Washington Traffic Law Blog : Washington Traffic Lawyer & Attorney : Jon Zimmerman Law Firm : Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma

As 2011 comes to an end and the State of Washington has begun to charge motorists a toll for crossing the 520 Bridge, traffic has decreased by nearly 60 percent as 40,000 daily drivers avoid the toll, according to figures obtained by the Seattle Times. State officials with the Washington Department of Transportation tell us that with decreased traffic, the commute times between Bellevue and Seattle are much faster. What they won’t tell you is that there is a very good chance that the police will issue more speeding tickets on 520 now that people have a greater opportunity to speed due to decreased traffic.   

Don’t believe it? On the first day of tolling, the first car to get tolled was traveling at 76 mph, according to data released by WSDOT. While this event occurred at 5:00 A.M. and the driver was apparently trying to beat the toll by seconds, the ability to speed without traffic is increased, even during peak hours. Officials claim that they don’t share speed data with the Washington State Patrol. That would be illegal. Instead, officials share speed data with the WSP, the media, and everyone who will read about it!  So much for WSDOT obeying the law.  You probably won’t see WSP enforcing any laws against WSDOT, but what you will see are WSP troopers pulling drivers over on 520 and issuing speeding tickets that threaten insurance premiums, people’s driving privilege, and drivers’ livelihoods. 

Although WSDOT would like drivers to use 520 and pay the toll, the tolls will actually have the effect of rerouting traffic to I-90 for toll avoidance while creating an incentive to speed on 520. If a toll on 520 means less traffic there, and WSDOT is talking about a “faster” commute for those who choose 520, drivers will be able to step on the gas. However, drivers should know that WSDOT is not increasing the speed limit to compensate for less traffic on 520. 

Also, no plans to reroute troopers who respond to traffic events on 520 have been reported, which means a smaller officer-to-vehicle ratio on 520 than prior to tolling. All other things staying constant, this means that a car on 520 that is speeding probably has a greater chance at getting pulled over on 520 than prior to tolling. 

My prediction is that in 2012, Seattle area drivers will see a greater police emphasis on enforcing the speed laws on 520 than on I-90. Drivers using I-90 and crossing over Mercer Island to get to places such as Bellevue, I-405, and Issaquah might encounter more traffic, but probably fewer incidents of speeding tickets than on 520.  Happy New Year!  

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Freelance correspondent Karen Aho had a very interesting article last week about a small town in Missouri that collected more than 75 percent of its annual budget from traffic fines.  Unlike in the State of Washington, in Missouri, traffic ticket collections are capped at 35 percent of a town’s revenue.  In Washington, however, police officers from Seattle and Everett and deputy sheriffs and state troopers from King County and other places such as Lewis County and Thurston County patrol state roadways looking to bring in money for their respective municipal, county, and state governments, without any limitation.  

In her article on insurance.com, Aho discovered a 2006 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis that found that the number of tickets issued in municipalities increased on average by 0.4 percent for every 1 percent decline in other revenue.  Aho writes:  “Individual officers may concentrate on public safety, but the data show that departments tend to increase the number of tickets issued during hard times.” 

But in Washington it’s not just municipalities, it’s county and state governments that are also seeing a decline in revenue.  That’s not good news if you’re commuting on I-5 to places like Seattle and Tacoma or you are driving over I-90 to Bellevue and Issaquah.  As declining revenue is continuing to be a problem for local and state governments, expect to see more local police officers, deputy sheriffs, and state troopers pulling drivers over for speeding.  The hope is that people will just pay the fines. 

In Washington, drivers who get and don’t fight their tickets will see these tickets stay on insurance records for three years.  As Aho mentions in her article, the government never even see most of the money auto insurance companies are making off the driver with even one traffic ticket.  Speeding tickets account for millions of dollars of increased premiums for drivers in the State of Washington. 

It’s not uncommon for a driver with even one speeding ticket to see an increase in premiums of more than 20 percent.  Why?  Because insurers think that drivers with even one traffic violation are a greater risk to insure than drivers with no speeding tickets.  Insurance also increases for drivers who get tickets for negligent driving, failing to signal, running a stop sign, improperly being in the HOV, and having a brake light that is out, among other traffic offenses.  

