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ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL NO. 327
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C 331 L 85 PV
State of Washington 49th Legislature 1985 Regular Session
By Representatives Baugher, Patrick, Walk, Schmidt, Rayburn, R. King and Silver; by Washington State Patrol request
Read first time 1/30/85 and referred to Committee on Transportation.
AN ACT Relating to motor vehicles; amending RCW 46.37.190 and 46.16.275; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. Section 46.37.190, chapter 12, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 1, chapter 101, Laws of 1982 and RCW 46.37.190 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Every authorized emergency vehicle shall, in addition to any other equipment and distinctive marking required by this chapter, be equipped with at least one lamp capable of displaying a red light visible from at least five hundred feet in normal sunlight and a siren capable of giving an audible signal.
(2) Every school bus and private carrier bus shall, in addition to any other equipment and distinctive markings required by this chapter, be equipped with a "stop" signal upon a background not less than fourteen by eighteen inches displaying the word "stop" in letters of distinctly contrasting colors not less than eight inches high, and shall further be equipped with signal lamps mounted as high and as widely spaced laterally as practicable, which shall be capable of displaying to the front two alternately flashing red lights located at the same level and to the rear two alternately flashing red lights located at the same level and these lights shall have sufficient intensity to be visible at five hundred feet in normal sunlight.
(3) Vehicles operated by public agencies whose law enforcement duties include the authority to stop and detain motor vehicles on the public highways of the state may be equipped with a siren and lights of a color and type designated by the commission on equipment for that purpose. The commission may prohibit the use of these sirens and lights on vehicles other than the vehicles described in this subsection.
(4) The lights described in this section shall not be mounted nor used on any vehicle other than a school bus, a private carrier bus, or an authorized emergency or law enforcement vehicle. Optical strobe light devices shall not be installed or used on any vehicle other than an emergency vehicle authorized by the Washington state commission on equipment or a publicly-owned law enforcement or emergency vehicle. An "optical strobe light device" means a strobe light device which emits an optical signal at a specific frequency to a traffic control light enabling the vehicle in which the strobe light device is used to obtain the right of way at intersections.
(5) The use of the signal equipment described herein shall impose upon drivers of other vehicles the obligation to yield right of way and stop as prescribed in RCW 46.61.210, 46.61.370, and 46.61.350.
Sec. 2. Section 1, chapter 72, Laws of 1983 as amended by section 1, chapter 62, Laws of 1984 and RCW 46.16.275 are each amended to read as follows:
On January 1, 1984, the department of licensing shall implement a system for recording the date of issuance of all vehicle license number plates.
Any person applying for an original or renewal vehicle license after January 1, 1989, shall be required to purchase new or replacement vehicle license number plates before obtaining a new certificate of title or new registration for the vehicle if the vehicle license number plates are five years old or older.
Any person applying for a renewal vehicle license after January 1, 1985, shall be required to purchase replacement vehicle license number plates if the vehicle license number plates were issued on or before January 1, 1968. The owner of a vehicle considered by the owner to be a collector's item may retain and use the pre-1968 plates, notwithstanding any other provisions of chapter 46.16 RCW to the contrary, provided the plates are legible. Otherwise, the provisions of this section shall not apply to a vehicle owned and operated primarily as a collector's item pursuant to RCW 46.16.310, 46.16.311, or 46.16.315.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.