Cited For Fail To Stop At Red Light At Tumwater, Washington

[pat2008]

My wife just got the second ticket within a month for fail to stop at red light. The previous one was for speeding, and we mailed in response for a contest hearing, and are waiting for court date from Thurston county district court.
The second citation would be handled by Tumwater Municipal court. The violation code given is RCW.46.61.055, and the note on ticket is "fail to stop at stop sign". The cop pulled over us said we didn't stop at red light. I don't know if the red light is equivalent to stop sign.

We strongly felt this citation was not justified. There are 2 sets of traffic lights about 300 ft apart on a 35mph road. We passed the first set with green light. The second light went to yellow, when we enter the intersection or about to enter the intersection. We are very sure that light was still yellow as we reached the other side of intersection.
We will definitely contest this citation, and any advice is greatly appreciated.

[blewis]

The law in WA is quite clear -- if the light is RED, you may not enter the intersection. RCW 46.61.055 states:

(3) Steady red indication
(a) Vehicle operators facing a steady circular red signal alone shall stop at a clearly marked stop line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if none, then before entering the intersection control area and shall remain standing until an indication to proceed is shown.

There is NO law AGAINST entering an intersection on YELLOW (see RCW 46.61.055 (2)). There is NO law that says you must CLEAR the intersection before the light turns RED. Strictly speaking, as long as ANY part of your car is IN the intersection when the light turns RED, you're legal. Now, whether or not you can convince a judge of that, is a different matter.

Good luck,
Barry

[pat2008]

Thanks Barry for quick reply! I got two more questions here.
1. The ticket cited "fail to stop at stop sign" instead of "red light". Would it be a base for dismissal?
2. The conversation between my wife and the cop sounded like they both referred the alleged infraction at the second intersection. I just found the cross street name is not correct. The ticket indicates it happened at the first intersection. My wife clearly passed it with green light. Would it be another reason for dismissal?

My guess is the cop should be behind our car relatively far. He pulled over my wife after at least another mile in local. The second intersection is at the bottom after a downhill drive. He couldn't really see what happened there.

Thanks very much again!

[pat2008]

The law in WA is quite clear -- if the light is RED, you may not enter the intersection. RCW 46.61.055 states:There is NO law AGAINST entering an intersection on YELLOW (see RCW 46.61.055 (2)). There is NO law that says you must CLEAR the intersection before the light turns RED. Strictly speaking, as long as ANY part of your car is IN the intersection when the light turns RED, you're legal. Now, whether or not you can convince a judge of that, is a different matter.

Good luck,
Barry

By the way, the cop's interpretation on the law seems not correct. He actually told my wife as long as any part of your car passes the stop line when light turns red, it constitutes a violation. How can they enforce the law without accurate understanding.

[blewis]

Thanks Barry for quick reply! I got two more questions here.
1. The ticket cited "fail to stop at stop sign" instead of "red light". Would it be a base for dismissal?

I think this may be a point of contention. RCW 46.63.060 states that the citation must contain:

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

Thus, you must assume that the infraction was, indeed, a stop SIGN violation.
The court rules expand on this and state

(b) Contents. The notice of infraction shall contain the following information....

(4) The infraction which the defendant is alleged to have committed and the accompanying statutory citation or ordinance number, the date, time, and place the infraction occurred, the date the notice of infraction was issued, and the name and, if applicable, the number of the citing officer;

You can claim to the court that the statutory citation is incorrect since it has nothing to do with a "stop sign" violation. You, therefore, could not prepare a defense, since you were confused about the nature of the violation.

2. The conversation between my wife and the cop sounded like they both referred the alleged infraction at the second intersection. I just found the cross street name is not correct. The ticket indicates it happened at the first intersection. My wife clearly passed it with green light. Would it be another reason for dismissal?

As far as the court is concerned, the violation took place exactly where the officer states -- you would probably have a very difficult time proving it took place somewhere else. However, this adds to the confusion. You are in court defending yourself against a "stop sign" violation -- but there is NO stop sign at the intersection where the officer states the infraction occurred. Your theory is that the officer got confused about the location. The location he listed has a stop LIGHT, which might account for his listing RCW 46.61.055 as the statute, but you thought it was a stop sign violation, as also listed on the citation.

By the way, the cop's interpretation on the law seems not correct. He actually told my wife as long as any part of your car passes the stop line when light turns red, it constitutes a violation. How can they enforce the law without accurate understanding.

Actually, that interpretation seems correct to me -- at least the way I read it. No part of your car may PASS the STOP LINE AFTER the light turns red -- unless SOME part of your car had passed it BEFORE the light turned red. If any part of your car passes the stop line BEFORE the light turns red, you are legal.

Personally, I think you've got a pretty good chance of getting off because of the error on the ticket. Don't worry about the cop's interpretation of the law, or where the infraction ACTUALLY occurred. Just contend that the confusion about the violation, statute, and location make it impossible for you to have prepared a defense.

But, be sure to do a discovery request to get the officer's "sworn statement" (the back of the ticket filed with the court). It may have more information about WHAT, WHEN, and WHERE.

Good luck,
Barry