Traffic Q&A: HOV lanes open to boat trailers

Q: Is it legal to pull a boat trailer in an HOV lane provided there is more than one person in the vehicle pulling the trailer? What about a fifth-wheel? Frank U., Graham

A: So you want to get yourself and your buddy to that fishing hole or camping spot as quickly as possible, do you, Frank?

Well, good news.

The HOV lanes are open to you.

According to our research, which was confirmed by State Trooper Chris Webb, the use of HOV lanes is regulated by RCW 46.61.165 and WAC 468-510-010.

The WAC spells out pretty clearly what vehicles are allowed, to wit:

▪ Rubber-tired municipal transit vehicles.

▪ Buses with a carrying capacity of 16 or more persons, including the operator.

▪ Motorcycles.

▪ Recreational vehicles with the number of occupants specified on official signs.

▪ Official marked law enforcement and fire department vehicles equipped with emergency lights and sirens.

And, most importantly for our discussion here:

▪ “All other vehicles with the occupants specified on signs, except that trucks in excess of 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight (GVW) are prohibited from the use of HOV lanes regardless of the number of occupants.”

Neither the WAC nor the RCW specifically prohibit boat trailers, fifth-wheel trailers, tent trailers, personal cargo trailers or any other kind of trailer that we can discern, aside from the GVW restriction listed above.

Now, merging to and from the HOV lane while pulling a boat behind you seems like more of a challenge than we’d like to take on, regardless of whether the fish are biting.

We have enough trouble with that in our passenger car.

But we’ll leave that to your judgment and driving skills, Frank.

This story was originally published February 21, 2016 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Traffic Q&A: HOV lanes open to boat trailers."