Roadway fatalities

AN ACT Relating to updating the role of the Washington traffic 1
safety commission in identifying the risk factors that lead to 2
roadway fatalities; amending RCW 42.56.360, 43.59.010, 43.59.040, and 3
43.59.156; and adding a new section to chapter 43.59 RCW.4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
Sec. 1. RCW 42.56.360 and 2024 c 366 s 19 are each amended to 6
read as follows: 7
(1) The following health care information is exempt from 8
disclosure under this chapter: 9
(a) Information obtained by the pharmacy quality assurance 10
commission as provided in RCW 69.45.090; 11
(b) Information obtained by the pharmacy quality assurance 12
commission or the department of health and its representatives as 13
provided in RCW 69.41.044, 69.41.280, and 18.64.420;14
(c) Information and documents created specifically for, and 15
collected and maintained by a quality improvement committee under RCW 16
43.70.510, 70.230.080, or 70.41.200, or by a peer review committee 17
under RCW 4.24.250, or by a quality assurance committee pursuant to 18
RCW 74.42.640 or 18.20.390, or by a hospital, as defined in RCW 19
43.70.056, for reporting of health care-associated infections under 20
RCW 43.70.056, a notification of an incident under RCW 70.56.040(5), 21
Z-0584.1
SENATE BILL 6131
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Shewmake, J. Wilson, Alvarado, Conway, Liias, Nobles,
Saldaña, and Trudeau; by request of Washington Traffic Safety
Commission
Read first time 01/14/26. Referred to Committee on Transportation.
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and reports regarding adverse events under RCW 70.56.020(2)(b), 1
regardless of which agency is in possession of the information and 2
documents; 3
(d)(i) Proprietary financial and commercial information that the 4
submitting entity, with review by the department of health, 5
specifically identifies at the time it is submitted and that is 6
provided to or obtained by the department of health in connection 7
with an application for, or the supervision of, an antitrust 8
exemption sought by the submitting entity under RCW 43.72.310;9
(ii) If a request for such information is received, the 10
submitting entity must be notified of the request. Within ten 11
business days of receipt of the notice, the submitting entity shall 12
provide a written statement of the continuing need for 13
confidentiality, which shall be provided to the requester. Upon 14
receipt of such notice, the department of health shall continue to 15
treat information designated under this subsection (1)(d) as exempt 16
from disclosure; 17
(iii) If the requester initiates an action to compel disclosure 18
under this chapter, the submitting entity must be joined as a party 19
to demonstrate the continuing need for confidentiality;20
(e) Records of the entity obtained in an action under RCW 21
18.71.300 through 18.71.340; 22
(f) Complaints filed under chapter 18.130 RCW after July 27, 23
1997, to the extent provided in RCW 18.130.095(1);24
(g) Information obtained by the department of health under 25
chapter 70.225 RCW; 26
(h) Information collected by the department of health under 27
chapter 70.245 RCW except as provided in RCW 70.245.150;28
(i) Cardiac and stroke system performance data submitted to 29
national, state, or local data collection systems under RCW 30
70.168.150(2)(b); 31
(j) All documents, including completed forms, received pursuant 32
to a wellness program under RCW 41.04.362, but not statistical 33
reports that do not identify an individual; 34
(k) Data and information exempt from disclosure under RCW 35
43.371.040; 36
(l) Medical information contained in files and records of members 37
of retirement plans administered by the department of retirement 38
systems or the law enforcement officers' and firefighters' plan 2 39
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retirement board, as provided to the department of retirement systems 1
under RCW 41.04.830; and 2
(m) Data submitted to the data integration platform under RCW 3
71.24.908. 4
(2) Chapter 70.02 RCW applies to public inspection and copying of 5
health care information of patients. 6
(3)(a) Documents related to infant mortality reviews conducted 7
pursuant to RCW 70.05.170 are exempt from disclosure as provided for 8
in RCW 70.05.170(3). 9
(b)(i) If an agency provides copies of public records to another 10
agency that are exempt from public disclosure under this subsection 11
(3), those records remain exempt to the same extent the records were 12
exempt in the possession of the originating entity.13
(ii) For notice purposes only, agencies providing exempt records 14
under this subsection (3) to other agencies may mark any exempt 15
records as "exempt" so that the receiving agency is aware of the 16
exemption, however whether or not a record is marked exempt does not 17
affect whether the record is actually exempt from disclosure.18
(4) Information and documents related to maternal mortality 19
