Handling Moving Violations In Seattle, WA

Did Rocky Balboa back down from Apollo Creed, James “Clubber” Lang, or Ivan Drago? Nope. Heck, he didn’t even back down from Mason the Line Dixon when Rocky was well into his 50s. Did Pete Carrol back down when every other person on the planet thought, “It’d be really stupid to call a pass play here instead of just feeding the ball to Beast Mode.” Absolutely not. Did Sean Kemp back down when challenged to do just one more line? (Sorry Mr. Kemp, that was a low, um … blow.)

The point is this: it is un-American to not rise to the challenge and fight back, even when the odds are stacked against you — even when calcification and arthritis make all of your joints rustier than a Detroit Jeep, like Mr. Balboa in his sixth movie. You may not always win, but you should never back down.

So why, in the name of all is that is holy and patriotic in this great land would you not contest your moving violation from the Emerald City or King County? Is there ever a time when it makes sense to concede defeat in your battle against Seattle’s finest — to throw in the towel, as Rocky should have done for Apollo Creed?

The quickest way out is to pay, or is it?

Seattle, like all revenue-generating machines, makes it incredibly easy to pay your ticket. We’ve covered paying your ticket online in Seattle recently. You simply log on to the Seattle Municipal Courts’ Portal, or the King County Courts’ website and submit a payment — a few clicks and a credit card number and you are all set. Lost your ticket? We also included information on how to track down your missing ticket information so you don’t miss the payment deadline.

But as we also mentioned before, Off The Record has made connecting with an attorney and 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.

Pay your ticket and it will be on your record for years.

What is the cost of a ticket? It depends on which moving violation you are cited for, but the fines range from around $50 to thousands of dollars, if you fail to yield for an ambulance. Obviously, paying that initial fine hurts a little bit, but depending on where you are in your life financially, it may seem like it makes sense to just pay the 50 bucks or whatever the fine is, and not waste further time on the matter.

Need an example? Lawyers that bill on an hourly basis usually charge at least $200 per hour, typically much more. If a lawyer racks up a speeding ticket, the hours it would take to fight back will cost more, at first glance, than simply paying the initial citation. Even regular working-class people, the kind that can’t afford to miss a shift, might look at that expensive ticket and realize that even if they wanted to fight back, they can’t miss work.

But do not lose sight of the bigger picture: if you pay the ticket, it will go on your record. Paying the ticket means you are pleading guilty and accepting whatever consequences follow. Once the ticket goes on your record, your insurance rates will probably go up for the next few years. There’s no way to tell how much, but there’s a very good chance that the increase in insurance premiums will far surpass the initial amount stamped on the ticket. Plus, if you get enough tickets, your license will be suspended, which can cost you even more time and money.

What is ticket deferment and how do you do it?

One of the most common questions we get about moving violation tickets in the Seattle area is about deferment of the ticket. What is deferment? It is a deal between you and the court: 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. In effect, you are basically conceding guilt and paying the ticket, but you get a break when it comes to carrying that red badge of guilty on your record.

The upside here is pretty big: 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.

Does Seattle, King County, or Washington state have a license points system?

No. The state of Washington does not officially have a point system. But, whether you call it points or not, Washington’s system is effectively the same: accrue enough tickets in a short period of time and your license will be suspended. In states that operate on a point system, the consequences are the same and points are merely used to distinguish between more severe offenses and less severe offenses: driving under the influence is worth more than going 30 mph in a 25 mile-per-hour zone, for example.

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

Obviously, losing your license, even temporarily, will put a kink in your lifestyle. Depending on your profession or ability to get to work via public transportation, it may even cost you your job. What does it take to lose your license in Washington? There are a lot of reasons, but 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.

Some suspensions, such as a habitual traffic offender suspension, are more serious and lengthy than other suspensions, such as the ordinary six-moving-violations-in-12-months suspension. A suspension for driving under the influence will likely require more than just time and money to get your license back: you’ll probably have to take alcohol education courses and you may also be required to install an ignition interlock device in your car to prevent you from firing up the engine while toasted.

Is there any risk to fighting back?

After reading about license suspensions and insurance hikes, you probably get it: the collateral consequences of a traffic ticket go far beyond the initial fine. So why do so many people just pay the ticket? Fear.

For many people, they hesitate to hire an attorney to handle their moving violation ticket because they are afraid that they will end up paying twice: first paying the attorney, then paying the court when they lose. This is an extremely rational fear, one that attorneys on Off The Record have countered with a money-back guarantee. The guarantee says that if you do not win, you do not pay — our fee is refunded. With a 97% success rate on tickets in Washington, we are not concerned about having to pay you back, and you won’t need to worry about paying twice.

Besides the cost, you may also worry about losing favorable deals on the ticket, such as deferment, if you fight back. This is precisely 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 negotiate a better deal than what is offered initially? A traffic ticket lawyer is an expert in this area and knows the local courts, police departments, and what the most likely outcomes for your ticket are. She can 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.

Plus, as with any good 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 gets in the ring with them, to extend that tired Rocky metaphor a bit more, on a daily basis?

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

Have your ticket handy? You could launch into a marathon on legal research, diving into the particularities of state and local laws that describe 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 — take all that research, and then cross-reference it against your moving violation ticket.

Or, you could hand it off to an expert. 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: Chris Yarzab CC BY-SA 2.0