Different year, same problem – School Zone camera tickets aren’t being enforced in Seattle. Why? Because King County declined to renew its agreement with Seattle Public Schools to have law enforcement review the tickets, citing staffing shortages. Seattle Public Schools had been in talks with the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, Seattle Municipal Court and Seattle Police Department to take up the task of reviewing the tickets, with the goal of resuming enforcement late this year. But to date, nothing has been agreed upon. Oh well, maybe next year, we shall see.
Currently, state law requires a “law enforcement officer” to review each ticket before it’s sent out for collections. It’s for this reason state officials and Seattle’s lobbyists will surely push state lawmakers next year to change the requirements for who may review tickets. Ticket review is currently a position filled with officers who are injured or under investigation. Seattle has cameras at 54 locations around the city, most in school zones and at intersections to catch red light violators. A smaller number have recently been installed looking for people driving in bus lanes or blocking intersections. Shockingly, between 2021 and 2022, the Seattle Police Department couldn’t keep up with the number of tickets coming through the door via camera. Nearly 100,000 expired due to lack of review — around 15% of the total.
Notwithstanding the aforementioned problem, Seattle is planning to double the number of cameras in school zones and install cameras on streets with a history of illegal drag racing. Of course, the cameras’ effectiveness will be blunted without proper law enforcement staffing to review them. So, although we should all be cognizant to not speed in school zones, it is pretty much scout’s honor to ensure that happens at this point.
If you or a loved one is in a bind as a result of a traffic citation, immediately contact a Seattle Traffic Attorney. A traffic lawyer is not going to judge you and understands that everyone makes mistakes. Hiring a Seattle traffic Lawyer to help can – at a minimum – reduce penalties and can help direct people on how to best deal with their citation, and many times even get them dismissed. So, it should go without saying that someone cited for a traffic infraction, misdemeanor or felony should hire a qualified Seattle Traffic Lawyer as soon as possible. Traffic citations can cause havoc on a person’s personal and professional life. Anyone cited for a traffic related issue in Washington State should immediately seek the assistance of a seasoned Seattle Traffic Lawyer. SQ Attorneys can be reached at (425) 359-3791 and/or (206) 441-0900.
