•They are injured or damaged in the accident, they contribute to causing the accident.

•They cause damage to another person or property.

• The vehicle is damaged because of a mechanical failure while being driven.

• Something falls from the vehicle and causes an accident.

• The vehicle moves to avoid debris or strikes debris and causes an accident.

• The vehicle moves without being driven, such as situations where parking brakes fail, and causes an accident.

• Where doors or a load extend from a parked vehicle into a traffic lane and an accident results.

Section Trans 100.03 (2) is amended and 100.03 (2m) created to separate two concepts contained in current s. Trans 100.03 (2). First, how does a person who is misidentified in a police report go about correcting the report so that they are not involved in a safety responsibility matter. Second, that the Department accepts filed police reports as accurate in the absence of any correspondence from the drivers involved in an accident.

Section Trans 100.03 (3) is amended to better state the Department's practice with regard to records related to accidents that do not meet the reporting criteria of s. 346.70, Stats. The Department discards or returns reports that indicate in Box 1 of the report form that the accident is not reportable. It processes all forms that indicate in that box that the accident is reportable. If the accident is later determined not to be reportable, the Department does not include any reference to the accident or report in public abstracts of the driver's record from that point forward.

Section Trans 100.04 (3) is amended to clarify that an apparently uninsured driver who would ordinarily be required to post security may avoid that requirement by proving that he or she was, in fact, insured, or proving that the accident is exempt from the safety responsibility law under s. 344.14 (2), Stats.

Section Trans 100.06 (2) is amended to clarify that the Department does consider investigator reports and payment claim notices in deciding whether there is no reasonable possibility of a judgment being entered against an uninsured driver.

Section Trans 100.10 is completely rewritten to more clearly lay out the procedural aspects of a safety responsibility hearing. No changes are contemplated with regard to the manner in which these hearings are conducted. Rather, this provision simply codifies the longstanding procedures used by DMV in conducting these hearings.

Section Trans 100.11 is similarly rewritten to clarify the procedures used in connection with the receipt of subrogation notices from subrogated parties. Again, these provisions codify the DMV's longstanding practices in a manner that should be easier for the legal community and public to use and understand.

Section Trans 100.12 provisions related to releases executed on behalf of a minor is amended to conform to the Department's practices and current law. Under s. 344.24 (2) (h), Stats., parents are permitted to settle matters related to minor children if the claim is for $5000 or less; a legal guardian must be appointed to settle a claim valued in excess of $5000. This rule is amended to reflect those rules.

Section Trans 100.12 is also amended to include a section on bankruptcy. Federal bankruptcy laws preempt state law in some areas and not in others. The Department has developed a set of procedures for dealing with bankrupt uninsured persons over the years, and codifying those procedures should assist attorneys for uninsured drivers in understanding the repercussions of a bankruptcy filing on a petitioner.

Section 128.21, Stats., state wage earner voluntary debt reorganization, proceedings affect only executions, attachments or garnishments, and do not affect driver license revocations or suspensions. Because those proceedings are referred to commonly as “state bankruptcy proceedings," the Department occasionally deals with debtors under such plans who mistakenly believe a ch. 344 suspension or revocation will be released if a safety responsibility indebtedness is treated under their s. 128.21, Stats., repayment plan. A damage judgment suspension or revocation may only be affected under state law by a court order entered under s. 344.27, Stats.

Section Trans 100.13 is amended to clarify rules related to the circumstances under which accident claims of a minor may be settled by the minor's parents. In situations where a minor's parent is not authorized to settle a claim under s. 344.14 (2) (h), Stats., because it involves a claim valued at more than $5000, a guardian must be appointed to settle the matter. Similarly, guardians must resolve settlements involving incompetent persons. Trans 100.13 is amended to concisely repeat these statutory and common law rules in a format that requires less general knowledge of the law to understand.

Section Trans 100.15 is amended to codify the policies and procedures related to reinstating a suspended or revoked operating privilege at the end of a safety responsibility or damage judgment suspension or revocation.

Section Trans 100.16 is amended to provide a consistent mechanism for determining whether to permit an organization or entity to self-insure. The primary standard employed is one suggested by the Insurance Industry Committee on Motor Vehicle Administration. The $60,000 figure from s. 344.37 (1) is used as the minimum dollar amount required and is multiplied by the square root of the number of vehicles owned by the self-insurance applicant. The “square root" rule recognizes a risk management mechanism known as the “law of large numbers" which postulates that the probability of all vehicles being involved in an accident (in a given year, for example) diminishes as the number of vehicles increases. In addition to meeting the capital amount requirements of this calculation, a self-insured must be making payments to creditors as the debts become due and not have any unpaid judgments of record.

Section 344.14 (1g), Stats., requires the Secretary to refuse vehicle registration to persons whose registration is revoked for failure to deposit security under the safety responsibility law. DMV has long applied the rule that it would not honor a transfer of vehicle title for a vehicle subject to a registration suspension if the purpose of the transfer was to avoid the repercussions of that statute. Two standards DMV uses to determine whether a transfer was made for the purpose of avoiding the statute are whether a transfer was made without adequate consideration, such as a sale ostensibly for $1, and whether the transferee shares the same address with the transferor. These criteria are now expressly set forth in the rule.

Section Trans 100.20 is amended to clarify that DMV generally purges information from the driver database twice annually. The language of the existing rule left the impression with some readers that the minute an accident meets the criteria for deletion from the public record that the computers somehow immediately purged the information. To the contrary, a special program is run to purge information from driver records twice per year. If the item is eligible for deletion on the date the purge program runs, the information is deleted at that time.

Trans 100.19 is created to provide guidance beyond the statutory provisions in ch. 344, Stats., to clarify the procedures related to the suspension or revocation of driver licenses for failure to pay a damage judgment and license reinstatement procedures. Longstanding administrative practices with regard to acceptance of installment agreements and judgment debtor bankruptcies are codified.

Finally, a provision related to occupational licenses issued to commercial driver license holders is moved from s. Trans 100.18 into ch. Trans 117, which generally deals with occupational licensing.

This regulatory change has no impact on small business. This rule making largely codifies existing DOT policy with regard to the administration of the safety responsibility and damage judgment laws. The Department does not anticipate any fiscal effect upon small businesses from this codification.

The proposed amendments to s. Trans 100.16 that propose solvency requirements for entities that self-insure could theoretically impact businesses. Only 12 companies currently self-insure with the state, and they are all utilities or rental car companies. The Department surveyed these entities and they indicated that they would meet or exceed the standard set forth in the rule. Moreover, none qualifies as a “small business" under s. 227.114, Stats. Accordingly, the Department concludes the amendment would have no fiscal impact upon small businesses.

This rule making largely codifies existing DOT policy with regard to the administration of the safety responsibility and damage judgment laws. The Department does not anticipate any fiscal effect from this codification.

Preparation of this proposed rule was done by the Department's Traffic Accident Section. Copies of the proposed rule may be obtained upon request, without cost, by writing to Pat McCallum, Section Chief, Traffic Accident Section, Room 804, P. O. Box 7919, Madison, WI 53707-7919, or by calling (608) 266-1249. Hearing-impaired individuals may contact the Department using TDD (608) 266-0824. Alternate formats of the proposed rule will be provided to individuals at their request.