The Legislature hereby finds and declares that:

Terms Used In West Virginia Code 17B-1D-1

  • State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10

(a) Motorcycles account for approximately three percent of the state's registered motor vehicles but are involved in over six percent of the state's motor vehicle fatalities.

(b) In terms of fatalities per vehicle mile traveled, the state's motorcyclists face about ten times the risk of passenger car occupants.

(c) Lack of proper riding skills have been shown to be largely responsible for the motorcycle fatality problem.

(d) It is therefore the purpose of this article to provide for a motorcycle safety education program in this state.