Antique Bicycle

Then and now, slower traffic must pull over to let other vehicles pass

07.02.32

Question: Gene Reynolds of Orting wrote in with a reminiscence attached to his question.

“About 60 years ago, on a cold, dark, rainy night, I recall getting pulled over and warned by a motorcycle cop for impeding traffic. His action cost me the attention and affection of the cutest little girl to ever come out of the Renton Highlands. My question now: Is there any law now on the RCW books addressing ‘impeding traffic,’ and if so, how does it pertain to bicycles and antique cars?”

Answer: RCW 46.61.425 (“Minimum speed regulation”) addresses this issue, stating “No person shall drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law...”

Another section of state law (RCW 46.61.427) addresses slow-moving vehicles – which might include antique cars. It instructs “On a two-lane highway where passing is unsafe because of traffic in the opposite direction or other conditions, a slow-moving vehicle, behind which five or more vehicles are formed in a line, shall turn off the roadway wherever sufficient area for a safe turn-out exists, in order to permit the vehicles following to proceed.”

Source: TheNewsTribune.com