ODOT / DRIVER AND MOTOR VEHICLE SERVICES
TRAFFIC NEWSLETTER DMV Administrator’s Office 1905 Lana Avenue NE Salem, Oregon 97314 Vol. 29, No. 1, January 2018
Senate Bill 344– Snowmobile Crossing Highway
Effective January 1, 2018
The 2017 Oregon Legislature passed SB 344 requiring snowmobiles and certain all-terrain vehicles to cross a highway at an intersection or more than 100 feet from an intersection. The operative date of the bill is January 1, 2018. This bill also permits a person to operate an all-terrain vehicle within a portion of a state highway designated as an All-Terrain Vehicle Highway Access Route, establishes an All-Terrain Vehicle Highway Access Routes Advisory Committee, and directs the Oregon Transportation Commission to designate All-Terrain Vehicle Highway Access Routes on state highways throughout the state after consultation with the Advisory Committee. Finally, the bill provides an exemption from vehicle equipment requirements if a person is crossing a portion of highway designated as an All-Terrain Vehicle Highway Access Route.
House Bill 2291–
Weighmaster Enforcement / Bus and Bus Trailer Weight
Effective January 1, 2018
The 2017 Oregon Legislature passed HB 2291 that amends ORS 810.530 to include the offense of illegal alteration or display of a registration plate and allows weighmasters to issue citations for the offense. The operative date of the bill is January 1, 2018. This bill also changes how the Oregon Department of Transportation calculates the weight of buses and bus trailers.
Senate Bill 754–
Smoking, Aerosolizing and Vaporizing in Motor Vehicle
Effective January 1, 2018
The 2017 Oregon Legislature passed SB 754, raising the minimum age at which a person may purchase tobacco products and inhalant delivery systems to 21 years of age and repealing ORS 167.401, penalties for tobacco purchased by a minor, which includes a suspension for a second or subsequent offense. DMV will no longer process suspensions for tobacco offenses by a minor occurring on or after January 1, 2018.
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TRAFFIC NEWSLETTER Senate Bill 34–
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Includes All Vehicles in the Move Over or Slow Down Law
Effective January 1, 2018
SB 34 amends provisions in ORS 811.147 for vehicles to move over or slow down when approaching any vehicle on the side of the road displaying warning lights, hazard lights, emergency flares or emergency signs. The bill specifies that a person operating a motor vehicle and approaching another motor vehicle that is stopped and displaying warning lights must: •
On a highway having two or more lanes for traffic in a single direction, make a lane change not adjacent to that of the stopped motor vehicle or slow down to at least five miles per hour under the speed limit established in ORS 811.111 or a designated speed posted under ORS 810.180.
•
On a two-directional, two-lane highway, slow down to at least five miles per hour under the speed limit established in ORS 811.111 or a designated speed posted under ORS 810.180.
The bill states a person is not in violation of the “move over” law if the stopped motor vehicle is in a designated parking area.
Senate Bill 35–
Motor Vehicle Accident Reports
Effective January 1, 2018
Oregon’s accident reporting damage threshold increases from $1,500 to $2,500 effective January 1, 2018, under ORS 811.720 and 811.745. The bill does not change any other reporting criteria under these statutes. DMV has updated the following forms with the $2,500 threshold: • Oregon Police Traffic Crash Reports (735-46 sequence). DMV has provided law enforcement a short supply of these revised forms and instruction on how to order. • Oregon Traffic Accident and Insurance Report (735-32). This is the required report drivers must file and is available from DMV’s website at www.oregondmv.com or DMV field offices. These forms need to be used for accidents occurring on or after January 1, 2018. For questions regarding these forms, you may call DMV at (503) 945-5221 or email
[email protected].
Redmond DMV – Now In Its New Permanent Location 3835 SW 21st Place, Suite 101 Redmond, OR 97756 The Redmond DMV opened for business at their new permanent location at Franks Landing, 3835 SW 21st Place, Suite 101, Redmond, Oregon 97756, on Monday, October 30, 2017, at the regular hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday. The new field office location offers larger lobby space, additional parking, easier access and is conveniently located off of South Highway 97. Any time you need to visit a DMV office, you can first check OregonDMV.com to find office hours and locations and to make sure you have everything you need before your visit. You also can do some DMV business from home at OregonDMV.com, such as renewing your vehicle registration, filing a change of address or filing notice of the sale of your vehicle online – without having to get in line at an office.
