Turning off automatic automobile alarms.
Seattle Mun. Code § 11.84.345
in effect11.84.345 - Turning off automatic automobile alarms.
A. Duty. The owner of a vehicle equipped with an automatic audible theft alarm device shall turn it off or cause it to be turned off within five (5) minutes after the alarm sounds, provided that if such a vehicle is owned by an agency engaged in the business of renting motor vehicles to the public (called a rental agency) and is under lease, the lessee of the vehicle shall turn off or cause the alarm device to be turned off within five (5) minutes after the alarm sounds.
B. Defenses. It is a defense that:
1. The alarm sounded because the vehicle was damaged, or was the object of an unlawful entry or theft or an attempt at an unlawful entry or theft; or
2. When the alarm sounded, the owner or operator attempted to turn the alarm off, but was unable to do so because the alarm equipment had been damaged or tampered with; or
3. The alarm was deliberately sounded as a method of summoning assistance in an emergency involving an injury or threat to life by a person who is present at the site at the time the police arrive; or
4. The vehicle was being used without the consent of the owner, express or implied, and the owner had reported its loss or theft to the police.
C. Allocation of Responsibility Between Rental Agency and Lessee. The notice of civil infraction shall be placed upon the vehicle or issued to the operator and charged to the rental agency as owner unless the rental agency (a) shows that the vehicle had been rented to another at the time of the incident, (b) declares that the audible alarm equipment was in good operating order at the time the vehicle was rented, and (c) supplies the name and address of the lessee of the vehicle. A lessee who receives a notice of civil infraction as an operator or is charged on the basis of an identification by the rental agency may secure the reinstatement or substitution of the rental agency in his or her place, if the rental agency consents thereto at or before a hearing requested to contest the determination, or the rental agency accepts in writing responsibility for the failure of the alarm to be turned off within five (5) minutes, and promises to make payment of the monetary penalty.
(Ord. 116701, § 1, 1993.)
Source: City of Seattle, Seattle Municipal Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=TIT11VETR_SUBTITLE_ITRCO_PT8EQRE_CH11.84BRMIEQ_11.84.345TUOFAUAUALFetched: 11/1/2026