Chapter 16.63
Disposition of Traffic Infractions

Sections:

16.63.020 Violations as Traffic Infractions – Exceptions.

16.63.030 Notice of Traffic Infraction – Issuance – Abandoned Vehicles.

16.63.040 Repealed.

16.63.060 Notice of Traffic Infraction – Determination Final Unless Contested – Form.

16.63.070 Response to Notice – Contesting Determination – Hearing – Failure to Respond or Appear.

16.63.090 Hearings – Contesting Determination that Infraction Committed – Appeal.

16.63.100 Hearings – Explanation of Mitigating Circumstances.

16.63.110 Monetary Penalties.

16.63.120 Order of Court – Civil Nature – Waiver, Reduction, Suspension of Penalty – Community Service.

16.63.140 Presumption regarding Stopped, Standing or Parked Vehicles.

16.63.151 Costs and Attorney Fees.

16.63.900 Repealed.

16.63.020 Violations as Traffic Infractions – Exceptions.

Failure to perform any act required or the performance of any act prohibited by this title relating to traffic including parking, standing, stopping and pedestrian offenses is designated as a traffic infraction and may not be classified as a criminal offense, except for an offense contained in the following provisions of this title:

1.   16.09.120(2) relating to the operation of a nonhighway vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance;

2.   16.09.130 relating to operation of nonhighway vehicles;

3.   16.10.090(2) relating to the operation of a snowmobile while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or narcotics or habit-forming drugs or in a manner endangering the person of another;

4.   16.10.130 relating to the operation of snowmobiles;

5.   16.12 relating to certificates of ownership and registration and markings indicating that a vehicle has been destroyed or declared a total loss;

6.   16.16.010 relating to initial registration of motor vehicles;

7.   16.16.011 relating to permitting unauthorized persons to drive;

8.   16.16.160 relating to vehicle trip permits;

9.   16.16.381(2) relating to knowingly providing false information in conjunction with an application for a special placard or license plate for disabled persons’ parking;

10.  16.20.005 relating to driving without a valid driver’s license;

11.  Reserved – RCW 46.20.091;

12.  16.20.0921 relating to the unlawful possession and use of a driver’s license;

13.  16.20.342 relating to driving with a suspended or revoked license or status;

14.  16.20.345 relating to the operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended or revoked license;

15.  16.20.410 relating to the violation of restrictions of an occupational or a temporary restricted driver’s license;

16.  16.20.740 relating to operation of a motor vehicle without an ignition interlock device in violation of a license notation that the device is required;

17.  16.20.750 relating to assisting another person to start a vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock device;

18.  16.25.170 relating to commercial driver’s licenses;

19.  Reserved – RCW chapter 46.29;

20.  16.30.040 relating to providing false evidence of financial responsibility;

21.  Reserved – RCW 46.37.435;

22.  Reserved – RCW 46.44.180;

23.  Reserved – RCW 46.48.175;

24.  16.52.010 relating to duty on striking an unattended car or other property;

25.  16.52.020 relating to duty in case of injury to or death of a person or damage to an attended vehicle;

26.  Reserved – RCW 46.52.090;

27.  Reserved – RCW 46.52.130;

28.  Reserved – RCW 46.55.020;

29.  Reserved – RCW 46.55.035;

30.  16.61.015 relating to obedience to police officers, flaggers or fire fighters;

31.  16.61.020 relating to refusal to give information to or cooperate with an officer;

32.  16.61.022 relating to failure to stop and give identification to an officer;

33.  Reserved – RCW 46.61.024;

34.  16.61.500 relating to reckless driving;

35.  16.61.502 and 16.61.504 relating to persons under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs;

36.  16.61.503 relating to a person under age twenty-one driving a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol;

37.  Reserved – RCW 46.61.520;

38.  Reserved – RCW 46.61.522;

39.  16.61.5249 relating to first degree negligent driving;

40.  16.61.527(4) relating to reckless endangerment of roadway workers;

41.  16.61.530 relating to racing of vehicles on highways;

42.  16.61.685 relating to leaving children in an unattended vehicle with the motor running;

43.  Section 1 of chapter 325, Laws of 2001 relating to theft of motor vehicle fuel;

44.  Reserved – RCW 46.64.010;

45.  16.64.048 relating to attempting, aiding, abetting coercing, and committing crimes;

