A. 
City law enforcement officers and persons authorized by the Mukilteo police chief pursuant to RCW 46.63.030 as amended are authorized to use automated traffic cameras and related automated systems to detect and record the image of: (1) school speed zone violations; (2) speed zone violations on any roadway identified in a school walk area as defined by RCW 28A.160.160(3); and speed zone violations in a public park speed zone as defined in RCW 46.63.170(1)(b)(ii). Provided, however, pictures of the vehicle and the vehicle license plate may be taken only while an infraction is occurring, and the picture shall not reveal the face of the driver or of any passengers in the vehicle.
B. 
Before adding additional cameras or relocating any existing camera to a new location, an analysis of the locations where automatic traffic safety cameras are proposed must be presented to the city council for approval.
C. 
Each location where an automated safety camera is used shall be clearly marked at least thirty days prior to activation and then throughout the time period of use by signs to indicate (1) that the driver is within a school speed zone, school walk area, or public park speed zone and (2) that the driver is entering a zone where speed violations are enforced by an automated traffic safety camera. Such signs must follow the specifications and guidelines under the manual of uniform traffic control devices for streets and highways as adopted by the Department of Transportation under Chapter 47.36 RCW.
D. 
The city shall post an annual report of the number of traffic accidents that occurred during that reporting year at each location where an automated traffic safety camera is located as well as the number of notices of infraction issued for each camera and any other relevant information about the automated traffic safety cameras that the police department deems appropriate on the city's website.
E. 
"Automated traffic safety camera"
means a device that uses a vehicle sensor installed to work in conjunction with an intersection traffic control system or a speed measuring device, and a camera synchronized to automatically record one or more sequenced photographs, microphotographs or electronic images of the rear of a motor vehicle whenever a vehicle fails to stop when facing a steady red traffic control signal or exceeds a speed limit to a school speed zone as detected by a speed measuring device.
(Ord. 1484 § 1, 2023; Ord. 1501 § 1, 2024)
A. 
Whenever any vehicle is photographed by an automated traffic safety camera, a notice of infraction shall be mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle within fourteen days of the violation, or to the renter of a vehicle within fourteen days of establishing the renter's name and address. A person receiving a notice of infraction based on evidence detected by an automated traffic safety camera may respond to the notice by mail.
B. 
If the registered owner of the vehicle is a rental car business, the law enforcement agency shall, before a notice of infraction is issued, provide a written notice to the rental car business that a notice of infraction may be issued to the rental car business if the rental car business does not, within eighteen days of receiving the written notice, provide to the agency by return mail: (1) a statement under oath stating the name and known mailing address of the individual driving or renting the vehicle when the infraction occurred; or (2) a statement under oath that the business is unable to determine who was driving or renting the vehicle when the infraction occurred; or (3) in lieu of identifying the vehicle operator, the rental car business may pay the applicable penalty. Timely mailing of this statement to the agency shall relieve the rental car business of any liability under this chapter for the infraction.
C. 
The law enforcement officer or person authorized by the Mukilteo chief of police pursuant to RCW 46.63.030 as amended issuing a notice of infraction shall include with it a certificate or facsimile thereof, based upon the inspection of photographs, microphotographs or electronic images produced by an automated traffic safety camera, citing the infraction and stating the facts supporting the notice of infraction. This certificate or facsimile shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained in it and shall be admissible in a proceeding charging a violation under this chapter. The photographs, microphotographs or electronic images evidencing the violation must be available for inspection and admission into evidence in a proceeding to adjudicate the liability for the infraction.
D. 
The registered owner of a vehicle is responsible for an infraction detected through the use of an automated traffic safety camera unless the registered owner overcomes the presumption set forth in Section 10.06.030, or, in the case of a rental car business, satisfies the conditions under subsection B of this section. If appropriate under the circumstances, a renter identified under subsection B of this section is responsible for an infraction.
E. 
All photographs, microphotographs or electronic images prepared under this chapter are for the exclusive use of law enforcement in the discharge of duties under this chapter and, as provided in RCW 46.63.170(1)(f), they are not open to the public and may not be used in a court in a pending action or proceeding unless the action or proceeding relates to a violation under this chapter. No photograph, microphotograph or electronic image may be used for any purpose other than enforcement of violations under this chapter nor retained longer than necessary to enforce this chapter.
(Ord. 1484 § 1, 2023; Ord. 1501 § 2, 2024)
A. 
In a traffic infraction case involving an infraction detected through the use of an automated traffic safety camera under this chapter, proof that the particular vehicle described in the notice of traffic infraction was involved in a stoplight violation or school speed zone violation, together with proof that the person named in the notice of infraction was at the time of the violation the registered owner of the vehicle, shall constitute in evidence a prima facie presumption that the registered owner of the vehicle was the person in control of the vehicle at the point where, and for the time during which, the violation occurred.
B. 
This presumption may be overcome only if the registered owner, under oath, states in a written statement to the court or in testimony before the court that the vehicle involved was, at the time, stolen or in the care, custody, or control of some person other than the registered owner.
(Ord. 1484 § 1, 2023)
Infractions detected through the use of automated traffic safety cameras shall be processed in the same manner as parking infractions.
(Ord. 1484 § 1, 2023)
The amount of the fine issued for an infraction generated through the use of an automated traffic safety camera may not exceed one hundred forty-five dollars, as adjusted for inflation by the office of financial management every five years, beginning January 1, 2029, based upon changes in the consumer price index during that time period, but may be doubled for a school speed zone infraction generated through the use of an automated traffic safety camera. Fine amounts in the city shall be as follows:
Speed
School Zone
Park Zone
6—10 MPH Over
$180
$125
11—15 MPH Over
$230
$145
16—20 MPH Over
$280
$145
21+ MPH Over
$290
$145
The city shall remit monthly to the state twenty-five percent of the noninterest money received for infractions issued by cameras in school walk areas and public park speed zones in excess of the cost to administer, install, operate, and maintain the automated traffic safety cameras, including the cost of processing infractions four years after implementation of the cameras. This does not apply to automated traffic safety cameras authorized for school speed zone violations. Registered owners of vehicles who receive notices of infraction for automated traffic safety camera-enforced infractions and are recipients of public assistance under RCW Title 74 or participants in the Washington Women, Infants, and Children Program, and who request reduced penalties for infractions detected through the use of automated traffic safety cameras, must be granted a reduced penalty amount of fifty percent of what would otherwise be assessed for a first automated traffic safety camera violation and for subsequent automated traffic safety camera violations issued within twenty-one days of issuance of the first automated traffic safety camera violation. Eligibility for Medicaid under RCW 74.09.510 is not a qualifying criterion under this section. Registered owners of vehicles who receive notices of infraction must be provided with information on their eligibility and the opportunity to apply for a reduction in penalty amounts through the mail or internet.
(Ord. 1484 § 1, 2023; Ord. 1501 § 3, 2024)
Nothing in this chapter prohibits a law enforcement officer from issuing a notice of traffic infraction to a person in control of a vehicle at the time a violation occurs under RCW 46.63.020.
(Ord. 1484 § 1, 2023)