Automated Photo Enforcement Program - School Zone Speed Cameras

The City is required to mail out all notice of infractions within 14 days of the date the violation took place. If the violation took place while driving a rental car, the timeframe will be longer. The rental car company has the opportunity to identify the vehicle operator and forward the information so a notice of infraction can be mailed to the renter of the vehicle.

 

You have three payment options:

1. Send a check or money order in U.S. funds, payable to Seattle Municipal Court, for the AMOUNT DUE shown on the front, on or before the DUE DATE. Please include the enclosed coupon with your payment. Write your Notice # and your license plate # on your check or money order. PLEASE DO NOT MAIL CASH.
2. Pay through the internet, on or before the DUE DATE at www.seattle.gov/courts/ticketinformation.htm or through our automated payment system accessible from any touch-tone telephone at (206) 233-7000.
3. Pay in person, on or before the DUE DATE, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Court Payment Office on the 1st floor of the Seattle Municipal Court Building, 600 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA. A payment box is located in the front of the Seattle Municipal Court Building for after-hours convenience.

Use the coupon enclosed with your ticket to request a mitigation hearing or contested hearing. To submit a declaration of non-responsibility, follow the instructions on the ticket.

• A HEARING TO EXPLAIN THE CIRCUMSTANCES: By requesting a mitigation hearing, you will be deemed to have committed the infraction. You may not subpoena witnesses for this hearing. You would request a mitigation hearing if you agree you committed the infraction but believe the circumstances may be such that the court could reduce or waive the penalty.
• A HEARING TO CONTEST THE INFRACTION: At a contested hearing the City has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the infraction was committed. You may subpoena witnesses including the officer who issued this Notice of Infraction. If you request a contested hearing the Court will schedule a pre-hearing conference, which you may waive by using the form attached to the Notice of Hearing that the Court will send you.
• SUBMIT A DECLARATION OF NON-RESPONSIBILITY: If your vehicle was stolen, sold by you prior to the date of the violation, or was otherwise not in your care, custody or control at the time of the violation, you may submit a sworn statement to that effect to the Court to rebut the presumption, established in SMC 11.31.090, that you were driving the vehicle at the time of the violation.

A photo enforced violation is treated like a parking infraction. There are no issues with your license, no points assessed, and no impact to your insurance.

The speed cameras operate by using digital signal processing and in-ground point-to-point loop detectors to make multiple measurements of a vehicle as it passes through the school speed zone. The vehicle's speed is calculated based off the time it takes to travel between the loop detectors. The cameras are connected to the school zone beacons and only operate when the beacons are flashing. If the beacons are not flashing, then drivers will not be issued citations.

Photos of the vehicle and the vehicle license plate taken at the time the vehicle was detected speeding in a school zone are filed along with a notice of infraction in Seattle Municipal Court. The photographic images and video are available online at www.ViolationInfo.com

• Vehicle Speed - The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDoT) monitors speed at arterial school zones across the City. They prioritize school zones where 85^th percentile speeds are more than 5mph over the school zone speed limit.
• Additional Traffic Calming - SDoT evaluates school zones for additional calming options prior to installing photo speed enforcement.
• Number of Vehicles - SDoT measures the volume of traffic to determine the impact photo speed enforcement would have if installed.
• Geographic Balance - Ensuring no neighborhood is over or under served by photo speed enforcement.
• Engineering - Each potential new location is assessed for feasibility of photo speed enforcement installation. Not all locations allow for photo enforcement due to environmental conditions.

Photos and videos of violation events are sent electronically from the traffic safety camera system to the ATS data center where they are reviewed against criteria established by the Seattle Police Department. Events that clearly are not violations are rejected at the data center. Those deemed potential violations are forwarded to SPD where trained officers in the SPD Traffic Section review and either reject or authorize issuance of citations for speed violations.

You may view the photographic images and video online at www.ViolationInfo.com. You must use the Notice # and PIN printed on the front of the notice to login.

Persons without access to a computer can visit any Seattle Public Library branch or at the Municipal Court (600 Fifth Avenue) to view photographic and video evidence.

The beacon lights flash in an alternating mode so that there is a very small pause between when each light flashes. The speed enforcement camera takes a still picture that captures a moment in time. It is possible that the camera may capture this moment in time between when each light flashes so that it appears that the beacons lights were not flashing. For this reason, a video of the incident is also captured and is available online at www.ViolationInfo.com.

If this occurred during school hours and the beacons were flashing, then you probably have a ticket, but keep in mind, in some cases the system is monitoring multiple lanes of traffic. If it occurred at any other time (e.g. nighttime and/or beacons off), then it's likely that the camera was conducting a self-diagnostic test and you will not have a ticket. In the event, controls are in place to avoid the issuing of erroneous citations outside of the enforcement period or during equipment malfunction.