BILL REQ. #:  H-0949.1 

Read first time 01/25/11.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to the limited use of off-road motorcycles on highways; amending RCW 46.09.470; adding a new section to chapter 46.04 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 46.61 RCW; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 46.04 RCW to read as follows:
     "Off-road motorcycle" means a motorcycle as defined in RCW 46.04.330 that is labeled by the manufacturer's statement or certificate of origin as intended for "off-road use only" or a similar message stamped into the frame of the motorcycle, contained in the owner's manual, or affixed to any part of the motorcycle.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 46.61 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, a person may operate an off-road motorcycle upon a highway of this state having a speed limit of thirty-five miles per hour or less, or forty-five miles per hour or less as provided in subsection (5) of this section, if:
     (a) The person does not operate an off-road motorcycle upon state highways that are listed in chapter 47.17 RCW;
     (b) The person does not operate an off-road motorcycle upon a highway of this state without first having obtained and having in full force and effect a current and proper ORV registration or temporary ORV use permit under chapter 46.09 RCW. The department must track off-road motorcycles in a separate registration category for reporting purposes;
     (c) The person does not operate an off-road motorcycle upon a highway of this state without first obtaining a valid driver's license issued to Washington residents in compliance with chapter 46.20 RCW;
     (d) The person operating an off-road motorcycle does not cross a roadway with a speed limit in excess of thirty-five miles per hour, or forty-five miles per hour as provided in subsection (5) of this section, unless the crossing begins and ends on a roadway with a speed limit of thirty-five miles per hour or less, or forty-five miles per hour or less as provided in subsection (5) of this section, and occurs at an intersection of approximately ninety degrees, except that the operator of an off-road motorcycle must not cross an uncontrolled intersection of streets and highways that are part of the state highway system subject to Title 47 RCW unless that intersection has been authorized by local authorities under subsection (4) of this section.
     (2) Any off-road motorcycle operated under this section must have a headlight, taillight, and brake light, and a mirror on both the left and right handlebar.
     (3) Any person who violates this section commits a traffic infraction.
     (4) This section does not prevent local authorities, with respect to streets and highways under their jurisdiction and within the reasonable exercise of their police power, from regulating the operation of off-road motorcycles on streets and highways under their jurisdiction by resolution or ordinance of the governing body, if the resolution or ordinance is consistent with this title, except that:
     (a) Local authorities may not authorize the operation of off-road motorcycles on streets and highways that are part of the state highway system subject to Title 47 RCW;
     (b) Local authorities may not prohibit the operation of off-road motorcycles upon highways of this state having a speed limit of thirty-five miles per hour or less; and
     (c) Local authorities may not establish requirements for the registration of off-road motorcycles.
     (5) In counties consisting of islands whose only connection to the mainland are ferry routes, a person may operate an off-road motorcycle upon a highway of this state having a speed limit of forty-five miles per hour or less. A person operating an off-road motorcycle as authorized under this subsection must not cross a roadway with a speed limit in excess of forty-five miles per hour, unless the crossing begins and ends on a roadway with a speed limit of forty-five miles per hour or less and occurs at an intersection of approximately ninety degrees, except that the operator of a off-road motorcycle must not cross an uncontrolled intersection of streets and highways that are part of the state highway system subject to Title 47 RCW unless that intersection has been authorized by local authorities under subsection (4) of this section.
     (6) Accidents must be recorded and tracked in compliance with chapter 46.52 RCW. An accident report must indicate and be tracked separately when any of the vehicles involved are an off-road motorcycle.

Sec. 3   RCW 46.09.470 and 2006 c 212 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, it is a traffic infraction for any person to operate any nonhighway vehicle:
     (a) In such a manner as to endanger the property of another;
     (b) On lands not owned by the operator or owner of the nonhighway vehicle without a lighted headlight and taillight between the hours of dusk and dawn, or when otherwise required for the safety of others regardless of ownership;
     (c) On lands not owned by the operator or owner of the nonhighway vehicle without an adequate braking device or when otherwise required for the safety of others regardless of ownership;
     (d) Without a spark arrester approved by the department of natural resources;
     (e) Without an adequate, and operating, muffling device which effectively limits vehicle noise to no more than eighty-six decibels on the "A" scale at fifty feet as measured by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) test procedure J 331a, except that a maximum noise level of one hundred and five decibels on the "A" scale at a distance of twenty inches from the exhaust outlet shall be an acceptable substitute in lieu of the Society of Automotive Engineers test procedure J 331a when measured:
     (i) At a forty-five degree angle at a distance of twenty inches from the exhaust outlet;
     (ii) With the vehicle stationary and the engine running at a steady speed equal to one-half of the manufacturer's maximum allowable ("red line") engine speed or where the manufacturer's maximum allowable engine speed is not known the test speed in revolutions per minute calculated as sixty percent of the speed at which maximum horsepower is developed; and
     (iii) With the microphone placed ten inches from the side of the vehicle, one-half way between the lowest part of the vehicle body and the ground plane, and in the same lateral plane as the rearmost exhaust outlet where the outlet of the exhaust pipe is under the vehicle;
     (f) On lands not owned by the operator or owner of the nonhighway vehicle upon the shoulder or inside bank or slope of any nonhighway road or highway, or upon the median of any divided highway;
     (g) On lands not owned by the operator or owner of the nonhighway vehicle in any area or in such a manner so as to unreasonably expose the underlying soil, or to create an erosion condition, or to injure, damage, or destroy trees, growing crops, or other vegetation;
     (h) On lands not owned by the operator or owner of the nonhighway vehicle or on any nonhighway road or trail, when these are restricted to pedestrian or animal travel;
     (i) On any public lands in violation of rules and regulations of the agency administering such lands; and
     (j) On a private nonhighway road in violation of RCW ((46.09.115(3))) 46.09.450(3).
     (2) It is a misdemeanor for any person to operate any nonhighway vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance.
     (3)(a) Except for an off-road vehicle equipped with seat belts and roll bars or an enclosed passenger compartment, it is a traffic infraction for any person to operate or ride an off-road vehicle on a nonhighway road without wearing upon his or her head a motorcycle helmet fastened securely while in motion. For purposes of this section, "motorcycle helmet" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 46.37.530.
     (b) Subsection (3)(a) of this section does not apply to an off-road vehicle operator operating on his or her own land.
     (c) Subsection (3)(a) of this section does not apply to an off-road vehicle operator operating on agricultural lands owned or leased by the off-road vehicle operator or the operator's employer.
     (4) It is not a traffic infraction to operate an off-road vehicle on a street, road, or highway as authorized under RCW ((46.09.180)) 46.09.360 or section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   This act takes effect August 1, 2011.