Law on rear lights in Seattle and Washington State?

[Douglas Migden]



Does anybody on this list have particular knowledge about Seattle and Washington State law in regard to rear lighting  requirements?

I was looking into the law in regard to another bicycle issue and came across the legal requirements for lighting. I was surprised to see the following for Washington State and Seattle respectively:

Washington-

• Riding at night - For night bicycle riding, a white front light (not a reflector) visible for 500 feet and a red rear reflector are required. A red rear light may be used in addition to the required reflector (RCW 46.61.780).

Seattle-

“……distance of at least five hundred feet to the front, and with a red reflector on the seat of a type approved by the State Commission on Equipment, which shall be visible at all distances up to six hundred feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle. A lamp emitting a red light visible from a distance of five hundred feet to the rear may be used in addition to the red reflector.”

The main question is whether a red rear light can be used instead of a red reflector or not? 

There is language at the end of the first link below that suggests the answer is yes- at least in regard to the state law. However, the legal wording uses “in addition to” rather than instead of. 

So far, I’m not able to get a good answer from

SDOT. I was thinking that somebody on this list might have bike law expertise or contacts with applicable knowledge. 

I was also surprised to see that for Seattle the requirement is that the rear reflector/ light specifically be “on the seat.”

Seems to me like the wording is poorly crafted, and it also looks like Seattle just copied over what Washington State came up with and then added the seat requirement. IMO, the “in addition to” language is superfluous if it does not actually mean “instead of.” Furthermore, it seems like this could have confusing liability and insurance ramifications- if a cyclist is hit in the dark.

So far, I’ve not done a deep dive into the legislative history.

Here are the applicable links:

 https://wsdot.wa.gov/travel/bicycling-walking/bicycling-washington/bicyclist-laws-safety

Doug

[don person]

I think it is very clear. “…the REQUIRED reflector.”

Seattle stating seat mounted is strange. 

“A red rear light may be used in addition to the required reflector”

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[DOUGLAS MIGDEN]

The WSDOT link in my original email includes this language (second from last bullet point):

• Use lights at night - The law requires a white headlight (visible from at least 500 feet ahead) and a rear reflector or taillight (visible up to 300 feet from behind).

As you can see, that language uses the word “or” which allows for using a rear light as an option. And it’s from an official SDOT website.

On Oct 17, 2023, at 2:29 PM, don person <don.p...@gmail.com> wrote:



I think it is very clear. “…the REQUIRED reflector.”

Seattle stating seat mounted is strange. 

“A red rear light may be used in addition to the required reflector”

On Tue, Oct 17, 2023 at 11:11 Douglas Migden <drmi...@gmail.com> wrote:



Does anybody on this list have particular knowledge about Seattle and Washington State law in regard to rear lighting  requirements?

I was looking into the law in regard to another bicycle issue and came across the legal requirements for lighting. I was surprised to see the following for Washington State and Seattle respectively:

Washington-

• Riding at night - For night bicycle riding, a white front light (not a reflector) visible for 500 feet and a red rear reflector are required. A red rear light may be used in addition to the required reflector (RCW 46.61.780).

Seattle-

“……distance of at least five hundred feet to the front, and with a red reflector on the seat of a type approved by the State Commission on Equipment, which shall be visible at all distances up to six hundred feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle. A lamp emitting a red light visible from a distance of five hundred feet to the rear may be used in addition to the red reflector.”

The main question is whether a red rear light can be used instead of a red reflector or not? 

There is language at the end of the first link below that suggests the answer is yes- at least in regard to the state law. However, the legal wording uses “in addition to” rather than instead of. 

So far, I’m not able to get a good answer from

SDOT. I was thinking that somebody on this list might have bike law expertise or contacts with applicable knowledge. 

I was also surprised to see that for Seattle the requirement is that the rear reflector/ light specifically be “on the seat.”

Seems to me like the wording is poorly crafted, and it also looks like Seattle just copied over what Washington State came up with and then added the seat requirement. IMO, the “in addition to” language is superfluous if it does not actually mean “instead of.” Furthermore, it seems like this could have confusing liability and insurance ramifications- if a cyclist is hit in the dark.

So far, I’ve not done a deep dive into the legislative history.

Here are the applicable links:

 https://wsdot.wa.gov/travel/bicycling-walking/bicycling-washington/bicyclist-laws-safety

Doug

[DOUGLAS MIGDEN]

Meant to say it’s from an official WSDOT website - not SDOT.

On Oct 17, 2023, at 2:36 PM, DOUGLAS MIGDEN <drmi...@aol.com> wrote: