(1) No person or persons shall occupy any trailer while it is being moved upon a public highway, except a person occupying a proper position for steering a trailer designed to be steered from a rear-end position.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, no person or persons may occupy a vehicle while it is being towed by a tow truck as defined in RCW 46.55.010.

(3)(a) A tow truck operator may allow passengers to ride in a vehicle that is carried on the deck of a flatbed tow truck only when the following conditions are met:

(i) The number of people that need to be transported exceeds the seating capacity of the tow truck or a person needing to be transported has a disability that limits that person's ability to enter the tow truck;

(ii) All passengers in the carried vehicle and in the tow truck comply with RCW 46.61.687 and 46.61.688;

(iii) Any passenger under sixteen years of age is accompanied by an adult riding in the same vehicle; and

(iv) There is a way for the passengers in the carried vehicle to immediately communicate, either verbally, audibly, or visually, with the tow truck operator in case of an emergency.

(b) No passenger of such a carried vehicle may exit the carried vehicle, ride outside of the passenger compartment of the carried vehicle, or exhibit dangerous or distracting behaviors while in the carried vehicle.