For additional information, please call (503) 945-5000 or (503) 299-9999 (Portland Metro Area).
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Ontario DMV – Hours Change 787 SW 7th Place Ontario, OR 97914 Effective December 4, 2017, the Ontario field office located at 787 SW 7th Place, Ontario, Oregon, began new service hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, Monday through Friday. Please keep in mind that the availability of online services provides a fast and convenient way to renew vehicle registration with a credit/debit card payment option.
House Bill 2017–
Light Vehicle and Recreational Vehicle Trip Permits
Effective January 1, 2018
The Oregon Legislature passed HB 2017, which incrementally increases the fee for a light vehicle or recreational vehicle trip permit. The bill increases the fee January 1, 2018, January 1, 2020, January 1, 2022, and January 1, 2024. DMV has opted to remove the trip permit fee from the trip permit forms to eliminate the need to recycle forms with an old fee. Other DMV-issued trip permits do not contain the fee. The new trip permit forms will be issued starting January 1, 2018. For more information about Oregon trip permits, call Customer Assistance or visit the DMV website at www.oregondmv.com.
Senate Bill 252–
Hardship Permit for Gambling Addiction Treatment
Effective January 1, 2018
SB 252 allows a person with a hardship permit to apply to drive for the purposes of participating in gambling addiction treatment. DMV has revised administrative rules, the hardship permit application form, procedure manuals and DMV’s website to indicate that a person with a hardship permit may also apply to drive in order to participate in gambling addiction treatment.
eConvictions Program Update DMV’s eConvictions Program. This did not include the additional savings in envelopes and stamps and the labor involved with folding and sending information directly to DMV by regular mail.
Photo courtesy of Judge Karen Brisbin
Above is a photograph of a stack of paper sent to DMV from a judge with the Clackamas Court indicating savings from one week of participating in
The eConvictions Program, which allows electronic submission of convictions, suspensions and other information by traffic courts, also saved DMV the labor of data entry. Gary Muller and Monica Phelps from DMV’s Processing Services Group shared the chart below on the increasing volumes of eConvictions that have been posted.
For additional information, please call (503) 945-5000 or (503) 299-9999 (Portland Metro Area).
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finish up programming for this court. Washington County has also reached out to us.”
eConvictions Posted by DMV 2015 2016 2017 January February March April May June July August September October November December
n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1601 2202 2049 2333 1835 1831 2406
1768 1847 2672 2405 2690 2781 4023 3352 3603 3608 3568 3185
2825 3103 4533 3288 3446 4669 3401 4704 4513 4601
Year total
14257
35502
39083
Mo Avg. # of Courts
2037 5
2958 13
3908 18
Monica added: “We’ve had some talks with Oregon Justice Department to see about bringing on the circuit courts and will soon start testing on two of them: Lincoln City and Yamhill County. The greatest benefit from these electronic linkages is the ability to update official driver records quicker for everyone’s benefit. In the past it might take eight days to update a record, and now it takes only one to two days.” The courts also appreciate this quick updating of records, not having to deal with the extra paper, and reduction in costs, particularly on postage.
“As you can see, we have had steady growth,” Gary said. “In 2017 we are averaging close to 4,000 eConvictions per month. Once we add November and December data, a conservative estimate for 2017 would be over 45,000 eConvictions processed. We just brought our 18th court on board. We have also had several other courts who have inquired about the program, most notably Municipal Beaverton. Beaverton does a fairly substantial volume of convictions per month. We are working to
eConvictions results in a reduction of paper coming into DMV Headquarters of about nine cases at 50 pounds. Use of the eConvictions Program keeps growing each year, which helps DMV align this program with our division’s sustainability goals. In addition, the document imaging staff does not need to scan as much paper. Driver Records data entry staff can apply over 30,000 convictions per month (at standard speed, 80 per hour). Using eConvictions saves up to 60 hours a month of entry time. Before using eConvictions, employees focused on proofreading, data entry and storage of records. Now employees can focus more on the exceptions in data submitted, such as missing customer numbers or addresses and in working directly with the courts to ensure accurate information.
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If you would like to subscribe to Traffic Newsletter, please go to http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/traffic-news and follow the instructions under Subscribing to Traffic-News. For additional information, please call (503) 945-5000 or (503) 299-9999 (Portland Metro Area).
