Vehicle equipment matters
On any given outing, your vehicle may run, its tires have air and be keeping up with the flow of traffic. But that doesn’t qualify your ride of being in accordance with a slew of state requirements.
Non-compliance with equipment standards can render your ride unsafe and make you subject to citations from law enforcement officers. Consider, for example, reader S.N.’s experience in that regard.
First, slightly off-topic and in response to a recent column about how one should act when pulled over by the police, he wrote, “Another piece of advice you might offer is do not take off your seatbelt. I was pulled over a few years ago. Pulled to the right and stopped, then removed my seatbelt so I could get to my wallet for ID and insurance info. Even though I’ve worn a seatbelt 100% of the time since I learned to drive in the late ‘70s, was almost given a ticket for not being belted when the officer approached me. Took a while, but the officer finally believed me and accepted the fact I had been using the seatbelt.” Good tip, S.N.
Then, on-topic, he continued, “All this over a broken headlight. I even had the replacement in a bag on the passenger seat, was driving home to install it. I still got a ticket for the headlight, but the judge waived it when I went to court.”
There are a few good reminders in that passage. First, it may be hard to operate unnoticed with faulty equipment. Second, certain officers don’t wish to act as judge and jury by offering warnings. And third, if you feel you have a worthy argument about your alleged offense, take your case to court.
It’s obvious that operational lights are a basic equipment requirement. Done easiest at night, take an occasional walk around your vehicle, looking for outages. Check high beams, turn signals and brake lights along with running lights. Doing so will enhance safety and avoid unwanted attention from the police. The officer you encounter may be more compassionate than the one S.N. did, but why gamble?
There is a voluminous listing of vehicle equipment requirements at the Washington State Legislature Website (apps.leg.wa.gov) and restrictions of aftermarket (add-on by parties other than the vehicle manufacturer) at the Washington State Patrol Website (wsp.wa.gov).
The listings are quite detailed. For example, according to WAC 204-10-022, all vehicles produced after January, 1938, must be equipped “with a device capable of defogging and defrosting the windshield area.” If yours in inoperable, the foggy or frosty windshield may make that evident to watchful police.
Other equipment aimed at safety is all spelled out in legal language, even the “small stuff.” A motor vehicle must be equipped with an operating speedometer “calibrated to indicate miles per hour.” As a consequence of that law, stating, “My speedometer doesn’t work,” would not be a good defense for speeding.
Vehicles manufactured after 1965 must have an operating switch causing all turn signal lamps to flash simultaneously (four-way hazard flasher). A high-beam indicator must be in working order. Your motor vehicle must have a horn “capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than two hundred feet. No horn or other warning device shall emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or whistle nor shall a bell or siren be used as a warning device. The device used to actuate the horn must be easily accessible to the driver when operating the vehicle.” Something as simple as a horn may be instrumental in averting a collision.
I certainly encourage car and truck owners to review these equipment listings. Maximum bumper heights are specified for passenger vehicles and trucks of various sizes. Degrees of window tinting (color, reflectivity and light transmission) are also spelled out.
A leakproof exhaust system is required and a license plate cover is prohibited. Brakes must stop a vehicle going 20 miles per hour in 25 feet on dry pavement and no sign or sticker may obstruct the drivers view.
As noted, the listings are extensive, but worth examining for safety and legality.
Readers may contact Bill Love via email at precisiondriving@spokesman.com.
