By definition, Washington traffic violations happen when drivers do something that violates driving laws. Some common examples of traffic violations include speeding, failure to yield the right of way to emergency vehicles, running a stop light or a stop sign, not using a seatbelt, illegal tint, not stopping for a school bus, driving without a license, driving without insurance, and not using a turn signal.
Traffic violations may be categorized in several ways. Some are categorized as strict liability. A strict liability traffic violation means that the State of Washington doesn’t need to show that you had criminal intent for the court to find you guilty. All they need to do is show that you broke the law. Common strict liability traffic violations include speeding, having a brake light or headlight that does not work, failure to yield, and making a turn from the wrong lane. In contrast, there are other types of violations – mostly not in the traffic arena – that require you to have had the actual intent to violate the law in order to find you guilty.
Traffic violations are also categorized as either moving or non-moving violations. When a traffic violation is categorized as a moving violation, the car was moving at the time the violation occurred. For example, you received a ticket for speeding, not using your blinker, or you weren’t wearing your seatbelt. When a traffic violation is categorized as non-moving, the car was not moving at the time the violation occurred. The officer might refer to it as a parking violation or an equipment violation, depending on why they wrote the ticket. Examples of a non-moving traffic violation include parking in a no parking zone, parking in front of a fire hydrant, parking in a handicap space without a valid permit, expired tags, and no insurance.
Most traffic violations are considered minor. Of course, there are a few that are extremely serious, such as reckless driving and DUI. While most minor violations have relatively minor consequences, they can become more serious if you do not take care of them in a timely manner. Specifically, the court could then send your account to collections, suspend your driver’s license, put a boot on your vehicle, prohibit you from renewing your car tags, or tow and impound your vehicle. While traffic violations may seem ”minor,” they can become serious if not addressed. It is important to understand how seemingly minor violations can impact your driving record, your options, and what you can do if you decide to fight them.
Traffic Violations and Your Driving Record in Washington State
Although you may not initially feel the pinch, traffic violations will likely affect your insurance rates. Whether your insurance company checks your driving record every six months or every year to renew your policy, any new traffic violations could cause your premium to increase. And that increased rate could remain for as long as the ticket stays on your record – usually three years. Depending on how many traffic violations you have in a certain amount of time, your insurance company may decide that insuring you presents too much of a risk and drop you.
If they drop you or if you think that you’re being charged too much for insurance as a result of your driving record, you must either shop around for a new policy or stop driving. Remember, failing to insure your vehicle is also a violation. Each insurance company will pull a copy of your driving record. They may be less expensive than your recent insurance company, they may not. Oh, one more thing: if you can’t afford your insurance or if you are dropped and it takes tine for you to find a policy you can afford, that lapse in coverage can also drive up your insurance rate.
And then there’s your driver’s license. Washington does not use points to track traffic violations. Instead, it tracks the number of traffic violations each driver receives during a period of time. That period of time is 12 months. If you receive six traffic violations in a 12-month timeframe, the State of Washington will suspend your driver’s license for a period of 60 days. You may be eligible to receive an occupational or restricted driver’s license so that you can drive to and from work or go to other required appointments during the time that your license is suspended, but that’s about it. After 60 days, your license is reinstated after you pay a $75 licensing fee as well as other licensing fees. You will then be on probation for one year. If you get another moving violation during the time you are on probation, your driver’s license will be suspended for another 30 days. At the end of that 30 days, your 12-month probation starts over.
Depending on what you do for a living, even one traffic violation on your driving record could cause you to lose your job. You could also become ineligible for certain jobs or to work in certain industries. Washington has what is referred to as an employment driving record. Current and potential employers, volunteer organizations, transit authorities, and school districts may access reported convictions, violations, collisions, suspensions, revocations, disqualifications, deferred prosecutions, and failures to appear for purposes of assessing your fitness to drive for those organizations. Although traffic violations do not ever come off of your driving record, they are only visible to current and prospective employers on your employment driving record for five years.
Keep in mind that the possibility of increased insurance rates, a suspended driver’s license and the associated 12-month probation, losing your job, and the possibility of not being eligible for a better job exciting volunteer opportunity in are negative consequences in addition to the fine and fees associated with any traffic violation (or violations) you’ve received.
How can you Handle a Traffic Violation?
In Washington, you have four options to handle a traffic violation. First, you could pay the ticket. If you decide to do this, you do not get to challenge the ticket in court. Paying means the court enters an order that the infraction was committed. Depending on how many traffic violations you have on your record, your driver’s license could get suspended. If driving is part of your job, you could get fired. Your insurance rate could increase. Deciding to pay a traffic violation certainly comes with a lot of risks. Think carefully about those risks, especially if you’ve had any other traffic violations in the past 12 to 24 months.
You could request a mitigation hearing. If you know you are guilty of the traffic violation but you believe that you have a good reason for what you did, a mitigation hearing allows you to tell the court your reasons and hope they reduce or dismiss the violation. The difference between a mitigation hearing and paying your ticket is that a mitigation hearing could result in a reduction in the fine owed, provide you with a monthly payment plan, or community service. But there is still some risk involved. You are still pleading guilty to the traffic violation. It still goes on your driving record if it is not reduced or dismissed. It can still affect your insurance premiums. If you have previous traffic violations, your driver’s license could still be suspended. Beyond those risks, the judge’s decision in mitigation cannot be appealed.
