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

Whether you decide to travel from Spokane to Seattle, Yakima to Yelm, or points in between during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, you will probably notice an increased police presence.  But rather than serve you some turkey and pumpkin pie, the police will be serving motorists with speeding tickets and other traffic tickets for such offenses as negligent driving, following too close, and improper lane change. 

The days preceding and following holidays are typically among the times of year when most fatality-collisions occur.  According to AAA, 2.1 million more travelers will be on the road this year during the hoilday weekend. 

Officers will not only be responding to collisions and looking for speeding, but also for drivers and passengers not wearing seat belts and also for cars with expired tabs. 

Of course, should you receive a ticket for a moving violation, you will want to fight it so that you can save money on insurance premiums and keep your driving record clean. 

Happy Thanksgiving and safe driving this holiday weekend. 

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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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Today the Seattle Times reports that the WSP will have extra patrols on I-5 in King County while road crews make repairs. 

The State Patrol claims that "Worker and motorist safety is always [the State Patrol's] top priority."  The second priority is likely issuing motorists tickets, as fines are doubled in construction zones.  

For those drivers traveling on I-5 in the Seattle area, you risk getting stopped and issued a speeding  ticket that can increase your insurance premiums and affect your driving privilege.  If you get such a speeding or other traffic ticket, don't panic - give me a call. 

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Several months ago, Seattle's mayor, city council, and police chief collaborated on obtaining Seattle's first "speed van," a $174,000 Chevy Uplander paid for by Seattle taxpayers.  

City officials are quite proud of this expense because they believe more people will be issued tickets and that speed cameras help reduce vehicular speed.  Only time will tell whether the speed cameras will reduce collisions. 

Speed van photo enforecment began last month.  For now, expect to be issued a $189 ticket if you speed and get picked up by the speed van. 

You can read more about the van and see a photo of it in the Seattle PI article.

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Recently the Seattle P-I published an article about a motorcyclist who was arrested for allegedly driving 164 mph in Oregon. Many drivers call my office to ask me if traveling a certain speed, such as 90 or 100 mph, constitutes reckless driving in the State of Washington. The answer is that any speed beyond  Washington's maximum speed limits could serve as prima facie evidence of reckless driving, which in Washington is a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. The prosecuting authority would, however, have to prove the charge of reckless driving (which unlike a speeding infraction includes wanton and willful disregard of persons or property) to the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt. So in Washington, if a driver is traveling 26 mph in a 25 mph zone, that person can be arrested (though it is unlikely and unusual). But if you're allegedly traveling 164 mph on a motorcycle, you are at high risk of getting arrested and charged with reckless driving. In most speeding cases, drivers are issued notices of infraction - that is, speeding tickets - which are civil infractions. The penalties for infractions do not include jail time, but the penalties do include monetary fines, higher insurance costs, and potential suspension or revocation of the driving privilege. But drivers in Washington should be aware that a police officer has the judgment call of citing a driver for reckless driving - and even arresting the driver on the spot - if the police officer believes the driver is disregarding the safety of persons or property. Getting stopped by the police can be a scary experience for many people, but luckily you have a lot of options and rights when you get stopped, cited, and even arrested. If you've received a citation and need help fighting it, give me a call, I can help.

UPDATE (NOVEMBER 9, 2008):

I realize the original post left out a few important points that I wish to clarify for my readers.  While officers maintain the "judgment call" of arresting certain drivers for reckless driving and citing other drivers for speeding infractions, I want to be very clear that an arrest for reckless driving does not mean a driver who was allegedly speeding is automatically guilty because the officer has chosen to make an arrest for reckless driving.  Although vehicular speed can in some cases amount to reckless driving, a driver can really no longer be lawfully convicted of reckless driving by evidence of speed alone where there is other evidence that a jury can weigh with regards to the offense, even though RCW 46.61.465  states that speeding shall be prima facie evidence of driving a vehicle in a reckless manner.  I have updated the original post to include the words "wanton and willful disregard of persons or property" with regards to reckless driving in order to avoid any confusion between speeding and reckless driving.

