Commish's Corner

Can we ride ATVs on county roads in Lincoln County?

This seems to be one of the most common questions lately, but the answer is, it depends. In 2013, the Washington State Legislature passed HB 1632 that allows ATV use on county roads that are posted 35 miles per hour or less. Of course, the ATVs must be licensed and meet certain regulations in order to be legally driven on these roads. It has taken some time for the Department of Licensing to develop the required license plates and paperwork, but you can now license your ATV. Just because your ATV is licensed still does not mean that it is legal to operate on the public roads. It is up to the vehicle owner to make sure that the ATVs meet all the requirements and RCW 46.09. Assuming all the legal requirements are met, you can now operate an ATV on roads in Lincoln County that are posted 35 mph or less.

The next question is, where are those roads? We are currently working on a map, but Lincoln County has many, many miles of primitive roads that have no warning signs or speed limit signs posted. One would reasonably think that these roads would qualify for ATV use. That is not the case. All roads within the county are 50 mph unless otherwise posted. The roads that you can ride on are scattered out all over the county. We have a total of 94 miles posted 35 or under. But, many of these miles are in short stretches in the middle of an existing road that has a higher speed limit, effectively making them useless for riding ATVs on. The BLM currently has about 15 miles of roads on public land in Lincoln County that are open for ATV use, however most of these are not accessible via county roads. So basically, there is not a very big opportunity for ATV enthusiasts in Lincoln County to take advantage of the new law.

There is language in the statute that would seem to indicate that counties DO have the authority to designate roads suitable for ATV use regardless of the speed limit. However, there is also language that allows counties to regulate the use of ATV’s provided the regulations are not less stringent than the state law, which could be read to mean that allowing them on faster roads would be less stringent, therefore prohibited. Tough to follow, I know. The new law is very ambiguous and contradictory.

So the question remains, does a county have the legal authority to open roads with a speed limit greater than 35 mph to ATV use? I feel that it is in the best interest of the county to seek clarification from the state attorney general before proceeding any further. If in fact the public wants to pursue opening up more roads, we need to do it in a way that is prudent and limits our potential liability as much as possible. So we have requested a formal opinion from the attorney general.

Next comes the philosophical conversation. When I talk to people about this, the general consensus is that they would like to see all county roads opened up. I can see many positive things about doing this, but just like anything, there is also a negative side. At least one Washington county has been sued by environmental groups. The fear is that the ATVs will eventually drive off the road onto private property and damage wilderness or forested areas.

Liability is always a huge concern whenever new rules are implemented. Would the county incur additional liability? What would happen if someone were to get in an accident on an ATV on a county road? Could the county be held responsible? These are just some of the questions that need to be considered, because it never ceases to amaze me what people will sue local governments for. The possibility exists for being held liable for just about anything we do on the county road system or in general government, so we just need to weigh out the benefits and risks.

It could be awhile before we hear back from the attorney general, but if the response is favorable, we would like to have several public hearings throughout the county, so everyone’s voice is heard. In the meantime, please feel free to call, email or facebook me with your viewpoint, so that I can add it to my file.