Seattle police issuing fewest amount of traffic tickets in years

The Seattle Police Department issued 27,600 tickets last year for traffic infractions, which sounds like a lot, until you consider that number’s been precipitously going down every year since 2015. Not that people are driving better or anything.

That number is down 18 percent from the 33,000 tickets in 2017, and 43 percent when compared to the 48,800 issued in 2015, reports The Seattle Times.

“So when you are driving down the road in Seattle, you most likely will not get a ticket if you are doing something that is considered to be against the law, they just write fewer and fewer tickets,” said KIRO Radio’s John Curley.

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It’s not that Seattleites have suddenly turned into wonderful drivers who respect all the traffic laws, more that resources and traffic considerations can make it difficult for police to always pull drivers over.

“One of the reasons they say this is the case over the last four years is because sometimes citing somebody causes more traffic headaches than not,” said co-host Tom Tangney.

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Additionally, the SPD told The Seattle Times that officers in traffic units have been given more responsibilities of late (including collision investigations), and are occasionally pulled away from their regular duties as a result of specials events like sports, concerts, and demonstrations.

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