Viewer Submitted:
Allow eligible offenders the opportunity to keep their driver’s License even if they can’t afford their ticket fines.
Of course they would still lose their license if the offense they committed calls for it.
Washington State Laws allow, and strongly encourage, counties to put together a drivers licensing amnesty program This is where community service can substitute for fines, and the license is released upon the first payment(the amount of which is determined by the courts), often taking income into consideration to reduce the fine.
Many counties across the state have adopted this program, but Skagit County has not. Part of the intent of this law is to make sure that they are not making poverty a crime. You can contact our county prosecutors and judges who set the local policy. Currently the fines are just sent to a local collection agency with huge fine increases without releasing the license. This increases the likelihood of another infraction, if the person ignores the circumstances and chooses to drive anyway. This happens with people needing to work and not accepting alternative measures for transportation.
This is important because this situation feels like a catch 22. Also, in order to get your license back you have to pay the fines first but because the fines are so high and additional penalties are added it’s not feasible so you can be stuck; drive and risk more fines or don’t have a job. This is exactly why this law was put into place.
Information from our State here:
