City of Gold Bar ORV (Off-Road-Vehicles) and WATV (Wheeled All-Terrain Vehicles)!
With the weather warming, now is a good time to review the rules for ORV(Off-Road-Vehicles) and WATV(Wheeled All-Terrain Vehicles) inside the City of Gold Bar. Since June of 2019, WATVs have been allowed on city streets and inside city limits on US 2, where the speed limit does not exceed 35 MPH, as long as they meet the requirements listed in in Chapter 10.18 of the city municipal code at GBMC 10.18 If you operate a WATV on city streets, please adhere to the rules of the road, and share this information with anyone who might be unaware of the details. If you value the freedom provided by this ordinance, please familiarize yourself with the requirements so that it does not become a right we are in danger of losing.
A partial list of requirements include:
- Legal WATVs must be registered and include an annual On-Road tab as listed and required in RCW 46.09
- Any wheeled all-terrain vehicle operated on a city street shall include the equipment listed in GBMC 10.18.040 including headlights, taillights, turn signals, etc.
- Operators must be licensed drivers.
- Helmets are required for operators and passengers unless WATV is equipped with seat belts, roll bars, or enclosed passenger compartment.
- A person who operates a wheeled all-terrain vehicle shall carry proof of current liability insurance in compliance with, and with coverage limits at least equivalent to the amounts set forth in, Chapter 46.29 RCW.
- Riders must obey all traffic control devices and rules of the road.
- Drivers may not operate WATVs in a negligent or unsafe manner, may not tow anything behind the WATV, may not operate WATVs side by side in a single lane of traffic, and shall not carry passengers unless the WATV is equipped for passengers.
- WATVs may not be operated on sidewalks, in parks, on trails, bike paths, or anywhere operation of motorized vehicles is prohibited.
- WATVs are required to have an identifying flag as listed in the GBMC.
Other than WATVs meeting the above requirements, dirt bikes, mini-bikes, go-karts, and other non-highway motorized vehicles are not allowed on city streets. Only street legal registered vehicles with licensed drivers.
Any person who violates a provision of this chapter is guilty of a traffic infraction and will be punished by the imposition of a monetary penalty as authorized by RCW 46.09.485, as existing or hereafter amended; provided, that conduct that constitutes a criminal traffic offense may be charged as such and is subject to the maximum penalties allowed for such offenses. Any law enforcement officer may issue a notice of traffic infraction for a violation of subsection (1) of this section whether or not the infraction was committed in the officer’s presence, as long as there is reasonable evidence presented that the operator of the wheeled all-terrain vehicle committed a violation of subsection (1) of this section.