Washington traffic tickets will soon cost more

TACOMA – Drivers beware: Speeding tickets in Washington will soon start costing you more. The typical fine will rise to $124 by late July – up from about $100 as recently as last month.

It’s a two-part increase.

In late April, the Washington Supreme Court raised the fine by $11 to account for inflation and help pay for a $50 million upgrade to a computer system that connects courts throughout the state.

The rest of the increase, which takes effect July 22, stems from two programs the Legislature created this year: one to crack down on auto theft and another supporting people with traumatic brain injuries.

The $124 fine will be for driving 6 to 10 mph over the speed limit. It also will apply to various infractions, including running a stop sign or traffic light, following too closely, failing to signal, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, crossing a double yellow line, and driving without a license or an expired one.

The penalty for talking on a cell phone without using a hands-free device will be $124 when a new law takes effect in mid-2008.

In 2006, officers across the state wrote more than 1 million traffic tickets that resulted in $110 million in fines, according to the state Administrative Office of the Courts.

Butch Stussy, state courts administrator, said he asked the Supreme Court to increase the ticket fee partly to keep up with inflation and partly to help pay for an upgrade to the 25-year-old Judicial Information System.

That database contains conviction, charges and arrest information that can be used by any judge in the state, and to compile criminal justice statistics.

“The technology is so archaic that it’s difficult to make changes,” Stussy told the News Tribune of Tacoma. “The new technology will make us more nimble and able to respond more quickly.”

Stussy said he hopes to pick a computer firm and start negotiating a contract in July, then roll out the upgraded system in January 2008.