In 1994, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed a King County conviction involving two vehicular assault charges.  The Court reviewed Washington's reckless driving statute  because driving a vehicle in a reckless manner was the predicate to the appellant's assault convictions.  State appeals had been exhausted, a defendant's constitutional right violated, and the defendant-appellant remained in jail. 

The Court stated:

But instruction number 7 isolated speed as the only circumstance needed to permit the jury to find reckless driving and thereby convict Schwendeman. The jury was told, in effect, that it could ignore all the other evidence, consider only the evidence of Schwendeman's speed, and if [the jury] found [appellant] was exceeding the speed limit, that was enough to convict him--not of speeding, but of reckless driving.
 

"By focusing the jury on the evidence of speed alone, the challenged instruction erroneously permitted the jury to" convict the appellant without allowing the jury to consider all of the other evidence. 

In short, the Court differentiated between speeding and reckless driving, and the Court reversed the state courts and ordered respondent to release the appellant from the King County Jail unless appellant could be granted, within a reasonable time, a new trial. 

The case is Schwendeman v. Wallenstein, 971 F.2d 313 (9th Cir. 1992).  

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Last week the AP picked up a story from the Southwest Washington Columbian newspaper about the WSP's increased frequency of issuing speeding tickets to motorists in Washington. Not only is the WSP issuing more traffic tickets, the WSP has incentives to do so:  some of the money from ticket fines are used to fund the agency and the agency won an award from the International Association of Police Chiefs for the best state police agency of its size when the WSP's speeding ticket total exceeded the total from the previous year. Some interesting statistics found in the article:

• Snohomish County and Clark County have the highest number of tickets issued per mile on state and federal highways (it's unclear whether these counties beat out other states or if state highways refer only to Washington)
• The WSP issued 280,000 speeding tickets in Washington in 2006, an increase of 55,000.  These tickets are also only for speeding.  These numbers do not include other types of traffic offenses and this number does not include the hundreds of thousands of tickets issued by municipal police departments and  county sheriffs' departments.
• In the first half of 2007, troopers issued more than 165,000 speeding tickets
• Although tickets are up, fatalities were up 23% on Washington highways in the first eleven months of 2007.
• Troopers in Asotin County, in the far southeast corner of the state, issued only 155 tickets for the first half of 2007.
• Spokane County ranks 7th highest among Washington counties for speeding tickets issued.
• Of all Washington counties, Adams County has the highest number of WSP speeding tickets per 100 residents.
• King County and Pierce County are in the bottom third of Washington counties for WSP speeding tickets when number of residents is considered.
• Motorists now receive speeding tickets in 60%-65% of traffic stops, up from 44%, a 36%-48% increase.
• The WSP is aggressively searching to fill 86 vacancies for its "field force" - the troopers who give traffic tickets to motorists.

The bottom line is that a higher number of speeding tickets means more more people will probably pay their tickets, resulting in increased insurance premiums and tarnished driving records. This is why it's critical to have an experienced traffic attorney fight to keep your driving record clean and your insurance costs low.  If you received a speeding ticket or ticket for another type of traffic offense, call me today - help is only a phone call away.

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An article recently appeared in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel about police in Waukesha, Wisconsin using RADAR to clock sledders and snowboarders. It appears as though the police in America's Dairyland were not out to issue citations, but rather officers were around to tell people that they might have been traveling a whopping 19 MPH.   It is worth clicking on the link just to observe one of the Waukesha officers with his RADAR gun pointed at sledders in Lowell Park. Here in Washington, the police seem much more interested in citing motorists than they do educating sledders.  Whether you get a ticket for sledding too fast or speeding in a motor vehicle, drop me a note or give me a call.

