SALEM - The Oregon house passed a bill on April 15 to expand protection for farm vehicles. House Bill 2554 would change the definition of vulnerable vehicles to include all tractors in order to make the roads safer for farm equipment.

Rep. Sherrie Sprenger (R-Scio) was the co-chief sponsor of the legislation, at the request of a group of constituents following the death of 16-year-old Nathan Gourley of Scio. Gourley was driving a hay stacker that was hit on July 28, 2008, by a log truck on Richardson Gap Road.

House Bill 2554 sentences drivers convicted of careless driving in injury-causing accidents to complete certain educational requirements, allowing them to get all or part of their sentence suspended.

In 2007, House Bill 3314 created the definition of a "vulnerable user" and added stiffer penalties when a careless driving ticket was issued and the accident caused serious physical injury or death, but the law currently applies only to tractors without an enclosed shell.

"This addresses the oversight of the 2007 law and eliminates the words 'without an enclosed shell' from the definition of tractors," Rep. Sprenger said. That generally excludes combines and newer equipment.

Rep. Sprenger said she worked closely with the Scio community and gained bipartisan support to ensure that the bill would pass.

It is supported by the Oregon Trucking Association and the Oregon Farm Bureau.

House Bill 2554 passed 58-2 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.