Moving Violations In Washington State

A wise man – probably Winston Churchill – once said, “You either have time or money. Rarely do you ever have both.” When it comes to adulting, truer words have never been spoken. This makes the temptation to just pay your moving violation ticket in Washington state, rather than take the time to dispute it, absolutely understandable. After all, why spend time fighting a possibly quixotic battle when you could just be back at work making more money?

Pay or dispute. That is the matter at hand. And while the temptation to save time, at the expense of paying the ticket outright, is mighty understandable, there are many reasons to stand up and fight back: your driving record, insurance rates, and the money you will waste on the ticket itself chief among them.

Courts make it easy to pay. We make it easy to fight.

Courts around the state, and the country itself for that matter, quickly figured out that the easier it is to pay, the more likely it is that people will pay their ticket and move on without fighting back. In the old days, that meant accepting payment through the mail or over the telephone, whereas today it means nearly every county and city now takes credit card payments online. But keep in mind: caving and paying means you are pleading guilty and your moving violation will likely go on your driving record.

But it is convenient! Just submit a payment — a few clicks and a credit card number and you are done.

Do you know what else is convenient? Fighting back with Off The Record. We have made contesting your ticket just as simple, if not more so, than caving and paying: with a few taps in an app or on our website, you are connected with an attorney that can fight back on your behalf, without you attending court. Our lawyers have a 97% success rate in the state of Washington. Even if you think you have no chance of winning, it is probably worth your while to have an experienced attorney look at the ticket and evaluate your defenses or negotiate a better deal.

The hidden consequences of pleading guilty by paying.

You look at the ticket and you see the initial fine: maybe it is $50, or maybe it is a few hundred dollars. And while nobody likes forking over a few hundred bucks for a ticket, you probably assume that since you are guilty in real life, that the odds of winning are slim and you don’t want to waste the time to fight back. Time is money.

Who can afford to miss a shift, and spend the entire day at the courthouse searching for a miracle, hoping that the officer does not show up or that a judge finds in your favor, even though you really were going 85 mph in a 50 mile-per-hour zone? Or if you bill by the hour, like many lawyers and professionals do, you probably figure that a few hours wasted at court means a few hours you can’t bill to clients — meaning hundreds or thousands of dollars in lost income in addition to the ticket.

So, you cave. And you pay the ticket. What happens next? The ticket goes on your record — payment means the court enters an order of "guilty" on your ticket. Your insurance rates will likely go up for the next few years, which means the immediate financial consequences are a lot higher than just the cost of the ticket. Plus, if you rack up enough tickets in a short period of time, your license could be suspended, making it even harder to commute to work — imagine the time you’ll waste hopping between buses and light rails, or the money you’ll burn taking ride-sharing trips every day.

Does Washington state have a license points system?

Washington does not have a point system, though the effect of multiple tickets is about the same as it would be if they did. If you get enough tickets in a short period of time, your license will be suspended, just as it would be if you racked up enough points in states that employ such a system.

If there are no points, is my license at risk for suspension?

Losing your license means losing your freedom. While public transportation is a great and noble thing, being a slave to set train times and bus schedules is a massive hassle compared to just grabbing your keys and going. Fortunately, Washington state isn’t too crazy — they make it pretty difficult to lose your license. There are a lot of ways, most of them serious, but, according to the state of Washington, here are some of the most common:

If your license is suspended, Washington state makes it easy to figure out how to get your license back: just use their online application to register and check what steps you’ll need to take to be reinstated.

Also, it is important to note that not all suspensions are the same: more serious offenses will require longer suspensions and an additional work to get your license back. For example, a suspension for driving under the influence will require most offenders to take alcohol education courses and may also require the driver to install an ignition interlock device in his car to prevent him from firing up the engine while intoxicated.

What is ticket deferment and how do you do it?

Ticket deferment is the bargain of the century! Seriously though, one of the most frequently asked questions we get about moving violation tickets is about deferment. What is it? It is a plea deal that starts with caving and paying, but ends with you maintaining a clean driving record. The typical deal means you pay an administrative fee and attend traffic school, plus maintain a clean record for a year — that means no more tickets — and the ticket will be dismissed.

Why is it worth it? In addition to saving time fighting back, it means your insurance rates will not go up. Plus, assuming you successfully complete the year of cleanliness required for deferment, the ticket will not count towards a possible license suspension if you suddenly start racking up more traffic offenses.

Is there any risk to fighting back?

We’re pretty sure you get it now. Paying the ticket is just the first penalty, and having a ticket on your record means higher insurance rates and other collateral consequences. So why don’t more people fight back?

Perhaps it is this: people are afraid to hire an attorney to handle their moving violation ticket because they fear they will end up paying twice: first pay the attorney, then pay the court when they lose. This is an entirely fair fear – one that all attorneys who work with Off The Record have countered with a money-back guarantee. The guarantee says that if you do not win, you do not pay — the fee is refunded. With a 97% success rate on tickets in Washington, we don’t have to worry about issuing too many refunds, and you won’t need to worry about paying twice.

Other consumers report that they cave because they don’t want to miss out on the deal offered by the district attorney or court. Of course, this is exactly where the advice of an attorney who handles traffic tickets regularly is vital — why rely on fear rather than consult with someone who can analyze your ticket and chances of success, plus potentially negotiate a better deal than the court’s opening offer? The fact is, most traffic ticket lawyers live, eat, and breathe traffic tickets. They become experts in this niche area and get to know the local courts, police departments, and the likely outcomes for most tickets. They will advise you on all of your options, chances for success, and help you decide what your best path forward is: deferment, a plea, a reduced ticket, or taking the ticket to trial.

Here’s another fact: in any negotiation, your chances of getting a better deal increase when you have more firepower on your side. Who do you think the district attorney is more afraid of: an average citizen who spent a few hours researching traffic laws or a seasoned traffic ticket attorney that lives in traffic court every single day?

Here is how you fight back without wasting your precious time.

The slowest way to fight back is to try to do it yourself. Many, many people succeeded in fighting back on their own, but the cost in terms of time is enormous: you’ll need to do a deep dive of state and local traffic laws that govern exactly what must be written on the ticket, what procedures must be followed when the ticket is filed, what the time frames are for mailing the ticket to you and how quickly the court must provide information to you should you decide to schedule a hearing to contest the ticket. Once you’ve mastered that research, you will have to cross-reference it against your moving violation ticket and shape it into a coherent argument for the court, where you will have only a few minutes to present your case.

Here is another important life lesson on adulting: you should save the DIY projects for stuff that you really enjoy, and hand off unenjoyable time wasters to experts who can do the job in 1/10 the time. As we mentioned, we’ve made the process of hiring a traffic ticket attorney as simple as using our app or website — just take a picture of the ticket, answer a few questions, and leave it to your lawyer. Get started now using our website or iOS app and we will have you hooked up with an attorney in minutes. This information on this site is provided solely for informational purposes. It is not legal advice. Off The Record is not a law firm, does not provide legal services, and is not a lawyer referral service. The attorney listings on the site are paid attorney advertisements. Off the Record has not evaluated this content for accuracy, completeness, or changes in law. No representation is made here about your specific rights. Off The Record is not a substitute for an attorney or a law firm. Legal advice can only be provided by a licensed lawyer.

Image Credit: HAH Photography CC BY-SA 2.0