46.  Reserved – RCW chapter 46.65;

47.  Reserved – RCW 46.68.010;

48.  Reserved – RCW chapter 46.70;

49.  Reserved – RCW chapter 46.72;

50.  Reserved – RCW 46.72A.060;

51.  Reserved – RCW 46.72A.070;

52.  Reserved – RCW 46.72A.080;

53.  Reserved – RCW chapter 46.80;

54.  Reserved – RCW chapter 46.82;

55.  Reserved – RCW 46.87.260;

56.  Reserved – RCW 46.87.290.

[Ord. C32905 § 17; Passed: 6/28/2004]

16.63.030 Notice of Traffic Infraction – Issuance – Abandoned Vehicles.

1.   A law enforcement officer and a person specially commissioned by the chief of police has the authority to issue a notice of traffic infraction:

a.   When the infraction is committed in the officer’s presence;

b.   When the officer is acting upon the request of a law enforcement officer in whose presence the traffic infraction was committed; or

c.   If an officer investigating at the scene of a motor vehicle accident has reasonable cause to believe that the driver of a motor vehicle involved in the accident has committed a traffic infraction.

2.   When a traffic safety camera is used, a law enforcement officer, or other person specially commissioned by the chief of police, whether present or not during the commission of the infraction, may issue a notice of traffic infraction by mail to the registered owner of the vehicle, or to the person renting the vehicle. The registered owner of the vehicle or the person renting the vehicle is responsible for the infraction.

3.   The owner of a vehicle is responsible for a violation unless within fifteen days after notification of the violation the owner furnishes to the municipal court with:

a.   an affidavit made under oath stating that the vehicle involved was at the time stolen, sold, or in the care, custody and control of some person other than the registered owner; or

b.   testimony in open court under oath that the person was not the operator of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation.

4.   A court may issue a notice of traffic infraction upon receipt of a written statement of the officer that there is reasonable cause to believe that an infraction was committed.

5.   If any motor vehicle without a driver is found parked, standing, or stopped in violation of this title or an equivalent administrative regulation or local law, ordinance, regulation, or resolution, the officer finding the vehicle shall take its registration number and may take any other information displayed on the vehicle which may identify its user, and shall conspicuously affix to the vehicle a notice of traffic infraction.

6.   In the case of failure to redeem an abandoned vehicle under RCW 46.55.120, or the equivalent provisions of this title, upon receiving a complaint by a registered tow truck operator that has incurred costs in removing, storing, and disposing of an abandoned vehicle, an officer of the law enforcement agency responsible for directing the removal of the vehicle shall send a notice of infraction by certified mail to the last known address of the registered owner of the vehicle. The officer shall append to the notice of infraction, on a form prescribed by the department of licensing, a notice indicating the amount of costs incurred as a result of removing, storing, and disposing of the abandoned vehicle, less any amount realized at auction, and a statement that monetary penalties for the infraction will not be considered as having been paid until the monetary penalty payable under this chapter has been paid and the court is satisfied that the person has made restitution in the amount of the deficiency remaining after disposal of the vehicle.

[Ord. C33044 § 5; Passed: 6/24/2002]

16.63.040 Repealed.

Repealed.

[Ord. C31398 § 461; Passed: 6/5/1995]

16.63.060 Notice of Traffic Infraction – Determination Final Unless Contested – Form.

1.   A notice of traffic infraction represents a determination that an infraction has been committed. The determination will be final unless contested as provided in this chapter.

2.   The form for the notice of traffic infraction (as prescribed by rule of the supreme court) shall include the following:

a.   A statement that the notice represents a determination that a traffic infraction has been committed by the person named in the notice and that the determination shall be final unless contested as provided in this chapter;

b.   A statement that a traffic infraction is a noncriminal offense for which imprisonment may not be imposed as a sanction; that the penalty for a traffic infraction may include sanctions against the person’s driver’s license including suspension, revocation, or denial; that the penalty for a traffic infraction related to standing, stopping, or parking may include nonrenewal of the vehicle license;

c.   A statement of the specific traffic infraction for which the notice was issued;

d.   A statement of monetary penalty established for the traffic infraction;

e.   A statement of the options provided in this chapter for responding to the notice and the procedures necessary to exercise these options;

f.   A statement that at any hearing to contest the determination the city has the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the infraction was committed; and that the person may subpoena witnesses including the officer who issued the notice of infraction;

