OLYMPIA — A controversial bill mandating stricter car audio safety standards easily passed the House on a 71-22 vote Wednesday.
Still, its future remains uncertain as it faces stiff opposition in the Senate.
HB 1615, titled the Courtney Amisson Act, was proposed by Snohomish High School students in response to the 2002 death of a classmate, 15-year-old Courtney Amisson.
Amisson died in a car accident on her way to school when an unfastened 56-pound stereo speaker crashed into her head.
The proposed legislation would require all vehicle sound system components to be secured to the car so they could not be dislodged. Violators would be issued a ticket, although only if they were initially pulled over for another infraction.
While opponents would like to prevent tragedies such as the one that took Amisson’s life, not all are convinced the bill would accomplish that.
Rep. Gigi Talcott, R-Gig Harbor, remembers learning about the dangers of a feather traveling at excessive speeds in her driver’s education class.
"It is absolutely irresponsible behavior to have a loose speaker in your car when you are traveling at excessive speeds — but so is it to have a loose Kleenex box," she said.
While Talcott is concerned by Amisson’s death, she wants to keep officers focused on drunken and erratic drivers.
Michael Eidsmoe, an employee of Seattle’s Stereo Warehouse, believes legislators are examining the wrong scenario.
"The likelihood of this happening is so minimal," Eidsmoe said. It just doesn’t seem likely that such speakers — some of which weigh more than 80 pounds — would lift up 3 or 4 feet when there is friction between the subwoofer box and the carpet, get past the back seat and hit someone in the head, he said.
Eidsmoe added that it seemed much more likely that an unfastened car seat would pose a fatal threat than a heavy speaker.
It was estimated that the Chevrolet Camaro Amisson was riding in was traveling at more than 70 mph — more than twice the 35-mph speed limit — causing the car to miss a turn and go off the road.
In January, driver Nathan Rengen received a 21/2-year sentence after pleading guilty for vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. At his sentencing, he told the judge he wanted to apologize and take responsibility for what happened.
Rep. Hans Dunshee, D- Snohomish, was asked to sponsor the bill by Amisson’s friends and family.
"Besides the fact that the bill is good policy, what was so incredible is that it is a real example of the democratic process," Dunshee said.
The bill passed the House on a 73-23 vote last year but died in the Senate without a hearing. Sen. Jim Horn, R-Mercer Island, chairman of the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee, refused to give the bill a hearing then.
Snohomish student Taryn Simpson, a friend of Amisson’s, and six other Snohomish and Bellevue High students met with Horn in January to see if he would give the bill a hearing this year. Horn did not budge, maintaining that the legislation was unnecessary.
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