Q: You wrote an article about a woman who was cited for honking as she drove past a protest. If the protesters were brandishing a sign that invited people to honk, should they be cited, too? Along the same theme, are there places where it’s illegal to beg because there’s no place to legally park, so stopping would impede traffic? Can a person be held responsible for asking a driver to do something illegal?

A: There’s a house on a rural road not too far from where I live, and the owner has a big hand-painted sign facing the road that reads, “Rip a skid.” Judging by the tire marks on the pavement, the sign seems to be working.

Should the homeowner be, at least partly, responsible for those burnouts? Holding protestors, panhandlers, and skid lovers responsible for the behavior of drivers seems like a stretch, but as I thought about this, I knew of one traffic violation that clearly holds accomplices accountable: street racing.

I think everyone knows racing on public streets is illegal. Washington’s racing law also states, “Any person who knowingly aids and abets racing … may be charged and prosecuted as an accomplice.” It then references another law that I bet most people aren’t aware of, called “Attempting, aiding, abetting, coercing, committing violations, punishable.” It’s a mouthful, but nothing compared to the actual lineup of ways that you can be found guilty of a traffic offense (and not just racing).

I won’t list them all, but as a sampler, if you attempt, conspire, aid or encourage the commission of a traffic violation, or if you coerce, permit or direct someone to commit that violation, you’re also guilty of the offense.

Depending on how you interpret that, it appears there’s a pretty low bar for being an accomplice to a traffic violation. As a passenger in a car of a speeding driver, are you permitting speeding if you don’t ask the driver to slow down? I’ve never heard of a passenger getting a speeding ticket for not challenging the driver. But telling the driver to speed seems like it could be a violation, so all of you folks who tell your cab or rideshare drivers, “I’m late, can you pick up the pace?” maybe you broke the law. (Although I’m not aware of any passengers getting a ticket for this either.)

What about helping an impaired person find their car keys so they can leave the party? Now we’re getting into actions that clearly influence the outcome. I’m speculating here because I don’t have any court cases to back these up, so I’ll just suggest that the more of a role you take in another driver’s actions, the more responsibility you share in the results.

This discussion wouldn’t be complete without mentioning hitchhiking, because it’s one example where the law puts the responsibility on the non-driver. It’s illegal to hitchhike at any place where a driver can’t safely stop off the roadway. You might make the parallel that both a hitchhiker and beggar are asking a driver to stop for them. While the purpose is different, the impact on driving is similar, but there isn’t a law prohibiting begging like there is for hitchhiking.

Regardless of how you interpret the law on traffic violator accomplices, this discussion brings up an important point; even when we’re not driving, we have the potential to influence drivers, for good or bad. Whether you’re a protestor, passenger, hitchhiker, panhandler, or party host, consider how your actions and what you ask of drivers influence the safety of everyone on the road.

Doug Dahl is with the Traffic Safety Commission and writes a periodic column for this newspaper.