For additional help at your hearing, you may want to hire a traffic ticket attorney. If you're guilty of the traffic violation, you have the option to request a mitigation hearing and have your fine reduced. Your mitigation hearing may result in, any of the following in lieu of paying the full original ticket fine:. Visit our page about Fighting Traffic Tickets to learn more. If you fight your traffic ticket and win, make sure your auto insurance company doesn't increase your premiums.
Check your driving record to make sure it's correct and you're not overpaying for insurance. To get traffic ticket information after you lose your WA traffic citation, you'll need to contact the traffic court in the county where you were ticketed. Be prepared to provide your full name and driver's license number.
For more information, visit our Lost Traffic Ticket page. NOTE : County court websites may also offer an online ticket search feature. As a commercial driver in Washington, you must notify your employer within 30 days of being convicted of a traffic violation in any state , even if you weren't driving a commercial vehicle.
Pay a Traffic Ticket in Washington If you choose to pay your WA ticket fine, you'll need to do so within 15 days to avoid any additional penalties. Depending on your violation and the county you received your citation, you can generally pay a WA traffic ticket : Online. Contact your insurance agent if you need to know how much this ticket is likely to effect your insurance premiums.
Should you hire a Washington State speeding ticket attorney to fight your speeding ticket? How to fight a speeding ticket is purely an economic decision that only you can make.
It is a fact your insurance company will raise your rates depending on your MVR. Employers often check an applicants driving record and several speeding tickets can cost you that new position or even get you fired from your present job.
Speeding tickets remain on your record for three years so you need to evaluate the three year cost of additional insurance premiums against the cost of an attorney.
You may wish to check the recent court rules relating to infractions. Washington State Traffic Court Rules. These are the rules that the officer, the prosecutor, the court and you must follow in infraction cases. Some courts have local infraction rules as well.
You have fifteen days to pay the Washington State speeding ticket or notify the court you wish to appear. If you decide to appear, you may request a mitigation hearing or a trial. The ticket is considered a determination you committed the violation and no further evidence is necessary to convict you of the charge. Unless you have a very good defense, you will lose. If you do not have a Washing State attorney, your best option may be to negotiate with the judge for a reduced charge at a mitigation hearing.
There is no prosecutor and the officer does not have to appear. In Washington State the officer is not required to attend the hearing. However he is required to file a written report and he or she is required to file the citation with the court within five business days.
The new law requires the judge to dismiss the Washington State speeding ticket if it is not filed within the five day limit. However, you will have to appear and make a motion for dismissal. Imposing a zero Blood Alcohol Content BAC limit on certain driver categories recognises the increased risk that drivers pose to passengers and other road users when driving with alcohol in their blood.
Furthermore, if you are subject to a zero BAC limit when driving, you will also be subject to a zero BAC when supervising a novice learner driver. The zero BAC limit applies to Alcohol offenders and Interlock restricted drivers and means that you cannot have any alcohol in your body while driving.
An Alcohol offender is a person who has been convicted of an alcohol interlock offence committed on or after the 24th October An Interlock restricted driver's licence holder is any person who holds a driver's licence that is endorsed with an I condition. This includes a person who holds an Interlock restricted licence issued in WA or from another jurisdiction. The zero BAC limit affects Novice drivers and means that you cannot have any alcohol in your body while driving. A person is a Novice Driver until they have held a driver's licence for at least two 2 years or periods adding up to two 2 years.
This may include:. The zero BAC limit affects taxi drivers and means that you cannot have any alcohol in your body while driving a taxi that is carrying passengers for hire or reward. The legislation recognises that many taxis are used by operators or owners for private purposes when not being operated as a taxi.
Similarly, some taxis operate only during peak periods and for the majority of the week they are used as private vehicles. As such, the zero BAC limit only applies to a person driving a taxi when it is being used to carry passengers for hire or reward.
If using a taxi for private purposes the 0. When a person is driving a vehicle that is equipped to seat more than 12 adult passengers, including the driver, the driver cannot have any alcohol in his or her body when carrying any passengers, regardless if they are paying or non-paying passengers. Some examples of passenger vehicles equipped to carry more than 12 adult passengers including the driver are:.
The extension of the zero BAC limit affects Omnibus drivers and means that you cannot have any alcohol in your body while driving an Omnibus that is carrying passengers for hire or reward.