reviews conducted pursuant to RCW 70.54.450 are confidential and 20
exempt from public inspection and copying. 21
(5) Patient health care information contained in reports 22
submitted under RCW 71.24.847(2) are confidential and exempt from 23
public inspection. 24
(6) Information and documents related to traffic fatality reviews 25
conducted under RCW 43.59.040 (1)(e), (2)(a), and (5) are 26
confidential and exempt from public inspection and copying.27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 43.59 28
RCW to read as follows: 29
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 30
unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 31
(1) "Bicyclist fatality" means any death of a bicyclist resulting 32
from a collision, whether on a roadway, at an intersection, along an 33
adjacent sidewalk, or on a path that is contiguous with a roadway.34
(2) "Commission" means the Washington traffic safety commission.35
(3) "Council" means the Cooper Jones active transportation safety 36
council. 37
(4) "Fatality review committee" means a group of subject matter 38
experts and other members recruited and assembled by the commission 39
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based upon their traffic safety experience to review incidents 1
involving the death of a person in Washington resulting from a 2
collision involving a motor vehicle, whether on a roadway, at an 3
intersection, along an adjacent sidewalk, or on a path that is 4
contiguous with a roadway. 5
(5) "Motorist" means anyone using the transportation system who 6
is using a motor vehicle as a driver or passenger. 7
(6) "Nonmotorist" means anyone using the transportation system 8
who is not in a vehicle. 9
(7) "Pedestrian fatality" means any death of a pedestrian 10
resulting from a collision, whether on a roadway, at an intersection, 11
along an adjacent sidewalk, or on a path that is contiguous with a 12
roadway. 13
(8) "Serious injury" means any injury other than a fatal injury 14
that prevents the injured person from walking, driving, or normally 15
continuing the activities the person was capable of performing before 16
the injury occurred. 17
Sec. 3. RCW 43.59.010 and 2009 c 549 s 5141 are each amended to 18
read as follows: 19
(1) The ((purpose of this chapter is to establish a new agency of 20
state government to be known as the )) Washington traffic safety 21
commission is established as a public health authority . The functions 22
and purpose of this commission shall be to ((find solutions to the 23
problems that have been created as a result of the tremendous 24
increase of motor vehicles on our highways and the attendant traffic 25
death and accident tolls )) identify risk factors that most commonly 26
lead to motor vehicle collisions that result in death or serious 27
injury; to plan and supervise programs for the prevention of 28
((accidents)) collisions on streets and highways including but not 29
limited to educational campaigns designed to reduce traffic 30
((accidents)) crashes in cooperation with all official and unofficial 31
organizations interested in traffic safety; to coordinate the 32
activities at the state and local level in the development of 33
statewide and local traffic safety programs; to promote a uniform 34
enforcement of traffic safety laws and establish standards for 35
investigation and reporting of traffic ((accidents)) collisions; to 36
promote and improve driver education; and to authorize the governor 37
to perform all functions required to be performed by him or her under 38
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the federal Highway Safety Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-564; 80 Stat. 1
731) in order to promote and protect public health and safety.2
(2) The legislature finds and declares that bicycling and walking 3
are becoming increasingly popular in Washington as clean and 4
efficient modes of transportation, as recreational activities, and as 5
organized sports. Future plans for the state's transportation system 6
will require increased access and safety for bicycles and pedestrians 7
on our common roadways, and federal transportation legislation and 8
funding programs have created strong incentives to implement these 9
changes quickly. As a result, many more people are likely to take up 10
bicycling in Washington both as a leisure activity and as a 11
convenient, inexpensive form of transportation. Bicyclists are more 12
vulnerable to serious injury ((and accident)) during collisions than 13
motorists, and should be as knowledgeable as possible about traffic 14
laws, be highly visible and predictable when riding in traffic, and 15
be encouraged to wear bicycle safety helmets. Hundreds of bicyclists 16
and pedestrians are seriously injured every year in ((accidents)) 17
collisions, and millions of dollars are spent on health care costs 18
associated with these ((accidents)) collisions. There is clear 19
evidence that organized training in the rules and techniques of safe 20
and effective cycling can significantly reduce the incidence of 21