g.   A statement that at any hearing requested for the purpose of explaining mitigating circumstances surrounding the commission of the infraction the person will be deemed to have committed the infraction and may not subpoena witnesses;

h.   A statement that the person must respond to the notice as provided in this chapter within fifteen days or the person’s driver’s license or driving privilege will be suspended by the department until any penalties imposed pursuant to this chapter have been satisfied;

i.   A statement that failure to appear at a hearing requested for the purpose of contesting the determination or for the purpose of explaining mitigating circumstances will result in the suspension of the person’s driver’s license or driving privilege, or in the case of a standing, stopping, or parking violation, refusal of the department to renew the vehicle license, until any penalties imposed pursuant to this chapter have been satisfied;

j.   A statement, which the person shall sign, that the person promises to respond to the notice of infraction in one of the ways provided in this chapter.

[Ord. C31398 § 462; Passed: 6/5/1995]

16.63.070 Response to Notice – Contesting Determination – Hearing – Failure to Respond or Appear.

1.   Any person who receives a notice of traffic infraction shall respond to such notice as provided in this section within fifteen days of the date of the notice.

2.   If the person determined to have committed the infraction does not contest the determination, the person shall respond by completing the appropriate portion of the notice of infraction and submitting it, either by mail or in person, to the court specified on the notice. A check or money order in the amount of the penalty prescribed for the infraction must be submitted with the response. When a response which does not contest the determination is received, an appropriate order shall be entered in the courts records, and a record of the response and order shall be furnished to the department in accordance with RCW 46.20.270.

3.   If the person determined to have committed the infraction wishes to contest the determination, the person shall respond by completing the portion of the notice of infraction requesting a hearing and submitting it, either by mail or in person, to the court specified on the notice. The court shall notify the person in writing of the time, place, and date of the hearing, and that date shall not be sooner than seven days from the date of notice, except by agreement.

4.   If the person determined to have committed the infraction does not contest the determination but wishes to explain mitigating circumstances surrounding the infraction, the person shall respond by completing the portion of the notice of infraction requesting a hearing for that purpose and submitting it, either by mail or in person, to the court specified on the notice. The court shall notify the person in writing of the time, place and date of the hearing.

5.   

a.   In hearings conducted pursuant to subsections (3) and (4) of this section, the court may defer findings, or in a hearing to explain mitigating circumstances may defer entry of its order, for up to one year and impose conditions upon the defendant the court deems appropriate. Upon deferring findings, the court may assess costs as the court deems appropriate for administrative processing. If at the end of the deferral period the defendant has met all conditions and has not been determined to have committed another traffic infraction, the court may dismiss the infraction.

b.   A person may not receive more than one deferral within a seven-year period for traffic infractions for moving violations and more than one deferral within a seven-year period for traffic infractions for nonmoving violations.

6.   If any person issued a notice of traffic infraction:

a.   fails to respond to the notice of traffic infraction as provided in subsection (2) of this section; or

b.   fails to appear at a hearing requested pursuant to subsection (3) or (4) of this section; the court shall enter an appropriate order assessing the monetary penalty prescribed for the traffic infraction and any other penalty authorized by law and shall notify the department, in accordance with RCW 46.20.270, of the failure to respond to the notice of infraction or to appear at a requested hearing.

[Ord. C32707; Passed: 9/5/2000]

16.63.090 Hearings – Contesting Determination that Infraction Committed – Appeal.

1.   A hearing held for the purpose of contesting the determination that an infraction has been committed shall be without a jury.

2.   The court may consider the notice of traffic infraction and any other written report made under oath submitted by the officer who issued the notice or whose written statement was the basis for the issuance of the notice in lieu of the officer’s personal appearance at the hearing. The person named in the notice may subpoena witnesses, including the officer, and has the right to present evidence and examine witnesses present in court.

3.   The burden of proof is upon the city to establish the commission of the infraction by a preponderance of the evidence.

4.   After consideration of the evidence and argument the court shall determine whether the infraction was committed. Where it has not been established that the infraction was committed an order dismissing the notice shall be entered in the court’s records. Where it has been established that the infraction was committed, an appropriate order shall be entered in the court’s records. A record of the court’s determination and order shall be furnished to the department in accordance with RCW 46.20.270 as now or hereafter amended.

