Washington 14th District State Representative Chris Corry has prefiled a road safety plan bill that targets reducing lane departure accidents and fatalities in rural communities.  The Washington Traffic Safety Commission has identified lane departure problems as one of the top causes of serious injuries on Washington’s roadways, especially in rural areas.  The 14th District lawmaker’s proposal would establish the “Reducing Rural Roadway Lane Departure Safety Program” designed to help prevent lane departure vehicle crashes and fatalities.  House Bill 1605 would establish a program at the Washington State Transportation Department that allows high-risk areas to request installation of several types of highway improvements, including painting wider markings on roads, visible for vehicles with lane departure technology, improving lighting and signage, applying surface road treatments, removing or relocating fixed objects in the right of ways and widening roadway shoulders and/or modifying roadway design.  Funding for the program would be provided every biennium in the state’s transportation budget.