serious injury and ((accidents)) collisions, increase cooperation 22
among road users, and significantly increase the incidence of bicycle 23
helmet use, particularly among minors. A reduction in ((accidents)) 24
collisions benefits the entire community. Therefore it is appropriate 25
for businesses and community organizations to provide donations to 26
bicycle and pedestrian safety training programs. 27
Sec. 4. RCW 43.59.040 and 1983 1st ex.s. c 14 s 1 are each 28
amended to read as follows: 29
(1) In addition to other responsibilities set forth in this 30
chapter the commission shall: 31
(((1))) (a) Advise and confer with the governing authority of any 32
political subdivision of the state or federally recognized Indian 33
tribe deemed eligible under the federal Highway Safety Act of 1966 34
(Public Law 89-564; 80 Stat. 731) for participation in the aims and 35
programs and purposes of that act; 36
(((2))) (b) Advise and confer with all agencies of state 37
government whose programs and activities are within the scope of the 38
Highway Safety Act including those agencies that are not subject to 39
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direct supervision, administration, and control by the governor under 1
existing laws; 2
(((3))) (c) Succeed to and be vested with all powers, duties, and 3
jurisdictions previously vested in the Washington state safety 4
council; 5
(((4))) (d) Receive crash reports, toxicology reports, and 6
related investigation information from state or local law enforcement 7
agencies;8
(e) Receive driver licensing records from the department of 9
licensing for motor vehicle collisions resulting in a fatality;10
(f) In reviewing traffic crashes resulting in the death of a 11
pedestrian, bicyclist, or other active transportation user, include 12
members from the council in the review process and provide a summary 13
of the review results to the council at a regularly scheduled 14
meeting. The number of councilmembers in attendance for the review 15
are limited to less than a quorum of the membership;16
(g) Present reports prepared under this section regarding fatal 17
traffic crashes involving the deaths of active transportation users 18
to the council during the calendar year that the review under (e) of 19
this subsection is published; and20
(h) Carry out such other responsibilities as may be consistent 21
with this chapter. 22
(2) The commission may:23
(a) As a public health authority, collect health care information 24
under RCW 70.02.050(2)(b). Any health care information obtained under 25
this subsection is exempt from public inspection and copying under 26
chapter 42.56 RCW. The health care information may be collected from, 27
but is not limited to, hospitals, emergency medical services, medical 28
examiners, and coroner offices. The commission may compile and link 29
the records data from these sources, store this information in a 30
secure database, and perform statistical and epidemiological analyses 31
to identify causes and trends in traffic fatalities;32
(b) As part of its purpose to identify risk factors contributing 33
to fatal and serious injury collisions, the commission may convene a 34
fatality review committee to review any available information, 35
including: Crash information maintained in existing databases; 36
statutes, rules, policies, or ordinances related to the incidents; 37
and any other relevant information, including reports and records 38
described in this section;39
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(c) Make recommendations regarding changes in statutes, 1
ordinances, rules, and policies that could improve the safety of all 2
road users, including motor vehicle occupants, motorcyclists, 3
pedestrians, bicyclists, and individuals using personal mobility 4
devices. Additionally, the commission may make recommendations on how 5
to improve traffic fatality and serious injury data quality, 6
including crashes that occur in privately owned property such as 7
parking lots;8
(d) Consult with local cities and counties, as well as local 9
police departments and other law enforcement agencies and 10
associations representing those jurisdictions on how to improve data 11
quality regarding crashes;12
(e) Obtain and examine medical records related to individuals 13
involved in fatal traffic crashes that occur in Washington including, 14
but not limited to, postmortem medical examinations and emergency 15
medical treatment and trauma care provided after a traffic collision. 16
Medical records may be reviewed by members of the fatality review 17
committee and are subject to the protections described in (a) of this 18
subsection; and19
(f) Publish reports summarizing trends, contributing factors, and 20
policy or program recommendations resulting from reviews. Reports may 21
not include personally identifiable information.22
(3) All meetings or deliberations of a fatality review committee 23
are confidential and are not subject to the requirements of chapter 24
