take effect 90 days after adjournment of the 2005 legislative session—barring a veto by the governor.  It faced little opposition as it moved through the legislative process, but was amended to reduce the penalties from Honeyford’s original proposal. The Senate voted unanimously to approve the bill as amended on Monday evening.

“People who intentionally ignore safety vehicles and put others’ lives at risk ought to face tough penalties,” Honeyford said. “But there are certainly exceptions where drivers are hearing impaired or simply not paying attention. This bill strikes a good balance. The penalty is just enough to make people think twice about their actions.”

Under Honeyford’s original bill, the current penalty of $101 for failure to yield to emergency vehicles would have increased to a maximum of a year in jail and/or a $5,000 fine if a person negligently, intentionally, knowingly or recklessly failed to yield or move over for emergency vehicles or police cars.  Under the amended bill, drivers would be guilty of a traffic infraction and the fine would increase to $500 with no opportunity for reduction.

John Cullen, Honeyford’s constituent and neighbor, brought the idea to him based on personal experience.  A resident of Outlook in Yakima County, Cullen learned from his doctor that he barely made it to the hospital in time for emergency open-heart surgery when cars refused to move out of the way for his ambulance.

In June 2003, Cullen was rushed to Kennewick General Hospital after he collapsed on a golf course from a suspected heart attack.  The doctor at Kennewick General discovered a tear in Cullen’s aorta and promptly joined Cullen in the ambulance to Kadlec Medical Center for open-heart surgery. 

When Cullen regained consciousness after his surgery, his doctor shared the story with him, prompting Cullen to conduct his own research on the prevalence of this dangerous behavior.

“According to John’s research, one ambulance company in Yakima reported 222 calls in two weeks and 65 of them involved occurrences of failure to yield to the ambulance using full lights and sirens,” said Honeyford, a former Ellensburg police officer. “If this bill saves even one life, it will be worth the effort to pass it this year.”

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For more information contact Janelle M. Guthrie, Senate Republican Communications Director, at 360-786-7516 or via e-mail at guthrie_ja@leg.wa.gov