Red-light runners caught on camera pay excessive fines, suit says

Washington cities are making millions by fining red-light runners caught on camera more than state law allows, a class-action lawsuit alleges.

Seattle has caught thousands of people running red lights in the three years it has used red-light cameras. Violators get a $124 ticket in the mail — the same fine they would pay if they ran a red light in front of a police officer.

A lawyer representing eight plaintiffs says Seattle — and at least 18 other cities now using the cameras — can fine drivers only as much as they pay for a parking ticket. In Seattle, that's about $40 on average.

Attorney Rob Williamson wants Seattle and the other cities to pay back thousands of drivers who paid the tickets. The suit he filed this week also targets the cities of Auburn, Bonney Lake, Bremerton, Burien, Federal Way, Fife, Issaquah, Lacey, Lake Forest Park, Lakewood, Lynnwood, Monroe, Moses Lake, Puyallup, Renton, SeaTac, Spokane and Tacoma.

But Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr said the city fines drivers $250 for parking illegally in a handicapped-parking zone. He advised city officials they could set the fine anywhere between $25 and $250, the range of parking fines issued by the city.

Traffic-light infractions caught on camera are treated like parking tickets, in that the city fines the registered owner of the car and not the driver. The cameras photograph the cars' license plates, but they can't determine who's driving.

"The language in the law is fairly clear," Carr said. "Most of the cities decided that what the legislation intended was to have that range."

When the state Legislature approved the use of red-light cameras in 2005, it said a fine for a traffic-camera infraction "shall not exceed the amount of the fine issued for other parking infractions within the jurisdiction."

"The intent of the legislation, we believe, was to create this to enhance safety, and it was not to become a revenue-maker, as such," Williamson said.

Another law firm, The Rosen Firm, is preparing to file a lawsuit with even broader claims. Attorney Steve Rosen wouldn't reveal details about his lawsuit but said he will sue some of the cities involved this week.

Rosen said his 20-page complaint includes four claims, the weakest of which, he said, is the one about the amount of the fine.

He plans to sue every jurisdiction in the state that uses red-light cameras and possibly the manufacturer of the cameras. His firm is using a Web site, www.camerainfractions.com, to seek more plaintiffs for the case.

Seattle put up six cameras at four intersections in 2006. By the end of August, there will be 30. The city ticketed 58,000 drivers in the first three years and collected almost $5 million in fines.

Carr said the city is catching fewer people running red lights because people know the cameras are there and they're more careful to stop.

"People in general don't do it twice," he said. "That's generally what you want. It's not a revenue-raiser."

Seattle Times staff reporter Jennifer Sullivan contributed to this report.

Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246 or eheffter@seattletimes.com