Bizarre laws in Washington, such as being charged with reckless driving if hugging while behind the wheel

Strange laws that will have you scratching your head are present in states across the country.

Washington’s most bizarre laws include consequences for using x-ray machines for nonmedical foot measuring, hugging while driving and more. 

Read on to learn about these and more strange laws in Washington. 

Washington has many strange laws that come as surprising to many. (iStock)

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1. Don’t use X-rays as shoe-fitting devices
2. No hugging while driving
3. Don’t harm a carrier or racer pigeon
4. No intimidation with a laser
5. Be wary before Bigfoot hunting

1. Don’t use X-rays as shoe-fitting devices

First among Washington’s strangest laws is one against using X-ray machines for the purpose of nonmedical foot measuring. 

This is stated in Section 70A.388.190 of the Revised Code of Washington. 

“The operation or maintenance of any X-ray, fluoroscopic, or other equipment or apparatus employing roentgen rays, in the fitting of shoes or other footwear or in the viewing of bones in the feet is prohibited,” the law states. 

One of Washington’s laws prevents the use of an X-ray device for nonmedical foot measuring. (iStock)

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“This prohibition does not apply to any licensed physician, surgeon, *podiatrist, or any person practicing a licensed healing art, or any technician working under the direct and immediate supervision of such persons.”

2. No hugging while driving

Lots of factors can be distracting for a driver on the road. In Washington, a law prohibiting hugging while driving is explicitly laid out. 

This law can be found in the Revised Code of Washington, Section 46.61.665, which goes over the Rules of the Road and prohibits “embracing another while driving.”

“It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle upon the highways of this state when such person has in his or her embrace another person which prevents the free and unhampered operation of such vehicle,” the law states. 

Don’t hug and drive in Washington, it’s against the law. (iStock)

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“Operation of a motor vehicle in violation of this section is prima facie evidence of reckless driving,” the law continues. 

3. Don’t harm a carrier or racer pigeon

Washington law prohibits the harming of a carrier or racer pigeon. 

Breaking this law is a “class 1 civil infraction,” the law states. 

In Washington, it’s illegal “for any person, other than the owner thereof or his or her authorized agent, to knowingly shoot, kill, maim, injure, molest, entrap, or detain any Antwerp Messenger or Racing Pigeon, commonly called ‘carrier or racing pigeons,’ having the name of its owner stamped upon its wing or tail or bearing upon its leg a band or ring with the name or initials of the owner or an identification or registration number stamped thereon,” the law reads. 

Harming carrier or racing pigeons is illegal in the Evergreen State. (iStock)

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This is according to the Revised Code of Washington 9.61.190.

4. No intimidation with a laser

Think twice before using a laser as a form of intimidation against another in Washington. 

This law can be found in the Revised Code of Washington 9A.49.020, which highlights “unlawful discharge of a laser in the first degree.

“A person is guilty of unlawful discharge of a laser in the first degree if he or she knowingly and maliciously discharges a laser, under circumstances not amounting to malicious mischief in the first degree,” the law states. 

It’s illegal to use a laser as a form of intimidation in Washington. (iStock)

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The law is then broken down more specifically, including details about pointing a laser in the direction of a law enforcement officer, a pilot, a transit operator and a school bus driver.

5. Be wary before Bigfoot hunting

One of the most popular laws swirling around the state is one regarding Bigfoot. 

Many believe that Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, is a creature that lives in the Pacific Northwest. 

In Washington, specifically Skamania County, there was a law passed in 1969 that protects the Sasquatch from harm, according to the Skamania County Chamber of Commerce website. 

An amended ordinance went into effect in 1984. 

According to Skamania Country Chamber of Commerce, “harming Sasquatch within Skamania County’s borders could cost you one year of jail time and/or a $1000 fine.”

Questions about legalities regarding Sasquatch have come up through the years. 

In Washington’s Skamania County, there is a Bigfoot protection law. (iStock)

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For example, in March 2024, Stevens County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook about a call they received from an individual “inquiring about the legality of hunting Sasquatch.”

The patrol chief responded with the following information. 

“So our Patrol Chief called the inquiring party back to pass on two important pieces of information: Meadow Lake is in Pend Oreille County Sheriff jurisdiction and he would have more information on that topic,” the office said.

“2. There are no Sasquatch in Stevens County. We know this because one of our deputies would have accidentally hit one with a patrol car by now!”