Enforce state’s mud-flap law to stop rocks

I just replaced my car’s windshield — the third rock-damaged windshield I have replaced in three years. Here is the scenario. Gravel trucks litter our highways with rocks. Pickup trucks and SUVs catch the rocks in their deep tire treads and throw them backward into car windshields at bullet speed.

This scenario results from weak laws and lax law enforcement. Many states have laws that require gravel trucks to cover their loads with tarps. Washington does not. Washington does have a law (RCW 46.37.500) requiring that vehicles have bumpers or mud flaps that extend to the middle of the rear axle, which would prevent rocks from being thrown rear-ward. However, virtually every pickup truck and half of the SUVs sold in Washington lack the required mud flaps. These vehicles are illegal the second they leave the dealer’s lot. Why are dealers allowed to sell vehicles that cannot be legally driven on state roads?

It is hardly likely that this law will be enforced, since even the four-wheel drive vehicles driven by the Washington State Patrol fail to comply with our state’s mud flap law! Bad laws and bad law enforcement cause millions of dollars of damage to car windshields each year in Washington. Small wonder that there are more windshield repair shops than Starbucks in our state.

Mark Bothwell

Sultan