(1) The chief of the Washington state patrol may operate, maintain, or designate, throughout the state of Washington, stations for the inspection of commercial motor vehicles, school buses, and private carrier buses, with respect to vehicle equipment, drivers' qualifications, and hours of service and to set reasonable times when inspection of vehicles shall be performed.

(2) The state patrol may inspect a commercial motor vehicle while the vehicle is operating on the public highways of this state with respect to vehicle equipment, hours of service, and driver qualifications.

(3) It is unlawful for any vehicle required to be inspected to be operated over the public highways of this state unless and until it has been approved periodically as to equipment.

(4) Inspections shall be performed by a responsible employee of the chief of the Washington state patrol, who shall be duly authorized and who shall have authority to secure and withhold, with written notice to the director of licensing, the certificate of license registration and license plates of any vehicle found to be defective in equipment so as to be unsafe or unfit to be operated upon the highways of this state, and it shall be unlawful for any person to operate a vehicle placed out of service by an officer unless and until it has been placed in a condition satisfactory to pass a subsequent equipment inspection. The officer in charge of such vehicle equipment inspection shall grant to the operator of such defective vehicle the privilege to move such vehicle to a place for repair under such restrictions as may be reasonably necessary.

(5) In the event any insignia, sticker, or other marker is adopted to be displayed upon vehicles in connection with the inspection of vehicle equipment, it shall be displayed as required by the rules of the chief of the Washington state patrol, and it is a traffic infraction for any person to mutilate, destroy, remove, or otherwise interfere with the display thereof.

(6) It is a traffic infraction for any person to refuse to have his or her motor vehicle examined as required by the chief of the Washington state patrol, or, after having had it examined, to refuse to place an insignia, sticker, or other marker, if issued, upon the vehicle, or fraudulently to obtain any such insignia, sticker, or other marker, or to refuse to place his or her motor vehicle in proper condition after having had it examined, or in any manner, to fail to conform to the provisions of this chapter.

(7) It is a traffic infraction for any person to perform false or improvised repairs, or repairs in any manner not in accordance with acceptable and customary repair practices, upon a motor vehicle.

Findings—Short title—2007 c 419: See notes following RCW 46.16A.010.

Effective date—Severability—1979 ex.s. c 136: See notes following RCW 46.63.010.