You may have the option to request a deferral. You may only defer one traffic violation every seven years. You may not request a deferral if you have a commercial driver’s license, even if the traffic violation did not occur while you were driving a commercial vehicle. Each county has its own process to apply for a deferral. Most counties allow you to apply online, in person at the district court clerk’s office, or during your court hearing. You must have a valid driver’s license. You must have responded to your traffic violation within 15 days of the violation date. You may be required to pay a non-refundable administrative fee. You may also be required to complete traffic school. Your deferred ticket won’t be formally dismissed, it will be “deferred” for 12 months (known as the “deferral period”) provided you do not receive any additional moving violations or non-moving violations (more on non-moving violations below) during that 12-month period. If you successfully complete the terms of your deferral agreement, the traffic violation will not be placed on your driving record.
Your fourth option is to fight the ticket. If you plan to fight the traffic violation you must act quickly. First, select “contested hearing” on the ticket. Make two copies, front and back, of the ticket and mail the original ticket to the court. Keep one copy of the ticket for yourself as a reference if you decide to hire a lawyer. Fighting a traffic violation on your own can still be a risk, especially if you have other traffic violations on your driving record. However, fighting it with the help of an experienced attorney could be your best option since it could protect your driving record, help you keep your driver’s license if you have other traffic violations on your record, and even help keep your insurance premium down. We’ll tell you more about fighting your ticket below.
Can Washington State Revoke a Deferral from a Nonmoving Violation?
Yes, receiving even a nonmoving violation during your deferral period can cause the State of Washington to revoke the deferral of an existing traffic violation. This can happen even if the nonmoving violation ends up being dismissed in a mitigated hearing. Remember that if a deferral gets revoked due to a second moving violation the first traffic violation and the new violation are both committed to your driving record.
How to Fight Traffic Violations in Washington State
How to fight traffic violations in Washington state depends on the type of violation you received. If you’re eligible for deferment or if you don’t think deferment is something that would work for you, you need to decide if you want to try to fight it on your own or if you want to hire a lawyer. Here are some helpful tips from an attorney:
- Do you have the time, the energy, and the wherewithal to do the digging and the “dirty work” to put together your own defense? Sure, we’re talking about defending a traffic violation and not creating a defense strategy because you decided to rob casinos on the Vegas Strip. But it still takes time and energy to put together a good defense. You have a job. And a life. An experienced traffic defense lawyer gets paid to work on behalf of people just like you.
- Was the ticket issued because of a camera? Speeding ticket cameras are supposed to be helpful, but they are far from perfect. The law in Washington says that traffic camera images cannot be used to identify drivers. You can go to court and contest the ticket if you can legally swear under oath that you were not the one driving the car at the time, day, and place the camera issued the ticket.
- If your speeding ticket was issued because of radar, send a written request for evidence at least 14 days before your trial date. This request must be made to the prosecutor. Any evidence they plan to use against you must be provided to you within seven days of your hearing. You should request copies of police reports, officer’s notes, names of witnesses, certification of the radar device, and maintenance records of the radar device. If they can’t provide it, they can’t use it. However, there’s always a chance that they can provide you with all of this.
- Subpoena the officer who wrote the ticket. You have the option to subpoena the officer who wrote the ticket for the traffic violation. If they don’t appear to testify, the court may be required to dismiss the case against you. However, you must subpoena the officer within seven days of the hearing. The officer must also be personally served just like in any other formal court hearing. You must also be able to prove that they were legally served. You’ll need to pay for the service of process, on top of whatever expenses you have in contesting the ticket.
- Check with the court to make sure the ticket was filed on time. Police officers have only five days from the date the ticket is issued to file it with the court. If they don’t file it on time, the court must dismiss the ticket. While this is a great way to beat a traffic violation, the only way it works is for you or your lawyer to actually check the filing time. The court is busy enough. They’re not going to check if it was filed timely for you.
The best way to fight a traffic violation in Washington is to hire a lawyer who knows what they’re doing. Like we said, we recognize that it’s a traffic violation and not some complex scheme to rob casinos and possibly end up getting knee-capped by the mob. Yet, traffic violations can cause long-term complications, especially if you end up getting your license suspended, or if paying the cost of more expensive car insurance suddenly feels like you’re paying for a second mortgage.
At Off the Record, we’ve made hiring an experienced traffic violation lawyer as easy as clicking a few buttons. And all attorneys who work with Off The Record, agree to this money-back guarantee. You go through our free traffic violation review process and take a picture of your traffic violation with your cell phone. We review it and match you with an experienced lawyer. You’ll learn about your options and we’ll help you decide if our service is right for you. If you decide to fight your traffic violation, your lawyer will contact you within 24 business hours.
You don’t have to spend hours writing letters for evidence, looking to see if the ticket was filed timely, and praying that you don’t get a box of paper in the mail from the prosecutor. Oh, and you probably won’t even have to show up for court. If your ticket isn’t successfully resolved with our service, we offer a money-back guarantee.
Image Credit: Scott Meis CC BY-ND 2.0
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