Amendment ends signature need

A signature is no longer required on traffic tickets.

An amendment to the law took effect Wednesday and applies to all law enforcement agencies in Washington.

“This bill will help eliminate confusion from citizens who don’t want to sign a citation and alleviate the need for officers to obtain a signature,” said Washington State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste in a prepared statement.

WSP Trooper Jeff Sevigney said, “Sometimes the signing of the ticket would cause confrontation.

“A person would think by signing it they were admitting to doing it.”

People receiving traffic tickets are often angry, Sevigney said. “I’ve had some people that were so mad that they signed their name across the entire ticket, or people write ‘under extreme duress’ on the line where they are supposed to sign their name.”

The new law states that any person who receives a traffic ticket must follow the necessary procedures, for example, appeal the ticket in court or pay the fine, said WSP Lt. Sean Hartsock.

If that’s not done in a timely manner, the person can be charged with a misdemeanor.

Not requiring violators to sign tickets will help speed up the process, Sevigney said.

It will also help in a move from handwritten tickets to electronically generated tickets, said Spokane Acting Police Chief Jim Nicks in a memo to his officers.

Meanwhile, Washington law enforcement officers will use a stamp.

On the line where there would normally be a signature, the stamp will say: “Copy given to above person,” Sevigney explained.

“Our goal is to enforce and educate citizens on the laws of Washington State,” Batiste said.

“This new law will increase safety on the road by getting violators on their way and out of danger faster.”