wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 2174 > Original Bill
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The legislative body of a county, city, or town, or the secretary of the department of transportation may create an accident risk zone identifying public roads where there have been a multitude of accidents to provide time for authorities to investigate and implement safety improvements in the designated areas. A county, with the approval of a city or town, may designate an accident risk zone that includes roadways that include public roads within the county and city or town.
Prior to the final establishment of an accident risk zone, the department of transportation, county, city, or town must hold a public hearing where members of the public may view and comment on a map of the designated accident risk zone.
Once an accident risk zone has been designated, the jurisdiction that established the zone or the department of transportation must conduct an engineering and traffic investigation of the public roads in the zone to identify safety improvements, including adjustments to the speed limits.
The Washington state patrol and local law enforcement agencies must coordinate increased enforcement of traffic laws within the accident risk zone in a manner intended to reduce accident risks.
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A person found to have committed any traffic infraction relating to speed restrictions or infraction associated with a vehicle collision in an accident risk zone shall be assessed a monetary penalty equal to twice the penalty assessed under RCW 46.63.110, so long as signs stating that penalties are doubled are posted notifying drivers of the increased penalties on the particular roadway in the accident risk zone where the traffic infraction occurred.
One-half of the amount of penalties that have been doubled for traffic infractions issued within the accident risk zone must be deposited into an account created for the accident risk zone that may be used to pay for the engineering and traffic investigation, creation and installation of road signs, safety improvements, and increased law enforcement presence in the accident risk zone.
The accident risk zone must be dissolved once safety improvements have been implemented. Furthermore, the accident risk zone may be dissolved at the discretion of the city, county, or department of transportation that created the zone, at the recommendation of the department of transportation to a city or county, or by a petition of 10 percent of the property owners, residents, or business owners with property that abuts or is within the accident risk zone that is presented to the city, county, or department of transportation that created the zone.
Cities and towns are authorized to establish accident risk zones in accordance with section 1 of this act.
Counties are authorized to establish, acquire, develop, construct, and improve open space, park, recreation, and community facilities, public health and safety facilities, stormwater control facilities, and highways or any of them pursuant to the provisions of this chapter within and without the cities and towns of the county and for such purposes have the power to acquire lands, buildings and other facilities by gift, grant, purchase, condemnation, lease, devise, and bequest, to construct, improve, or maintain buildings, structures, and facilities necessary for such purposes, and to use and develop for such purposes the air rights over and the subsurface rights under any highway. The approval of the state department of transportation shall be first secured for such use and development of any state highway. For visual or sound buffer purposes the county shall not acquire by condemnation less than an owner's entire interest or right in the particular real property to be so acquired if the owner objects to the taking of a lesser interest or right. Counties are authorized to establish accident risk zones in accordance with section 1 of this act.