Posted April 6, 2006   Email   Print

Iowa law increases penalties for drivers who kill or injure motorcyclists

Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack has signed into law a measure that increases penalties for drivers who injure or kill others as a result of traffic violations and also adds motorcycle- and bicycle-awareness information to the driver-training curriculum in Iowa.

ABATE of Iowa and AMA members lobbied for the law, which is consistent with the AMA's Justice for All campaign. Mark Maxwell of ABATE led the lobbying effort and succeeded in getting more than half of the Iowa legislators to co-sponsor the bill.

The law adds a fine of $500 and/or a drivers license suspension of up to 90 days for traffic violations that result in a serious injury. If the driver causes a death, the penalties increase to $1,000 and/or a license suspension of up to 180 days. These penalties can be imposed in addition to the usual fines for the traffic violation.

In many states, there are no provisions for additional penalties when drivers kill or injure other vulnerable road users, such as motorcyclists, bicyclists or pedestrians. As a result, in many cases, drivers have killed motorcyclists and been fined less than $100 for a simple traffic violation, such as failure to yield.

The Justice for All campaign seeks to increase penalties for drivers who kill or injure others, and also seeks to have motorcycle-awareness materials included as part of the driver-training curriculum. The Iowa law does both.

"This is exactly the kind of law the AMA aims to see passed in all 50 states as part of the Justice for All campaign," said AMA Legislative Affairs Specialist Imre Szauter. "The Iowa motorcyclists who worked to get this law approved, and the state ABATE organization, deserve a lot of credit."

The Iowa bill was signed into law just a day after a similar law was signed by West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin.

© 2006, American Motorcyclist Association