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Beginning January 1, 2008, drivers in the State of Washington face a ticket if caught reading, writing, or sending a text message while driving.  This especially will affect  drivers who work at Microsoft and other high-tech companies as these drivers often employ wireless technology while on the road. There are a few exceptions (affirmative defenses) to committing this infraction, such as sending a message to summon help in an emergency, but many if not most drivers caught texting while driving will face a ticket. However, there is some good news about this type of ticket, and some bad news. The good news first - this type of ticket (or infraction in legal lingo) is a "secondary infraction," meaning that a police officer has to have another reason to pull you over (speeding, unsafe lane change, etc.).  Also good news is that state law prohibits this type of infraction from being reported to insurance companies. So what's the bad news?  If you get cited for texting while driving, you'll likely end up cited for a second infraction - that is, the speeding ticket or driving on the shoulder ticket or other type of primary moving violation that got you pulled over in the first place.  Now you'll have two infractions to deal with and one that can affect your insurance. If you should receive a texting ticket with some other type of violation, please call me for a free consultation.

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Police in several towns in King and Snohomish counties are toughening their approach to immigration (even legal immigration!) by arresting drivers that police suspect of being illegal, the Seattle Times reported. Take the case of Jose Luis Diaz: he was pulled over for speeding and detained by authorities for 8 days before he could present the proper paperwork to an immigration judge.  In fact, Mr. Diaz was released after he was able to show that his wife is a U.S. citizen and that he is in the process of obtaining legal status.  Of course, Mr. Diaz's arrest did not come before he lost a good job (and good wages). Other drivers who are going to pay parking tickets ended up being detained by immigration agents.  This is happening in places such as Pacific, Lynnwood, and Bothell. If motorists do not take care of their tickets, these same drivers will have a tough time renewing their drivers' licenses, working for American  businesses, and maintaining insurance. If you received a speeding or other traffic ticket and you are worried about your legal status, you can still fight your ticket without going to jail or being detained by immigration authorities.  Give me a call if you want help fighting your ticket.

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Recently the Washington Department of Transportation released data collected January 1 - March 31, 2007, that ranked the top locations for vehicles moving faster than 90 MPH based on the highest number of vehicles traveling 90 MPH or quicker. Of the top 10 locations, 6 of them were in King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties, in places including Issaquah, Fife, Seattle, and Tacoma. It is unknown whether every inch of state highway was tested, or whether western Washington was specifically targeted, or whether the top locations have a higher number of vehicles traveling 90 or over because more cars cross that area or if the vehicles traveling 90 or over actually amount to a higher percentage of speeding cars versus all cars that are traveling a given section of roadway. What is clear is that the State Patrol is stepping up enforcement (this means speeding tickets and other citations for traffic offenses such as negligent driving and reckless driving) in areas that it believes has a higher number of vehicles that speed.  This makes economic sense for the State Patrol - after all, the more tickets issued, there is arguably a better chance at committed findings and fines, all other things being equal. It is best for drivers to take notice of these stepped-up enforcement locations and if the unfortunate happens and you get a traffic ticket, give me a call, I can help.

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According to a PEMCO Northwest Insurance poll released last month, Washington drivers who have household income of more than $75,000 a year are more likely than those of household income below $75,000 to speed and talk on a cell phone. Among those drivers who are more likely to speed, the poll found that these drivers are under-55 males who earn at least $75,000 with one or more children at home. The least likely speeders? Empty-nester females over the age of 55 who earn less than $75,000, as well as single drivers without children. But here's what the poll doesn't show: whether the more likely speeders are actually more likely to get pulled over and cited for a speeding ticket or another traffic offense. A conclusion in the poll is that one would think that drivers with children would slow down and obey the speed limit, "helping to ensure they'll be around to raise their kids." However, the poll says nothing about whether parents are more likely to be involved in fatal collisions or that the absence of fatal collisions will help parents be around to raise their kids any more than quitting smoking or abstaining from trans-fats. What is more probable is that PEMCO and other insurance companies will use this and other similar data as an excuse to raise insurance rates for certain groups of people. It could be that under-55 male drivers with higher income, especially those who receive a speeding ticket, will see a remarkable rise in their insurance rates. Those drivers concerned about insurance rates would be wise to fight their tickets.

