Wash. Rev. Code » Title 46 · Chapter 46.32
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 46.32.060 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or move, or for any owner to cause or permit to be operated or moved upon any public highway, any vehicle or combination of vehicles, which is not at all times equipped in the manner required by this title, or the equipment of which is not in a proper condition and adjustment as required by this title or rules adopted by the chief of the Washington state patrol.
Any vehicle operating upon the public highways of this state and at any time found to be defective in equipment in such a manner that it may be considered unsafe shall be an unlawful vehicle and may be prevented from further operation until such equipment defect is corrected and any peace officer is empowered to impound such vehicle until the same has been placed in a condition satisfactory to vehicle inspection. The necessary cost of impounding any such unlawful vehicle and any cost for the storage and keeping thereof shall be paid by the owner thereof. The impounding of any such vehicle shall be in addition to any penalties for such unlawful operation.
The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prevent the operation of any such defective vehicle to a place for correction of equipment defect in the manner directed by any peace officer or representative of the state patrol.
[ 1987 c 330 s 705; 1986 c 123 s 5; 1961 c 12 s 46.32.060. Prior: 1937 c 189 s 12; RRS s 6360-12.]

Notes:

Construction—Application of rules—Severability—1987 c 330: See notes following RCW 28B.12.050.
Moving unsafe or noncomplying vehicle: RCW 46.37.010.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1973–2024 · leading case: State v. Simpson, 622 P.2d 1199 (Wash. 1980).
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State v. Simpson, 622 P.2d 1199 (Wash. 1980). · cites it 2× “, RCW 46.32.060; RCW 46.16.135. Thus, the impoundment in this case was not lawful, and the warrantless search of the VIN cannot be justified as an inventory search incident to a lawful impoundment.”
State v. Hill, 842 P.2d 996 (Wash. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 3× “Hill contends the impoundment and search of his vehicle were pretext for a general exploratory search related *304 to the arrest of Mr.”
All Around Underground, Inc. v. Washington State Patrol, 148 Wash. 2d 145 (Wash. 2002). “2d 996 (1993) (construing RCW 46.32.060, under which law enforcement officers are “empowered to impound” unsafe vehicles, to grant discretionary authority to impound).”
In Re Impoundment of Chevrolet Truck, 60 P.3d 53 (Wash. 2002). “2d 996 (1993) (construing RCW 46.32.060, under which law enforcement officers are "empowered to impound" unsafe vehicles, to grant discretionary authority to impound).”
State v. Marchand, 706 P.2d 225 (Wash. 1985). · cites it 2× “Vehicles with dangerous defects may be prevented from further operation, impounded, or directed to a place for repair in accordance with RCW 46.32.060. Washington State Patrol Memo A-24-78 Rev.”
State v. Singleton, 511 P.2d 1396 (Wash. Ct. App. 1973). “RCW 46.32.060; RCW 46.52.110; RCW 46.61.565; RCW 69.”
State v. Marchand, 684 P.2d 1306 (Wash. Ct. App. 1984). “Vehicles with dangerous defects may be prevented from further operation, impounded, or directed to a place for repair in accordance with RCW 46.32.060. We conclude Troopers Richmond and McNinch acted in conformity with RCW 46.”
Aleksey Zorchenko & Nina Zorchenko, App/cr-resps V. City Of Fed. Way, Resp/cr-apps (Wash. Ct. App. 2024). “020, RCW 46.32.060; RCW 46.63.030(1)(c). Police officers are also authorized by statute to direct traffic at the scene of an accident and to penalize a failure to comply.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.