Floyd Ply rides a motorcycle. Every once in awhile, he hits a light that doesn’t know he’s there.
“Even trying the turn lane does no good,” he wrote. “What are the rules about going through this light? When is it legal to go through the red?”
There’s a relatively recent state law that answers Ply’s concern.
The 2014 law (“Street legal motorcycle at intersection with inoperative vehicle detection device”) says that if, after one full cycle of the light, it is clear that the signal does not recognize a motorcycle is present, the operator can, “after exercising due care,” go through the light on red.
The law was revised earlier this year to also include bicycles and mopeds — that goes into effect July 24.
Washington is one of the relatively few states with “safe on red” laws.
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