Washington State to raise the price on speeding tickets
Jamei June
If you enjoy speeding, the price of quick entertainment is getting even more costly. Tickets for speeding seem to be getting harder to talk your way out of and there is absolutely no leniency on forgetting to put on a seatbelt. Why have the prices gone higher?
I called Everett Court Administrator, Jeri Cusimano, for some explanations. Cusimano explained the city does not set the infraction a price, the state legislature decides the base schedule, or penalty.
Every ticket starts with a base penalty statewide. The legislature does mediatory assessments to see what additional charges should be placed over the base pay. The mediatory assessments are a percent of the base added on top, which can range from 75 to over 100 percent.
The reason ticket prices have gone up is because the state legislature decided there should be a two-dollar raise on top of every charge for every ticket. So when someone is pulled over they actually pay a base pay, the mediatory assessment percent, any additional charges such as a taillight was out or no license plate, and then two dollars on top of every one of those charges.
Paying all of these fees
and extra cost is a bummer,
a good piece of advice is to slow down.
This can get incredibly expensive. Is it because the city needs more money? No. Does the police department get a raise? No. It's all up to the state legislature.
Feeling annoyed after being pulled over for over the twentieth time, I told the officer he should actually appreciate people like me because after paying so many tickets I probably keep him employed. His response was a green slip and a quick explanation of my options.
Cusimano said, "Very little of what you pay us, actually none, is dedicated to police officers' or the judge's salary. The money goes into a pot for everyone."
Money collected for an infraction is split up. If a ticket is 150 dollars, the city gets about 30 dollars. That money goes into a general fund for the city mayor, city services, etc. "The other part, the greater portion, goes to the state and is broken into funds for transportation, public safety and court computer systems," Cusimano said.
Paying all of these and extra cost is a bummer - a good piece of advice is to slow down. Especially in lower speed zones such as 25 to 35 mph. The penalty in price is actually higher in these areas. Tickets are lower if someone is going 60 mph in a 50 mph zoning over 35 mph in a 25 mph zone because of the safety reasons.
Another thing students should be looking out for is the red light cameras. Also, there is a countywide emphasis on the "Click It or Ticket" and DUI programs. Cops go out just to look for people driving drunk or not wearing their seatbelts.