The bill amends RCW 46.61.600 to change duties for any person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle left standing unattended. It requires the driver to stop the engine, lock the ignition, remove the key, set the brake effectively, and on any perceptible grade turn the front wheels to the curb or side of the highway. It also defines "remote starter system" as a device that starts a vehicle by remote or radio control and provides that a vehicle started by a remote starter is not considered unattended if the vehicle is locked and the ignition keys are not in the vehicle. The bill creates a post-incident procedural obligation for the most recent driver of a vehicle left standing unattended: if that driver later learns the vehicle became set in motion and struck another vehicle or property or caused injury, the driver must follow RCW 46.52.010 when the vehicle struck an unattended vehicle or property adjacent to a public highway, or RCW 46.52.020 when the vehicle caused damage to an attended vehicle or other property or injury. The bill states that failure to comply with that post-incident obligation is subject to the sanctions in RCW 46.52.020. This is a procedural change tying duties after unattended-vehicle incidents to existing statutory reporting and sanction provisions rather than creating a new crime in the text provided. The bill was prefiled 12/19/24, read for the first time in the Senate 01/13/25, and referred to the Senate Committee on Transportation. The specific contents and sanctions of RCW 46.52.010 and RCW 46.52.020 and the prior version of RCW 46.61.600 are not included in the extracted facts, and it is not clear from these facts whether the bill contains additional sections beyond the amendment shown.

If enacted, drivers will need to routinely stop and secure a vehicle before walking away — shutting off the engine, locking it, removing the key, setting the brake, and turning wheels toward the curb on a perceptible grade — which adds a small but definite time and attention cost to parking and exiting a vehicle. Owners with remote starter systems gain a clear protection: a car started remotely won’t count as “unattended” so long as it is locked and the keys are not inside, which reduces risk of a citation if they warm or cool their car remotely but requires them to ensure the doors are locked each time. Practically, the people most affected are everyday drivers (especially those parking on grades) and owners of remote-start vehicles, who face greater responsibility to secure vehicles and face possible sanctions under the referenced hit-and-run rules if their vehicle later moves and causes damage or injury and they fail to follow the reporting duties. The bill does not specify any new funding or spell out the penalties here — the exact consequences depend on the contents of RCW 46.52.010 and 46.52.020, which are not included in the provided text, so the precise fines or enforcement practices remain unclear.