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Although we often talk about speeding tickets and traffic offenses here at home in the State of Washington, I wanted to take a few moments to reflect on traffic tickets abroad, and the rights we enjoy here at home. Yesterday marked America's 231st anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Each July 4, we celebrate everything that is great about America - our food, our flag, our freedom. But 231 years later, we still have it better in America than our brothers in Britain. Just last week, two British traffic rebels regretfully lost their appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, the court that Europe created to hear cases from citizens of member countries that traditionally have been unable to stay out of wars with one another. The issue in this case was the right not to incriminate yourself - a right so basic that we've had it in America since 1791. The idea for due process in the Fifth Amendment apparently was a British one stemming from the Magna Carta in 1215, but apparently what a fundamental right is in America doesn't really exist in (it's not so) "Great" Britain, or the rest of Europe for that matter. Here's what happened - Idris Francis and Gerard O'Halloran owned cars that were caught speeding by traffic cameras (not the police, mind your gap). Neither man would say who was driving their vehicles (O'Halloran admitted to driving but later retracted his statement), claiming a right to silence and a right against self-incrimination. We call that the Fifth Amendment here, but again, these individuals are British. The Court ruled against the men, 15-2, reasoning that if the men could "prove" that they didn't know who drove their cars AND if they could not be expected to know, they would then not be punished under British law. Wow. What an uphill battle - in Britain you're guilty until you prove you're not. I think there was a war over that! At the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., sunlight shines on a quote in the interior frieze below the dome: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." It is fitting that we remember that while we are free to not incriminate ourselves and to fight our traffic tickets here in the United States and in the State of Washington, our European ancestors do not enjoy that right. As we reflect on the basic rights we enjoy here at home, the words of Mr. Francis, who lost his case last month, is important to keep in mind: "The fight for freedom goes on. We can't allow the tyrants, who are taking away our rights, to succeed. They have to be stopped." Very Jeffersonian. Happy Independence Day. I hope you had a great 4th.

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This was the topic of a recent news story, which did not get the answer quite right. The short answer is generally no, not at this time, and drivers should not go rushing to the stores to buy GPS devices to counter speeding tickets. (The exception would be if you could bring in an expert to testify about the high accuracy of GPS as a speed measuring device - and even then a court in Washington would probably be reluctant to allow such new technology into evidence). Imagine this: you're driving a long, minding your own business, and Officer TicketCop pulls you over and he issues you a speeding ticket. He tells you that your car, according to his RADAR (radio detection and ranging) device, clocked your vehicle traveling 10 miles over the posted speed limit. Simple enough, right? Not exactly. You counter that you have a GPS system, which stated that your vehicle was traveling less than the posted speed. Can you use the GPS measurement to counter the officer's RADAR unit? Not really. The law is not developed for courts to agree on using GPS as a speed measuring device. RADAR, although it has a lot of problems, has been around for a very long time, and used properly, courts will allow a measurement of speed based on RADAR into evidence. But GPS is newer and based on new technology, you argue. Well yes, that's true, but from a court's perspective, you would need an expert on GPS to vouch for GPS's accuracy as a speed measuring device as well as how it is properly used. Assuming you win on that, you would still have to show that GPS is better than RADAR, and that your GPS measurement is more accurate than the Officer TicketCop's RADAR measurement, and that you employed the GPS device correctly. GPS is used for purposes other than speed, whereas a RADAR gun is used to measure vehicle speed (and as a reason for Officer TicketCop to give a lot of traffic infractions). One of the problems with a GPS system is the user - a user would have to show that the user's GPS measurement is accurate based on the way the user employed the system. Likely a user who is also the driver would have a tough time vouching for speed and vouching that the device was being used properly at the same time. Also, while a GPS device may be useful in measuring the distance a car has traveled, and average speed over a long distance (say point Seattle to point Tacoma), there is no indication that GPS will measure one or more speeds accurately over fixed, shorter distances (say 800 feet) in a matter of seconds. If you just received a speeding ticket or any other type of traffic infraction in the State of Washington, call me, I can help.

