BISMARCK - The traffic crash that killed young Joe Wayman of Sheldon, N.D., last May inspired two bills in the North Dakota Legislature, and both now have passed overwhelmingly, thanks to the efforts of his heartbroken grandfather.
"Both of these bills passed because of Larry Wayman, period," said Sen. Joel Heitkamp, D-Hankinson, prime sponsor of both Senate Bill 2146 and Senate Bill 2165.
Larry Wayman, also of Sheldon, came to Bismarck to testify on the bills. He had been driving, and Joe, 13, was a passenger, the day Dillon Kron, then 16, of Enderlin, N.D., broadsided the Wayman vehicle on a rural road. Joe died. The Highway Patrol said Kron had failed to yield at an intersection. The Wayman family questioned why Kron was driving at all, considering he had been in an accident with Joe's uncle, Alan Wayman, two weeks before, and authorities found he had no proof of liability insurance at that time.
He still had no insurance May 8, when Joe was killed.
SB2146 tightens up the law on when charges can be filed for driving without proof of liability insurance. It now will require a person who has been in an accident to prove within three days that he has liability insurance or he can be charged. Currently, a person has 20 days to prove he has insurance or face a charge, whether or not there's been an accident. The bill passed 46-0 in the Senate in January and 81-4 last week in the House.
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Rep. Clara Sue Price, R-Minot, carried the other bill, SB2165, to the House floor Tuesday and told how it allows law enforcement greater power to order a chemical test for drivers involved in accidents involving serious injury or death.
Currently, law enforcement can compel a test only if an officer has "probable cause" to believe a driver is impaired. That usually means the smell of alcohol or some other readily apparent evidence.
SB2165 allows law enforcement to order a chemical test in the case of an accident with serious bodily injury or death if the officer has a reasonable suspicion, which is a lesser standard than "probable cause."
The House passed the bill 80-11. The Senate had passed it Feb. 1 by 45-0. Both now are on their way to the governor for signature.
Cole works for Forum Communications Co., which owns the Grand Forks Herald.
