Go-kart racing is one of the most exciting things you can do when you are old enough to hang out at an amusement park without your parents but too young to get a driver's license. Go-karts provide just enough speed to bring some much-needed exhilaration to your sheltered adolescence but not enough to contend with highway traffic. They also provide a lot less physical structure than the cars made for city driving. When these roughly car-shaped vehicles that are not made for the highway are somewhere besides a go-kart track, they are known as wheeled all-terrain vehicles (WATVs), and you need a driver's license to drive one. People who get injured in WATV accidents in Washington state have the same rights as people who get injured in other kinds of preventable accidents. A Spokane auto accident lawyer can help you if you have suffered serious injuries in a WATV accident.

Where Can You Drive WATVs in Washington State?

WATVs are four-wheeled vehicles that look like a simplified version of a car; their maximum speed is 35 miles per hour. Some WATVs are safe for road use on city streets where the speed limit does not exceed 35 mph, while others are only approved for off-road use. Whether or not your WATV is street legal, you must register it with the state, just as you would with a motorcycle, and the front and rear license plates on your WATV must be clearly visible. This means that you cannot register your WATV unless you have a valid Washington state driver's license.

It is possible to modify a WATV that was not street-legal when you bought it to make it street-legal. State law indicates that it is illegal to drive WATVs on interstate highways, state roads, and city streets where the speed limit is greater than or equal to 35 miles per hour, but each county has its own local laws about which low-speed streets are legal for WATVs. Spokane County allows WATVs on most roads with low-speed limits.

Your Rights if You Get Injured in a WATV Accident

If you get injured in a WATV accident, you have the right to seek compensation for your accident-related financial losses, such as medical bills, from the party responsible for the accident. Which party is responsible for the accident depends on where and how the accident occurred. For example, if the WATV in which you were riding got into a collision with a car on a city street, then the responsible party is the driver at fault for the accident. If the accident took place at an ATV park where customers pay admission, ten premises liability laws apply, just as they would for an accident where a ride malfunctioned at an amusement park.

Contact West Law Office About Car Accident Cases

A personal injury lawyer can help you if you got injured in a WATV accident on a city street or off-road.  Contact West Law Office in Spokane, Washington to find out more about your legal options.