A driver of an omnibus as defined in the Transport Co-ordination Act will be subject to the zero BAC limit as follows:. The 0. Novelty vehicles such as customised motorcycles and hot rods, when used for the carriage of passengers for hire and reward. The legislation recognises that some of the smaller omnibuses defined for the purposes of the Act to be vehicles with 12 or less passenger seats including the driver are used by operators or owners for private purposes when not being operated as an omnibus.
As such, the zero BAC only applies to a person driving a smaller omnibus when it is being used to carry passengers for hire or reward. If using such an omnibus for private purposes the driver is subject to the 0. The zero BAC limit affects drivers of vehicles with a Gross Combination Mass GCM in excess of 22, kg and means that you cannot have any alcohol in your body while driving such vehicles.
The GCM of a vehicle is the maximum loaded mass of the vehicle, including any trailers and their load. The GCM of a vehicle can be easily determined by checking the details indicated on the vehicle licence document. Note that it is the driver's responsibility to confirm the vehicle's GCM. Where that weight exceeds 22, kg the zero BAC limit will apply to the driver. The zero BAC limit affects drivers of vehicles carrying dangerous goods and means that a person driving a vehicle while it is carrying dangerous goods cannot have any alcohol in their body.
The consequences of a crash involving a motor vehicle carrying dangerous goods, as defined in the Dangerous Goods Safety Act , could be severe. Dangerous goods may be highly volatile or may be noxious and present a health or environmental risk if spilled. The carriage of dangerous goods elevates the risk in the event of a crash due the nature of the load.
As a result, drivers of motor vehicles transporting dangerous goods are required to be unimpaired by alcohol, ensuring they have a zero BAC when driving such a vehicle, at those times when that vehicle is carrying dangerous goods.
Regulations made under the Dangerous Goods Safety Act prescribe the classes of vehicle as follows:. The zero BAC limit affects drivers who hold an Extraordinary Licence and means that they cannot have any alcohol in their body while driving.
This law applies to all Extraordinary Licence holders irrespective of when the extraordinary licence was granted. Recently disqualified drivers are those persons who have been convicted of a drink or drug related offence for:.
The extension of the zero BAC affects drivers of passenger vehicles with capacity to carry more than 12 adult passengers including the driver for example, a bus and vehicles with a Gross Combination Mass GCM in excess of 22, kg. This means that drivers of these vehicles cannot have any alcohol in their bodies while driving such vehicles.
The law recognises that the application of zero BAC could impede the ability of some emergency services employees and volunteers to respond to an emergency, if in the course of responding to the incident they are required to drive one or other of these vehicles.
As such, the law provides an exemption from zero BAC for certain drivers prescribed in regulation and outlined below. In this situation, the driver will continue to be subject to 0.
The exemption will ensure that those who respond to emergencies such as floods, fires, cyclones and earthquakes and participate in search and rescue missions will continue to be able to respond to call-outs at short notice.
These people are vital to the State's emergency response capabilities. When driving a passenger vehicle or heavy vehicle, as defined above, in circumstances other than responding to an incident, zero BAC limit will apply. An incident is defined in the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia Act as a fire, a hazardous material incident, a natural disaster; or an accident or other event that may require the carrying out of a rescue operation including search and rescue and marine search and rescue or an assistance operation; or a monitoring activity.
Easter and Christmas and on long weekends, demerit points are doubled for alcohol, speed and some other offences. The disqualification for repeat offences may differ and may order a licence cancellation, rather than a licence suspension.
The above information is provided as a guide only. Independent legal advice should be sought to determine the specific disqualification that will apply in individual circumstances. More information about these and other offences can be found on the Road Safety Commission's website. While you must not exceed the limit indicated on speed signs, you should never drive at an unsafe low speed for the conditions that exist at the time.
Driving too slowly can also cause dangerous situations. For example: On a freeway you are required to travel at a speed that is no more than 20 kph below the posted speed limit unless traffic, weather or visibility conditions prevent you from doing so.
Periods when 'double demerit' points are in force are publicised through the Western Australian media. You must obey blood alcohol concentration BAC and speed limits at all times. These penalties are reviewed from time to time. They are correct at date of publication.
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