42.30 RCW, the open public meetings act.25
(4) Discussions among participants of a fatality review committee 26
and documents obtained or prepared by or for the commission are 27
inadmissible and may not be used in a civil or administrative 28
proceeding, except that any document that exists before its use or 29
consideration in a review by the commission, or that is created 30
independently of such review, does not become inadmissible merely 31
because it is reviewed or used by the commission.32
(5) For confidential information, including medical records and 33
personal information under RCW 42.56.230 (7) and (9), that is 34
obtained by the commission, neither the commission nor any 35
participant in the fatality review committee may publicly disclose 36
such confidential information. No person who was in attendance at a 37
meeting of the fatality review committee or who participated in the 38
creation, retention, collection, or maintenance of information or 39
documents specifically for the commission or the council shall be 40
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permitted to testify in any civil action as to the content of such 1
proceedings or of the documents and information prepared specifically 2
as part of the activities of the council. However, recommendations 3
from the council and the commission generally may be disclosed 4
without personal identifiers. 5
(6) The commission may review, only to the extent otherwise 6
permitted by law or court rule when determined to be relevant and 7
necessary: Any law enforcement incident documentation, such as 8
incident reports, dispatch records, and victim, witness, and suspect 9
statements; any supplemental reports, probable cause statements, and 10
911 call taker's reports; abstracts of driving records; and any other 11
information determined to be relevant to the review. The commission 12
and the council must maintain the confidentiality of the information 13
to the extent required by any applicable law.14
(7) If acting in good faith, without malice, and within the 15
parameters of and protocols established under this chapter, 16
representatives of the commission and members of a fatality review 17
committee convened by the commission are immune from civil liability 18
for any activity related to reviews of any particular fatalities and 19
serious injuries.20
(8) This section does not create a private right of action.21
Sec. 5. RCW 43.59.156 and 2025 c 417 s 903 are each amended to 22
read as follows: 23
(1) Within amounts appropriated to the ((traffic safety )) 24
commission, the commission must convene the ((Cooper Jones active 25
transportation safety)) council comprised of stakeholders who have a 26
unique interest or expertise in the safety of pedestrians, 27
bicyclists, and other nonmotorists. 28
(2) The purpose of the council is to review and analyze data and 29
programs related to fatalities and serious injuries involving 30
pedestrians, bicyclists, and other nonmotorists to identify points at 31
which the transportation system can be improved including, whenever 32
possible, privately owned areas of the system such as parking lots, 33
and to identify patterns in pedestrian, bicyclist, and other 34
nonmotorist fatalities and serious injuries. The council may also:35
(a) Monitor progress on implementation of existing council 36
recommendations; and 37
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(b) Seek opportunities to expand consideration and implementation 1
of the principles of systematic safety, including areas where data 2
collection may need improvement. 3
(3)(a) The council may include, but is not limited to:4
(i) A representative from the commission; 5
(ii) A coroner from the county in which pedestrian, bicyclist, or 6
nonmotorist deaths have occurred; 7
(iii) Multiple members of law enforcement who have investigated 8
pedestrian, bicyclist, or nonmotorist fatalities; 9
(iv) A traffic engineer; 10
(v) A representative from the department of transportation and a 11
representative from the department of health; 12
(vi) A representative from the association of Washington cities;13
(vii) A representative from the Washington state association of 14
counties; 15
(viii) A representative from a pedestrian advocacy group;16
(ix) A representative from a tribal government; and17
(x) A representative from a bicyclist or other nonmotorist 18
advocacy group. 19
(b) The commission may invite other representatives of 20
stakeholder groups to participate in the council as deemed 21
appropriate by the commission. Additionally, the commission may 22
invite a victim or family member of a victim to participate in the 23
council. 24
(4) The council must meet at least quarterly. By December 31st of 25
each year, the council must issue an annual report detailing any 26
findings and recommendations to the governor and the transportation 27
committees of the legislature. The commission must provide the annual 28
report electronically to all municipal governments and state agencies 29
