S-333                 _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 3464

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1985 Regular Session

By Senators Bottiger, Lee, Saling, Johnson, Bailey and Owen

Read first time 1/31/85 and referred to Committee on Parks and Ecology.

AN ACT Relating to special requirements for organized competitions of off-road vehicles; and amending RCW 46.09.120 and 70.107.080.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 17, chapter 47, Laws of 1971 ex. sess. as last amended by section 41, chapter 136, Laws of 1979 ex. sess. and RCW 46.09.120 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) 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 which is restricted to pedestrian or animal travel; and

          (i) On any public lands in violation of rules and regulations of the agency administering such lands.

          (2) An off-road vehicle engaged in an organized competitive event regulated by rules of the department of ecology under RCW 70.107.080 is exempt from subsection (1) of this section while participating in such organized competitive events at facilities authorized for the holding of such organized competitive events.

(3) It is a misdemeanor for any person to operate any nonhighway vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance.

        Sec. 2.  Section 8, chapter 183, Laws of 1974 ex. sess. and RCW 70.107.080 are each amended to read as follows:

          The department shall, in the exercise of rule-making power under this chapter, provide exemptions or specially limited regulations relating to recreational shooting, off-road vehicles engaged in organized competitive events at authorized facilities, and emergency or law enforcement equipment where appropriate in the interests of public safety.

          The department in the development of rules under this chapter, shall consult and take into consideration the land use policies and programs of local government.