Steps and information to follow if you received a Photo-Red or Photo-Speed Notice of Violation in the mail.
Log on to www.ViolationInfo.com. To log on to the site you must enter the Notice Number and the PIN Number located at the top right of your Notice of Violation.
You may also access the website at a kiosk in the Public Safety Building, 1100 W. Mallon Ave., Spokane, WA 99260. For further questions or information, you can email inquiries to photored@spokanepolice.org or call 509.625.4181.
There are three options.
You must request an adjudicative hearing in writing before the due date listed on the top and bottom right of your Notice of Violation. Remove the coupon located at the bottom of the Notice of Violation, sign the back and mail it in the enclosed envelope. You can chose to either contest or mitigate and both of these can be done by mail or in person. Mitigation means that you admit to the infraction but want to explain the circumstances and request a reduced fine. Contesting the citation means you contest the fact the violation occurred.
Hearings are held on Thursdays starting at 1:30pm. Hearings last from 10 to 15 minutes and will be scheduled accordingly.
You may only submit an Affidavit of Non-liability if at the time of the violation one of the following was true:
You may obtain an Affidavit of Non-liability by visiting www.ViolationInfo.com. This affidavit must be filled out accurately and in its entirety and all submitted paperwork must be postmarked by the due date for the original notice. Mail the Declaration and pertinent information to: City of Spokane, Violation Processing, PO Box 27748, Tempe, AZ 85285.
You can call 509.625.4181 or email inquiries to photored@spokanepolice.org
Photo-Speed is a traffic safety program that places either a 3D radar or uses an Inductance loop system at six elementary schools and one high school. The schools are posted with a 20 mph School Zone sign that reads when flashing. If the lights are flashing the speed limit is 20 mph. (Children Do Not Have To Be Present)
The Elementary School cameras are active on Mondays 9 – 9:30 a.m. and 2:55 – 3:30 p.m., and Tuesday–Friday 8 – 8:30 a.m. and 2:55 – 3:30 p.m.
The cameras adjust for early release days (Learning Improvement Days) to 1:45 – 2:15 p.m. They also adjust on School Conference days from 12:55 – 1:30 p.m.
The new High School cameras at Ferris are active on Mondays 8:30 – 9 a.m. and 2:30 – 3 p.m., and Tuesday–Friday 7:30 – 8 a.m. and 2:30 – 3 p.m.
The 3D Radar system: Can accurately measure the distance, angle and speed of up to 32 vehicles at once. This system requires no roadway defacement unlike the Inductance Loop System. The radar does a self-system check twice a day. A radar technician physically test and inspects the radar once a month.
Inductance Loop System: This system has inductance loops placed under the asphalt. The loops detect the footprint of the car as it travels over it. As the vehicle leaves the zone the system then uses and algorithm to calculate the speed of the vehicle.
The primary goal of the program would is to use the automated enforcement cameras to reduce speeds in school zones thereby reducing the risk of serious injuries or fatalities from collisions with our children.
Right now, we have (8) cameras monitoring (1) high school and (6) elementary schools.
Our current locations are:
Photo-Red is a traffic safety & intersection safety program that places Photo-Red cameras at ten City of Spokane intersections in order to reduce the number of red-light violations. The objective of the program is to change drivers' behavior, making the community safer as more drivers obey traffic signals and stop at red lights.
Spokane's Intersection Safety statistics (in the PowerPoint presentation below) demonstrate how the program is improving the safety of Spokane intersections. Funds from Photo-Red violator citations go towards supporting neighborhood traffic calming and safety improvement projects.
Simply put, a Photo-Red violation is any time you have a steady or flashing red signal, whether round or arrow, and you fail to COMPLETELY stop the movement of your vehicle prior to crossing the stop line. All intersections that are monitored by this program have thick painted white stop lines prior to the marked crosswalks. For the complete law, please see the Revised Code of Washington 46.61.050
The infraction is issued against the car's registered owner, like a parking ticket, so your insurance rates and driver's license WILL NOT be affected. However, if you fail to pay the fines and/or respond to the court in the time allowed, the Department of Licensing can hold your vehicle tabs until the fine and all related late fees are paid.
Not necessarily...There are two images required to enforce a Photo-Red citation. The first image is as the vehicle comes to the stop line at an intersection. The second is as the vehicle goes through the intersection. If your vehicle approaches the intersection at a certain speed, the camera will take the first picture in anticipation that you'll run the red light. However, if you come to a COMPLETE stop, you will not receive a citation. The data collection is the automated part of the system. After the data is collected, several different people view the information to determine whether or not it is a good violation prior to it getting sent to the police department for final approval. The camera does not make the decision whether or not to cite a vehicle, an actual officer does.
The camera system used by American Traffic Solutions has three basic components: a high resolution camera for taking still color photos, a video camera that provides a broader view of the offending vehicle and any other vehicles, pedestrians, or cyclists in the intersection, and a vehicle sensing device that activates the still cameras and captures video of approaching vehicles that the system “predicts” will violate a red signal.
Photographic and video images 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 Spokane Police Department. Events that clearly are not violations are rejected at the data center. Trained officers in the SPD Traffic Section, who authorize issuance of citations for those deemed in violation, review events that appear to meet SPD criteria. View illustrated version of this explanation (PDF 891 KB).
Automated safety systems have been shown to reduce Photo-Red violations and intersection crashes. Numerous studies throughout the U.S. and worldwide, as well as the experience of many other cities, indicate significant decreases in red-light running violations and collisions after cameras were installed. Often times, a spillover effect results from automated enforcement: other intersections not monitored by automated enforcement also see a decrease in violations and accidents because of the presence of enforcement in other areas of the community.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: “Cameras have been shown to substantially reduce Photo-Red violations. Institute evaluations in Fairfax, Virginia, and Oxnard, California, showed that camera enforcement reduced Photo-Red running violations by about 40 percent. In addition to reducing Photo-Red running at camera-equipped sites, violation reductions in both communities carried over to signalized intersections not equipped with Photo-Red cameras, indicating community-wide changes in driver behavior. An Institute evaluation of Photo-Red cameras in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, found that after red light violations were reduced by 36 percent following increased yellow signal timing, the addition of Photo-Red cameras further reduced Photo-Red violations by 96 percent.”
In a study completed by AAA, crashes cost American drivers more than $160 billion per year. In Spokane specifically, research showed 4,681 injuries in 2007 with a cost of $429 million to the community, averaging $975 per person in Spokane County.
Right now, we have fifteen cameras monitoring ten intersections. One camera can cover up to four lanes of travel in one direction.
Our current approaches are as follows:
For in progress crimes and emergencies call 911
To report a non-emergent crime contact:
To provide crime activity or suspect information that doesn't require immediate action contact:
For general police email contact:
eraspdweb@spokanepolice.org
For nuisance reports, including code violations (i.e. illegal camping, substantial litter in yards or alleys, graffiti, land use violations), parking complaints, and road condition issues contact:
Crime Check: 509.456.2233
Tipline: 509.242.TIPS (8477)
My Spokane: 311, or for outside city limits, 509.755.CITY (2489)
spdwebmail@spokanepolice.org