5.   Reserved.

[Ord. C31398 § 464; Passed: 6/5/1995]

16.63.100 Hearings – Explanation of Mitigating Circumstances.

1.   A hearing held for the purpose of allowing a person to explain mitigating circumstances surrounding the commission of an infraction shall be an informal proceeding. The person may not subpoena witnesses. The determination that an infraction has been committed may not be contested at a hearing held for the purpose of explaining mitigating circumstances.

2.   After the court has heard the explanation of the circumstances surrounding the commission of the infraction, an appropriate order shall be entered in the court’s records. A record of the court’s determination and order shall be furnished to the department in accordance with RCW 46.20.270 as now or hereafter amended.

3.   There may be no appeal from the court’s determination or order.

[Ord. C31398 § 465; Passed: 6/5/1995]

16.63.110 Monetary Penalties.

1.   A person found to have committed a traffic infraction shall be assessed a monetary penalty. No penalty may exceed two hundred fifty dollars for each offense unless specifically authorized by RCW title 46.

2.   Reserved.

3.   Reserved.

4.   There shall be a penalty of twenty-five dollars for failure to respond to a notice of traffic infraction including where the infraction relates to parking as defined by local law, ordinance, regulation or resolution or failure to pay a monetary penalty imposed pursuant to this chapter.

5.   Reserved.

6.   Whenever a monetary penalty is imposed by a court under this title it is immediately payable. If the person is unable to pay at that time the court may, in its discretion, grant an extension of the period in which the penalty may be paid. If the penalty is not paid on or before the time established for payment the court shall notify the department of the failure to pay the penalty, and the department shall suspend the person’s driver’s license or driving privilege until the penalty has been paid and the penalty provided in subsection (4) of this section has been paid.

7.   In addition to any other penalties imposed under this section and not subject to the limitation of subsection (1) of this section, a person found to have committed a traffic infraction shall be assessed a fee of five dollars per infraction. Under no circumstances shall this fee be reduced or waived. Revenue from this fee shall be forwarded to the state treasurer for deposit in the emergency medical services and trauma care system trust account under RCW 70.168.040.

8.   Additional Traffic Penalty.

a.   In addition to any other penalties imposed under this section and not subject to the limitation of subsection (1) of this section, a person found to have committed a traffic infraction other than of SMC 16.61.527 shall be assessed an additional penalty of twenty dollars. The court may not reduce, waive or suspend the additional penalty unless the court finds the offender to be indigent. If a community restitution program for offenders is available in the jurisdiction, the court shall allow offenders to offset all or a part of the penalty due under this subsection (8) by participation in the community restitution program.

b.   Reserved.

[Ord. C33263 § 1; Passed: 7/7/2003]

16.63.120 Order of Court – Civil Nature – Waiver, Reduction, Suspension of Penalty – Community Service.

1.   An order entered after the receipt of a response which does not contest the determination, or after it has been established at a hearing that the infraction was committed, or after a hearing for the purpose of explaining mitigating circumstances is civil in nature.

2.   The court may include in the order the imposition of any penalty authorized by law for the commission of an infraction. The court may, in its discretion, waive, reduce, or suspend the monetary penalty prescribed for the infraction. At the person’s request the court may order performance of a number of hours of community service in lieu of a monetary penalty, at the rate of the then state minimum wage per hour.

[Ord. C31398 § 467; Passed: 6/5/1995]

16.63.140 Presumption regarding Stopped, Standing or Parked Vehicles.

1.   In any traffic infraction case involving a violation of this title relating to the stopping, standing, or parking of a vehicle, proof that the particular vehicle described in the notice of traffic infraction was stopping, standing, or parking in violation of any such provision of this title, together with proof that the person named in the notice of traffic infraction was at the time of the violation the registered owner of the vehicle, shall constitute in evidence a prima facie presumption that the registered owner of the vehicle was the person who parked or placed the vehicle at the point where, and for the time during which, the violation occurred.

2.   The foregoing stated presumption applies only when the procedure prescribed in RCW 46.63.0305 has been followed.

[Ord. C33044 § 6; Passed: 6/24/2002]

16.63.151 Costs and Attorney Fees.

Each party to a traffic infraction is responsible for costs incurred by that party. No costs or attorney fees may be awarded to either party in a traffic infraction case, except as provided for in RCW 46.30.020(2).

[Ord. C31398 § 469; Passed: 6/5/1995]

16.63.900 Repealed.

Repealed.

[Ord. C31398 § 470; Passed: 6/5/1995]