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Board to hear request for rule changes next week

ITD staff members will request revisions to several rules when the transportation board meets in District 1 next week. The July business meeting is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at the ITD office in Coeur d’Alene.

The Division of Motor Vehicles is proposing changes to IDAPA 39.03.06 – Rules Governing Allowable Vehicle Size. The changes are being made to comply with Idaho Code as a result of HB 181 approved during the 2005 session. The main change relates to the legal overhang limit from the end of a vehicle.

Another DMV rule, IDAPA 39.02.22 – Rules Governing Registration and Permit Fee Administration, is being revised to state that motor carriers shall not participate in future registration installment payment plans if previous registration installment payment plans have been suspended because of non-payment or payment with insufficient funds checks. This proposal is to ensure that payments of registration fees are received in a timely manner, to deter habitual registration installment plan violators and reduce the number of bad checks to the department.

Amendments to IDAPA 39.03.45 – Rules Governing Sale of No Longer Useful or Usable Real Property are being proposed by the Division of Highways. Previously, ITD’s surplused property valued at less than $10,000 was offered to a contiguous property owner first. If no property owner wanted to purchase it, public agencies were contacted to determine their interest in the property. The last resort was selling the property at public auction.

Because of legislative action, this rule is being changed to eliminate the $10,000 cap. Other minor clean-up is also being proposed.

Other board discussion

State by state passenger car registration and fuel tax comparison
ITD’s Economics and Research Section completed a review of all states’ annual motor vehicle registration fees and fuel taxes. Registration fees were calculated for a one-year renewal in the District of Columbia and the county seat of the most populous county in each of the states. A 2007 Toyota Camry was used for comparison purposes. This car was selected because it was the most registered passenger car in Idaho last year.

Vehicle emission and safety inspection fees were not addressed in the study. A number of states require one or both of the inspections to be completed as a condition of registration renewal. Some states charged air quality fees that were included in the study, but costs for additional inspection were omitted.

Idaho’s total annual registration and state/local fuel tax costs ranked 32nd nationally (effective Dec. 31, 2007) at $229.08. Annual costs for surrounding states and their rank include:

Nevada	$562.46	6th
Montana	$465.73	14th
Wyoming	$404.00	17th
Utah	4336	19th
Washington	$318.75	23rd
Oregon	$189	42nd

The highest combined rate is Rhode Island at an annual cost of $1,127.76. South Carolina was the cheapest at $112.50.

Annual report on railroad grade crossing protection account
In accordance with Board Policy B-19-07, Highway Safety Funds, the annual report on the State Railroad Grade Crossing Protection Funds will be presented to the board. Funding will be used to correct deficiencies at railroad crossings in state fiscal year 2009. Funds of $25,000 also will be obligated for the administration of the Rail-Highway Safety Education Grant for Operation Life Saver.

The report also includes rail-highway collisions.

As of Jan. 1, 2007, there were 2,640 active crossings in the state. In 2006, there were 22 rail-highway collisions with three fatalities. Combined data from 2002 through 2006 indicates a total of 105 collisions, with most occurring on Tuesdays (23), followed by on Fridays (19). Automobiles were involved in the most collisions (52), followed by trucks at 21. A breakdown of the 105 incidents by districts follows, along with the number of crossings in the district and the collision rate:

District	Number of incidents	Number of crossings	Collision rate
District 1	32	423	0.0757
District 2	0	276	0.0
District 3	36	514	0.0398
District 4	19	425	0.0447
District 5	10	602	0.0166
District 6	8	400	0.0200

The statewide collision rate is 0.0398.