H-0647.2

HOUSE BILL 1838


State of Washington	65th Legislature	2017 Regular Session

By Representative Schmick

Read first time 01/31/17. Referred to Committee on Transportation.

(1) A person may operate a wheeled all-terrain vehicle upon any public roadway of this state, not including nonhighway roads and trails, having a speed limit of thirty-five miles per hour or less subject to the following restrictions and requirements:

(a) A person may not operate a wheeled all-terrain vehicle upon state highways that are listed in chapter 47.17 RCW; however, a person may operate a wheeled all-terrain vehicle upon a segment of a state highway listed in chapter 47.17 RCW if the segment is within the limits of a city or town and the speed limit on the segment is thirty-five miles per hour or less;

(b)(i) Except as authorized in (b)(ii) of this subsection, a person operating a wheeled all-terrain vehicle may not cross a public roadway, not including nonhighway roads and trails, with a speed limit in excess of thirty-five miles per hour, unless the crossing begins and ends on a public roadway, not including nonhighway roads and trails, or an ORV trail, with a speed limit of thirty-five miles per hour or less and occurs at an intersection of approximately ninety degrees, except that the operator of a wheeled all-terrain vehicle may not cross at an uncontrolled intersection of a public highway listed under chapter 47.17 RCW;

(ii) A person operating a wheeled all-terrain vehicle east of the summit of the Cascade mountains in a county with a population of fewer than fifty thousand as of April 1, 2016, may cross a public roadway with a speed limit of sixty miles per hour or less at an intersection of approximately ninety degrees, except that the operator of a wheeled all-terrain vehicle may not cross at an uncontrolled intersection of a public highway listed under chapter 47.17 RCW. Any city, town, or county may prohibit wheeled all-terrain vehicles from crossing a public roadway with a speed limit of more than thirty-five miles per hour but less than sixty miles per hour by adoption of an ordinance specifying the public roadway or crossing;

(c)(i) A person may not operate a wheeled all-terrain vehicle on a public roadway within the boundaries of a county, not including nonhighway roads and trails, with a population of fifteen thousand or more unless the county by ordinance has approved the operation of wheeled all-terrain vehicles on county roadways, not including nonhighway roads and trails.

(ii) The legislative body of a county with a population of fewer than fifteen thousand may, by ordinance, designate roadways or highways within its boundaries to be unsuitable for use by wheeled all-terrain vehicles.

(iii) Any public roadways, not including nonhighway roads and trails, authorized by a legislative body of a county under (c)(i) of this subsection or designated as unsuitable under (c)(ii) of this subsection must be listed publicly and made accessible from the main page of the county web site.

(d)(i) A person may not operate a wheeled all-terrain vehicle on a public roadway within the boundaries of a city or town, not including nonhighway roads and trails, unless the city or town by ordinance has approved the operation of wheeled all-terrain vehicles on city or town roadways, not including nonhighway roads and trails.

(ii) Any public roadways, not including nonhighway roads and trails, authorized by a legislative body of a city or town under (d)(i) of this subsection must be listed publicly and made accessible from the main page of the city or town web site.

(3) A person may operate a wheeled all-terrain vehicle upon any public roadway, trail, nonhighway road, or highway within the state while being used under the authority or direction of an appropriate agency that engages in emergency management, as defined in RCW 46.09.310, or search and rescue, as defined in RCW 38.52.010, or a law enforcement agency, as defined in RCW 16.52.011, within the scope of the agency's official duties.