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When drivers receive civil infraction tickets in the State of Washington, drivers have three choices: 1. Pay the fine (you're admitting that you committed the infraction) 2. Request a mitigation hearing (you also pay the fine and admit to the infraction, but a kind judge might lower the fine, provided that's allowed for the type of infraction for which you were cited); 3. Fight (contest) the ticket. Many drivers, especially those who get a Seattle ticket, think that requesting a contested hearing will get them a contested hearing. Unfortunately, in a number of locations around the state (most notably Seattle), that's not exactly true. For those drivers who smartly fight their tickets, Seattle first schedules a prehearing conference. State law allows local courts to decide whether they want to hold prehearing conferences. What this means for drivers is an extra step and often a waste of time. A prehearing conference is the civil equivalent of a pretrial conference in criminal law. At the prehearing conference, drivers appear in front of a magistrate in an office. The magistrate will attempt to get the driver to essentially mitigate the infraction, thereby saving court resources and obtaining revenue for the city, county, and/or state. Occasionally, a magistrate at a prehearing conference will dismiss an infraction, but this is very rare and drivers should not expect this. What drivers should expect is that if they go to the prehearing conference, they will have to wait and NOT be able to have a contested hearing on that same day. The magistrate knows that you won't be able to have a contested hearing that day, but he/she doesn't tell you until the end of the prehearing conference that you will have to come back to court on another day for a contested hearing if you'd rather fight your ticket than "take the deal." Prehearing conferences are mostly a scam. Most drivers are unaware that when they request a contested hearing and want their day in court, they might instead get a prehearing conference, they won't be able to fight their tickets on the same day as the prehearing conference, and the driver who wants to fight has to return to court, often taking time off work. Luckily, you can save yourself the hassle of prehearing conferences by waiving them in advance of the hearing, or hiring an attorney experienced in fighting traffic tickets. If you have been issued a speeding ticket or you have been cited for another type of traffic offense, don't panic - just give me a call.

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Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) recently signed legislation sponsored by Delegate David Albo (R-Fairfax), a traffic attorney and member of Virginia's esteemed House of Delegates. Mr. Albo has been known to remind people that he occupies the seat of George Mason, the Father of the Bill of Rights. Del. Albo thought it was a great idea to raise speeding ticket costs for driving as little as 15 MPH over the limit. Such a ticket could cost a driver $2,500 in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and Virginia drivers get the added "bonus" of paying a $1,050 tax. Luckily, Washington drivers can breathe a sigh of relief that we do not yet have to face $3,550 speeding tickets in the State of Washington. Unfortunately, the increased costs in insurance that a traffic ticket or several traffic tickets can bring make driving a real headache, if not impossible, for many Washington drivers. If you recently received a traffic ticket in the State of Washington, I can help. Please call me for a free consultation.

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By the end of July, drivers who are stopped will see the costs of citations increase. A typical fine of what was $101 at the beginning of 2007 will increase to $124. The $1,050 penalty for not yielding to an emergency vehicle will also increase, as will most other traffic offenses. Unfortunately, there isn't much the public can do. The Washington Supreme Court and the State Legislature are driving the increases to keep pace with inflation, to pay for $50 million in computer upgrades, and to help people who suffer from traumatic brain injuries and their families (although it appears as though people with brain injuries will get less state money than will be collected to pay for computers, but that's a different issue). Whether these increased penalties are needed for state programs is questionable when more police are being hired, more drivers are moving to the state, and more tickets are being issued. In 2006 alone, police in Washington issued more than one million traffic tickets, resulting in over $110 million in fines. The police, the legislature, and the courts know that most people will just roll over and pay their tickets, giving these governmental bodies an extra incentive to charge you more for the same offenses. Fight back and fight your traffic ticket!

