Seattle stop-and-go traffic inspires special organ transplant vehicles bill
(The Center Square) – Seattle freeway traffic is known nationwide to be bad. According to one member of the Washington Legislature, that congestion could kill when patients are waiting for organ transplants.
“I cannot imagine how devastating it would be if one of my loved ones did not receive the life-saving organ they needed because traffic was bad in Seattle,” said Rep. Sam Low, R-Lake Stevens, in a statement.
Low is currently test-driving a solution in the form of House Bill 1271, “An act relating to organ transport vehicles.”
The representative from Lake Stevens believes this bill will “help ensure traffic jams are not the reason a life-saving organ becomes unviable.”
It would get around the bad traffic problem by allowing designated organ transport vehicles and drivers to use flashing lights and sirens, such as fire, police, and emergency vehicles do now.
The lights and noise indicate to motorists that they should get out of the way or, at the very least, not obstruct that vehicle’s progress.
Scott Demczyszyn, vice president of the Nationwide Organ Transport Alliance, explained the need for these specific vehicles and designations during a public hearing on the bill in the state House Transportation Committee this session.
“Emergency medical service vehicles are typically used for the transportation of time-sensitive, life-saving organs in the region, but EMS providers are stretched thin, and organ transportation is not their highest priority,” Demczyszyn testified.
Representatives passed the bill through the state House 95-0 Friday.
A fiscal note for the legislation estimates the cost to the Washington Department of Health at $158,000 in the 2023-2025 biennium.
The bill now goes to the state Senate for its approval.