Luckily, a driver in the State of Washington has a choice: pay the fine and allow insurance companies to hike premiums, or contest (fight) the ticket and try to keep the ticket from affecting one’s driving record and insurance.  If you have received a speeding ticket or other type of traffic violation and want to keep it off your record, please contact me.  

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Mayor Mike McGinn wants to punish business districts and drivers in Seattle by raising hourly parking rates to the highest of any city in the U.S.  In addition, the Mayor is advocating the issuance of more tickets.  Plenty of people--residents and visitors alike--are upset about this move.  

But first a personal story, gentle reader.  A few days ago, I parked my car in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood.  After I left an appointment and returned to my car, I noticed one of Seattle’s finest—a parking enforcement officer (PEO) with an Interceptor motor vehicle—pulled up next to my vehicle.  As I was getting ready to hop in my car and drive away, the PEO yelled out to me and asked me: “Why are you parked in a bus lane”? 

I had to explain that I was not parked in a bus lane.  Our parking enforcement officer wanted to know how this could be, so I literally walked around my vehicle to the curb, pointed to the painted sidewalk demarcating the bus lane, pointed to my vehicle that was parked against uncolored concrete, and I explained to him that I was not in violation of any bus lane ordinance.  I also suggested—in my kindest and gentlest tone—that the PEO could write me a ticket, and I would subpoena him to court so that we could discuss the matter further, if he should like.  I wanted to give him options. 

The PEO was very pleasant (which is unusual) and asked me how the bus might get into the bus lane if a vehicle is parked next to it; however, this isn’t my problem, and the lane is long enough for a bus to easily get in and out.  The parking space is legal, King County Metro has buses that drive on city streets where the buses stand and park in bus lanes, and drivers parked nearby but outside the bus lane are—shocking as though it may be to Seattle’s parking enforcement community—legally parked.   

But Mayor McGinn supports zealous—overzealous—enforcement of parking laws, to the point where PEOs are actually issuing tickets to legally parked vehicles.  I know because I was about to get one such bogus ticket.  Forget the fact that parking tickets don’t affect auto insurance premiums like tickets for speeding, HOV, negligent driving, or failing to signal a lane change.  Mayor McGinn wants to punish drivers not to increase public safety, but rather to increase more revenue for the City and punish drivers who choose to work, shop, dine, and do business in Seattle. 

Mayor McGinn’s master plan, according to Chris Grygiel of Seattlepi.com:  raise public parking rates to a high of $4/hour, spend $28,000 for red light photo enforcement, and issue more tickets.  It makes no difference to the Mayor that total tickets are up 23 percent in the last five years or that fines are projected to increase 17 percent for all of 2010. 

One of the biggest problems with Mayor McGinn’s (some have called him Mayor McSchwinn) plan is that all drivers are asked to subsidize pedestrians and bicyclists.  Some may think this is a great idea, but the roads were not designed or paved for bicyclists, yet in Seattle we still allow bicyclists to use the parts of the roadway designed for motor vehicle travel (this may seem normal to most people, but there are locations where roadway use is much more restricted).  To be fair, I like helping pedestrians and bicyclists too, but I do not believe drivers should be treated as a third-class citizenry meant to pay for everyone else.  Charging drivers to throw down some paint to create bike lanes might make bicyclists safer, but narrower vehicular roadways, elimination of vehicular lanes, more Interceptor parking enforcement vehicles, and no decrease in the number of motor vehicles on the road do not ease congestion, traffic, or make riding a bike an easier mode of transportation.  Increasing parking rates in a bad economy also angers businesses and drivers alike.  This has the result of increasing traffic in neighborhoods such as Northgate and areas around the U-Village while also sending business outside Seattle, to places such as Bellevue and Redmond.  

And in case the Mayor didn’t notice, as I mentioned in a previous blog post Mukilteo voters want to stop red-light camera tickets and photo enforcement.  I do not believe Seattle voters, given the opportunity, would react any differently. 

Mayor McGinn calls his critics “conservatives”—apparently anyone who criticizes the City for not acting enough like a business.  But higher parking fees for greater congestion (which will be increased when shoppers flock to downtown stores after 6:00 P.M. to avoid $4/hour downtown parking rates) or anyone who wants to avoid the overzealous issuance of a parking ticket.  