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A new study that was released yesterday from the George Mason University Economics Department shows that out-of-towners are more likely to get a ticket during a traffic stop. The study was conducted in Massachusetts and showed that out-of-town drivers (this may mean out-of-state drivers) were at approximately 2/3 higher risk of getting a ticket. However, police officers in towns that are dependent on tourism dollars might write less citations to out-of-state drivers. I have not seen a similar study conducted in the State of Washington, but the moral of the story is this: be extra careful if you're an out-of-state driver and/or you have out-of-state plates, as your proximity to the courthouse and the officer's perceived ability of whether you will fight the ticket might weigh heavily on the officer's mind when deciding whether to issue you a traffic ticket.

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Earlier this month, Gov. Christine Gregoire signed legislation that will allow the police to issue drivers traffic infractions if a driver is talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving or the driver is text-messaging. These laws go into effect in 2008 in the State of Washington. But BEWARE! If you are stopped and cited, you will likely be cited for two traffic infractions instead of one. How can this be? The Legislature made these new traffic offenses "secondary" offenses, which means that an officer must observe another traffic offense - or primary offense - prior to citing you for the secondary offense. So if you are behind the wheel and doing what an officer believes is speeding or making an unsafe lane change, and you're holding your cell phone to your ear at the same time, you can then be cited for two traffic infractions. If you have a cell phone and wish to use it while driving, you may obtain a hands-free device to use while communicating and steering. Of course, if you are the unlucky recipient of a traffic infraction, give us a call (on your cell phone if you prefer).

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Some people have asked me how speeding tickets came to be. On a lighter note, speeding tickets in Seattle have been issued since 1879, ten years before Washington enjoyed statehood. Back then, it wasn't the automobile in which people were riding; rather, "drivers" were speeding on horseback.

Walt Crowley, a Seattle historian, writes about speeding, horses, and electric cars:

"Seattle's first speeding ticket was issued to two horsemen in July 1879, 21 years before Washington state welcomed its first automobile on July 23, 1900, when Ralph Hopkins, the owner of the Woods Electric -- yes, electric cars are not a new idea -- drove his vehicle west from Chicago to San Francisco and then north to Seattle (with lifts from trains helping out here and there). By 1904, there were enough cars in Washington to warrant creation of the state's first Auto Club and establishment of the original State Highway Board the following year." (Source: HistoryLink).

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Last month, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that the Chief of the Seattle Police Department, with the blessing of the Mayor, will not hire another sergeant this year to investigate officer misconduct even though the City Council allocated $120,000 for that purpose. You can read the full story by clicking here. So why should you care? Because the Seattle Police Department is proud to instead have purchased 6 new Dodge Charger vehicles (sticker price to a consumer is $22,000 per car) with which the SPD is bent on stopping people who speed. Officer misconduct? No big deal according to the police. Speeding? Priority! Apparently, a regular patrol vehicle is not good enough anymore for the police to apprehend people. On May 4, 2007, the Seattle Times reported that one police officer is actually getting compliments on the new cars (did he get any compliments for ticketing people?). As a result of the creation of the SPD's new aggressive-driving squad, those who drive in Seattle should take notice that the new squad is looking for speeders. Specifically, the squad is looking for drivers who honk their horns (very aggressive), cut in and out of traffic, weave, and anyone who might be speeding. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of tax dollars spent on the new sports cars for police and the salaries for the new squad's members, the SPD spent a mere $5,000 on marketing material to let the public know about the squad. But it's not only Seattle. Redmond and Monroe police, as well as the Washington State Patrol, are also using Dodge Chargers to apprehend those who are speeding. As the weather gets warmer, there are often more drivers and police on the roadways, and as the police need to justify the cost of spending your tax dollars on these expensive cars, expect to see a lot of people being issued speeding tickets.

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