Everything you need to know about new WA negligent driving law that just went into effect

Washington House Bill 1112, which was signed into law in May 2023, finally went into effect this week as the calendar turned to 2025. The new law, which primarily deals with cases of negligent driving that injure or kill a pedestrian, bicyclist or motorcyclist, restructures Washington’s negligent driving law, creating a new charge that can include up to one year in jail.

According to Mark McKechnie, Director of External Relations at the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, the new charge fills a gap in the state’s negligent driving law.

“The legislature passed this new law to try to fill a gap in the law as they saw it where there were limited options for charging a driver who was implicated in the death of a pedestrian, bicyclist or other vulnerable road user,” McKechnie told McClatchy in a phone call. “A driver who is reckless or impaired by drugs or alcohol would also be charged with vehicular homicide, but some kind of lesser problematic behavior often didn’t result in more than a traffic citation.”

Here’s everything you need to know about the new law and its implications across the state of Washington.

Previous negligent driving law

Previously, Washington law contained charges for two categories of negligent driving that applied to a driver endangering someone or risking damage to their property. If the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they could be charged with first-degree negligent driving. If they weren’t, the charge would be reduced to second-degree negligent driving. An additional penalty could be imposed in cases where someone’s negligent driving led to the injury or death of a “vulnerable user of a public way,” such as pedestrians and bicyclists.

Under the new law, a separate charge is created for cases where a vulnerable road user is injured or killed: negligent driving with a vulnerable user victim.

First-degree negligent driving with a vulnerable user victim, a gross misdemeanor, occurs when someone’s negligent driving leads to the death of a vulnerable road user. In order for an incident to be charged under the new category, it must meet three criteria: the driver was negligent, they were driving in a way that endangered a person or property, and a vulnerable road user died as a result.

Someone commits second-degree negligent driving with a vulnerable user victim, meanwhile, when their negligent driving leads to the injury but not the death of a vulnerable road user.

What are WA negligent driving penalties?

The first degree charge can be punished by up to 364 days in jail, as well as a fine of $1,000 to $5,000 and a 90 suspension of driving privileges. Second-degree negligent driving with a vulnerable user victim remains punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and a 90 license suspension.

Who counts as a vulnerable road user?

In addition to pedestrians, state law considers people riding any of the following to be vulnerable users of a public way:

• Bicycles

• Motorcycles

• Tractors

• Animals

• Electric-assisted bicycles

• Mopeds

• Electric personal assistive mobility devices

• Motor-driven bicycles

• Motorized scooters

How common are pedestrian deaths in WA?

The new law comes at a time when Washington is seeing an increase in road deaths. 2023 saw 810 traffic-related deaths in the state, the highest number recorded since 1990, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. That’s the fourth straight year that figure has gone up, after it stood relatively steady around 550 for the second half of the 2010s.

In 2023, 160 of the victims were pedestrians, while another 142 were motorcyclists and 17 were cyclists.

According to McKechnie, WTSC hopes that the new law will help discourage drivers from being careless, although he’s not jumping to any conclusions yet.

“I do think it’s a little early to tell. It’s something that comes into play after a crash has occurred,” McKechnie said. “We do hope there is a deterrent effect, in terms of getting drivers to think and be more careful about how they interact with pedestrians, bicyclists and others.”

What counts as negligent driving?

McKechnie said that a few cases will have to be tried under the new law before we get a sense of how exactly how it will be understood.

“The idea of negligence is probably going to be clarified as these cases are filed by prosecutors and then considered by the courts,” McKechnie said.

However, he said that some typical mistakes that he thinks could fall under the new category include turning right on red without looking for pedestrians, not slowing down in residential and school zone, and not yielding to pedestrians at an unmarked crosswalk.

How is new WA law different from vehicular manslaughter?

Washington law already contained a vehicular homicide charge. The crime is a class A felony, meaning the maximum penalty is a life sentence. So how is first-degree negligent driving with a vulnerable user victim, which only carries a year of jail time, different?

Under Washington’s vehicular homicide law, a driver can be charged if they were driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or driving in a “reckless manner or with disregard for the safety of others,” resulting in someone’s death. While their colloquial usages are similar, when it comes to driving, state law defines negligence as “the failure to exercise ordinary care,” while recklessness is “willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.”

The distinction can sometimes be clear cut – taking your eyes off the road for a second is negligent while street racing is reckless – but at times, it’s not.

According to South Sound Law Group, the primary difference between the two forms of dangerous driving is mental state. Driving recklessly or with disregard for the safety of others, typically requires “an understanding of the risks and consequences of one’s actions and disregarding that risk,” according to the law firm. Negligent driving can consist of the same actions as reckless driving – for example, speeding – but occurs when the driver isn’t aware of and actively disregarding the fact that they’re posing risk to others.

McKechnie has a different way of understanding negligent driving.

“The way I understand it is we sometimes do things we think we can get away with, even though we know we shouldn’t, like going a little too fast or checking our phones,” McKechnie said. “People do get away with those things sometimes. The trouble is when they don’t, it can have serious consequences.”

This story was originally published January 7, 2025 at 5:00 AM.