Speeding in School Zone With Obstructed Sign

[gillian]

My question involves a speeding ticket from the State of: Washington

I was stopped for going 35 in a 20 mph school zone. The school is not visible from the road, and there is a flashing light and sign that says the limit is 20 when flashing. The sign, however, is completely obstructed by trees, and is not visible until you are within about 10 feet of it....and then you would have to look at an almost 90 degree angle to see it.

My questions are:

1. Is there an RCW or SMC that deals with sign visibility?
2. How do I move to dismiss this and do you think I will be successful? I have pictures and video.
3. I have a pre-trial hearing scheduled....will the magistrate have the authority to dismiss this?
4. I need to drive the street again, but what if the speed limit is otherwise 30, and not 35? Can I say that then it is under the incorrect SMC? Or can the judge just say that I was speeding anyhow?

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

[That Guy]

Other that to say that pictures showing that the sign is obstructed should be sufficient enough to get a dismissal, I'm going to leave the other questions for someone who's more familiar with Washington State laws but I have a point to make about the following:

The school is not visible from the road, and there is a flashing light and sign that says the limit is 20 when flashing. The sign, however, is completely obstructed by trees, and is not visible until you are within about 10 feet of it....and then you would have to look at an almost 90 degree angle to see it.

So you were driving along, you got to the obstructed sign which was flashing at the time (or are the flashing lights also obstructed by the trees?), and from a distance of 10 feet or so, you were able to see that it says "20mph when flashing" and yet you continued to drive at a speed of 35mph instead of making an attempt to slow down?

[gillian]

No, I never even saw the sign at all. This was my first time down this road and there is no school on the road (just the crosswalk). I was just saying that in order to be able to see the sign I would have had to turn my head about 90 degrees right as I passed it....and I didn't.

Thanks for the help!

[blewis]

Hmmmm. I do believe your "Thanks for the help!" was a bit facetious. That makes me reluctant to respond -- after all YOU are the one who did not explain your situation very clearly. However, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and interpret your comment as truly appreciative. After all, he's not know as "St. That Guy" for nothing.

The statute you're looking for is RCW 46.61.050 (2) which states:

(2) No provision of this chapter for which official traffic control devices are required shall be enforced against an alleged violator if at the time and place of the alleged violation an official device is not in proper position and sufficiently legible or visible to be seen by an ordinarily observant person. Whenever a particular section does not state that official traffic control devices are required, such section shall be effective even though no devices are erected or in place.

RCW 46.61.440 requires that a speed zone is in effect only when "such marked crosswalk is fully posted." Therefore, traffic control devices are REQUIRED and that makes RCW 46.61.050 (2) applicable.

So, do as Guy suggested and take your photos to court with you, along with a copy of this statute.

Good luck,
Barry

[gillian]

Hi - thank you all very much. I was not being facetious....I really was saying thank you. I truly appreciate the help. I guess that there are probably alot of people coming here to defend their actions, so I understand if people are a little skeptical. I really didn't see any sign, or I would have slowed down.

Just to clarify, though, should I go to the pretrial hearing with the magistrate, or just go right to the trial? Will it matter if the speed limit was 30?

Thanks (sincerely),

Gillian

[blewis]

The entire purpose of the pre-hearing conference, as I see it, is to offer you a deferral or the opportunity to mitigate and avoid another trip to the courthouse. However, since, in most jurisdictions, school zone violations cannot be deferred or mitigated (see RCW 46.61.440 (3)), it's really a waste of time.

You can call the Clerk of the Court and ask them to send you a pre-hearing conference waiver form (or it may be online). If you do not wish to attend TWO hearings, fill that out and they will simply assign you a contested hearing date, skipping the pre-hearing conference.

I doubt it will matter whether the speed limit was 30 or 35. In fact, unless the officer's sworn statement mentions it, I certainly would not. Speaking of the officer's sworn statement, did you request discovery yet? If not, you should do that as soon as possible. If you need a form to use, you can find one here. When you receive your discovery materials, they should contain a copy of the citation with the "filing" date on it. Be sure the filing date is within 5 court days of the infraction. If not, you can get a dismissal. Also, it should contain a copy of the officer's sworn statement -- make sure it's signed! I've seen several cases recently that were dismissed due to lack of evidence when the officer forgets to sign the sworn statement.

Barry

[gillian]

Barry,

Thank you so much for all your help. You are awesome!

I am requesting discovery now. BTW, should I subpoena the officer, or could he just testify that I was still going 5 mph over?

One more thing....I know that IRLJ 2.6 says that the pretrial hearing must be set within 45 days. I believe that mine is on the 46th day, but that counts the date of infraction and the court date. How do they calculate the 45 days, and can I just go to the pretrial and request a dismissal on those grounds?

Thanks!

[blewis]

Sorry, but CR 6 is the Court Rule governing "time". It states that the date of the "event" (such as date of the infraction) DOES NOT count in the computation of time -- only the last day (such as the date of the hearing).

As far as subpoenaing the officer, that's up to you. I will say, however, that I have NEVER seen nor heard of ANYONE winning when the officer shows up (and they really do tend to show up for school zone violations). Now, if the officer does NOT show, your case SHOULD be dismissed -- remember that you will have to make a motion for dismissal and object to any request for a continuance.

Barry