that participated in the council during that calendar year. 30
Additionally, the council must report any budgetary or fiscal 31
recommendations to the office of financial management and the 32
legislature by August 1st on a biennial basis. 33
(5) ((As part of the review of pedestrian, bicyclist, or 34
nonmotorist fatalities and serious injuries that occur in Washington, 35
the council may review any available information, including crash 36
information maintained in existing databases; statutes, rules, 37
policies, or ordinances governing pedestrians and traffic related to 38
the incidents; and any other relevant information. The council may 39
make recommendations regarding changes in statutes, ordinances, 40
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rules, and policies that could improve pedestrian, bicyclist, or 1
nonmotorist safety. Additionally, the council may make 2
recommendations on how to improve traffic fatality and serious injury 3
data quality, including crashes that occur in privately owned 4
property such as parking lots. The council may consult with local 5
cities and counties, as well as local police departments and other 6
law enforcement agencies and associations representing those 7
jurisdictions on how to improve data quality regarding crashes 8
occurring on private property. 9
(6)(a) Documents prepared by or for the council are inadmissible 10
and may not be used in a civil or administrative proceeding, except 11
that any document that exists before its use or consideration in a 12
review by the council, or that is created independently of such 13
review, does not become inadmissible merely because it is reviewed or 14
used by the council. For confidential information, such as personally 15
identifiable information and medical records, which are obtained by 16
the council, neither the commission nor the council may publicly 17
disclose such confidential information. No person who was in 18
attendance at a meeting of the council or who participated in the 19
creation, retention, collection, or maintenance of information or 20
documents specifically for the commission or the council shall be 21
permitted to testify in any civil action as to the content of such 22
proceedings or of the documents and information prepared specifically 23
as part of the activities of the council. However, recommendations 24
from the council and the commission generally may be disclosed 25
without personal identifiers.26
(b) The council may review, only to the extent otherwise 27
permitted by law or court rule when determined to be relevant and 28
necessary: Any law enforcement incident documentation, such as 29
incident reports, dispatch records, and victim, witness, and suspect 30
statements; any supplemental reports, probable cause statements, and 31
911 call taker's reports; and any other information determined to be 32
relevant to the review. The commission and the council must maintain 33
the confidentiality of such information to the extent required by any 34
applicable law.35
(7) If acting in good faith, without malice, and within the 36
parameters of and protocols established under this chapter, 37
representatives of the commission and the council are immune from 38
civil liability for an activity related to reviews of particular 39
fatalities and serious injuries.40
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(8) This section must not be construed to provide a private civil 1
cause of action.2
(9)))(a) The council may receive gifts, grants, or endowments 3
from public or private sources that are made from time to time, in 4
trust or otherwise, for the use and benefit of the purposes of the 5
council and spend the gifts, grants, or endowments from the public or 6
private sources according to their terms, unless the receipt of the 7
gifts, grants, or endowments violates RCW 29B.45.020.8
(b) Subject to the appropriation of funds for this specific 9
purpose, the council may provide grants targeted at improving 10
pedestrian, bicyclist, or nonmotorist safety in accordance with 11
recommendations made by the council. 12
(((10) For purposes of this section:13
(a) "Bicyclist fatality" means any death of a bicyclist resulting 14
from a collision, whether on a roadway, at an intersection, along an 15
adjacent sidewalk, or on a path that is contiguous with a roadway.16
(b) "Council" means the Cooper Jones active transportation safety 17
council.18
(c) "Nonmotorist" means anyone using the transportation system 19
who is not in a vehicle.20
(d) "Pedestrian fatality" means any death of a pedestrian 21
resulting from a collision, whether on a roadway, at an intersection, 22
along an adjacent sidewalk, or on a path that is contiguous with a 23
roadway.24
(e) "Serious injury" means any injury other than a fatal injury 25
that prevents the injured person from walking, driving, or normally 26
continuing the activities the person was capable of performing before 27
the injury occurred.))28
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