Mayor McGinn's message:  Welcome to Seattle, here's an (undeserved) parking ticket before you leave. 

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I've written before on Washington's new cell phone law that makes it lawful for the police to pull over and cite a driver for holding a cell phone or other wireless communication device to the driver's ear while driving.  The law does not ban speech or talking on a phone with a handsfree device while driving.  

While the police used to need another reason (a primary offense to stop a driver), the new law that takes effect on June 10, 2010 allows the police more power to stop drivers, as the Washington Legislature made a cell phone infraction a primary offense after the Legislature failed to do so earlier in the legislative session.  

One of the upsides of the new law is that it will probably not have a tremendous effect on the poor, who are probably less likely to own vehicles and cell phones.  Parents who want their children to not use cell phones while driving will be pleased to know that the new law prohibits any cell phone use while driving for drivers under the age of 18.  

One of the downsides, however, is the new law's dubious effect on public safety, as Erik Lacitis reports in the Seattle Times.

As reported by Lacitis, studies have shown that the problem with driving stems from driver distraction distraction and not whether a driver is holding the cell phone or speaking into a handsfree device.   

Senator Tracey Eide (D-Federal Way), believes the new law will save lives as drivers talking with a handsfree device will be able to have two hands on the wheel while being able to look left and right.

Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste believes that under the old, secondary offense law, drivers showed outright defiance.  3,000 tickets were apparently not enough in the last two years, and Batiste states that the WSP will be enforcing the new law starting June 10, 2010.   

It's difficult to ascertain whether the new law will encourage more talking on cell phones with handsfree devices and, possibly, increase injuries and deaths or whether the new law will actually save lives by decreasing collisions.  

Washington has had a primary offense seat belt law since 2002, and NHTSA reports that in 2008, Washington's seat belt use was the third-highest among U.S. states at 96.5 percent, trailing only Hawaii and Michigan.  While seat belt use reduces deaths from auto collisions, only time will tell whether a law restricting the manner of talking on a cell phone will decrease the loss of life.  

For now, drivers in Washington should know that starting June 10, 2010, police officers from Blaine to Bellevue and Seattle to Spokane will be enforcing the new law and issuing a lot of tickets.  

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Earlier this week Seattle Times reporter Danny Westneat wrote about his frustration and how his driving habits have changed--for the worse--since Seattle decided to put up red-light cameras.

Since drivers call me daily to talk about red-light camera traffic tickets that motorists have received in the mail (and no one has called me happy to have received such a gift), it is important to note that a red-light camera traffic ticket has no effect on insurance premiums, although if a driver is stopped by a police officer and cited for a red light violation, this latter type of violation does have consequences to insurance costs.

Seattle joins other cities like Auburn, Bellevue, Bremerton, Burien, Federal Way, Fife, Issaquah, Lacey, Lake Forest Park, Lakewood, Lynnwood, Monroe, Moses Lake, Puyallup, Renton, Seatac, Spokane, Tacoma, and Wenatchee in having some form of automated traffic camera devices.

Westneat makes many good observations (more after the jump).

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It appears that on Monday, October 5, 2009, Bellevue will join the growing ranks of Washington cities to use speed cameras in an effort to obtain revenue from unwitting motorists.  Lake Forest Park began using the cameras earlier this year. 

Bellevue alleges that the cameras are part of a "pilot project to improve traffic safety," according to the Seattle Times.  Predictably, Bellevue stands to gain hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.  At least Bellevue might be fiscally safer! 

Although these cameras will probably do nothing to improve safety, the cameras will have the effect of thousands of tickets being issued (and many if not all of them wrongly) to vehicle owners who receive tickets in the mail. 

Here's how it works:  You're dropping your child off at school, and a camera attached to a speed measuring device photographs your vehicle.  The vehicle's owner (perhaps your spouse) gets a ticket in the mail.  Actually, you might even get a few tickets in a day, because it will take time for you to realize that you've even been photographed, traveling, perhaps, 25 mph in a 20 mph zone. 

Don't like speed cameras?  Sponsor an initiative to ban them, or vote your elected officials out of office. 

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