The Missouri House has proposed that the Department of Revenue Director be given authority to revoke the license of a driver who hits a road or utility worker in a highway work zone or an emergency responder at the scene of an emergency.
House Bill 499 was written in response to the death of a highway worker nearly three years ago. The man who struck and killed Lyndon Ebker in a work zone near New Haven was later revealed to suffer from macular degeneration that impaired his eyesight, but he was still driving more than two years later.
HB 499 was sent from the full chamber back to a House Rules committee for more work after some legislators raised concerns that earlier versions of it would deny a person of due process. Bill sponsor Aaron Griesheimer (R-Washington) said the changes address that.
Ebker’s family and the Department of Transportation pushed for the legislation. Lawmakers heard that the workers who’d been on Ebker’s crew felt unsafe because they knew the man who’d killed him was still on the road.
Kansas City representative Greg Razer (D) was one of those who listened to their testimony in a committee hearing.
Odessa Republican Glen Kolkmeyer also sits on the Transportation Committee. He said he’s glad to see this proposal advancing.
“I had a firefighter killed in the line of duty by a gentleman who came over a hill that should have never been on the road,” said Kolkmeyer. “We’re getting to name that road after that firefighter that was killed.”
Under the bill an officer investigating a work zone or emergency zone accident in which a worker or emergency responder was hit can file a report to the Department. The Director will revoke a driver’s license if he finds, based on that report, that the driver was at fault.
The driver then will have 15 days to prove competency by retaking and passing the driver’s test or by appealing to courts local to where the accident happened. If the court finds the driver was involved in hitting a worker; the work or emergency zone was properly marked; and the investigating officer found probable cause that the driver was at fault, the license revocation would stand.
Representative Rudy Veit (R-Wardsville) was one of those who raised concerns about due process with the earlier bill language. He said that 15 day provision answers his concerns. He now supports the bill.
“These workers are in a fearful position. That’s every day cars are whipping by them, and there’s two types of people that will hit them. One is those who aren’t competent to be driving. This will quickly remove them from the road. The second one is those who are driving reckless, and keep in mind those are the people we are putting more fear in,” said Veit. “They know if they do something they’re going to have swift, fast consequences, and I think this is another tool in the chest we need to protect the workers and to honor the workers who do this dangerous work and let us keep our roads open.”
In November the driver who struck Lyndon Ebker pled guilty to two charges and his driving privilege was revoked for life.
The House voted 149-5 to send the bill to the Senate.
Earlier story: Family of MoDOT worker killed in work zone asks lawmakers to toughen license revocation law