Police officers in Washington are constantly on the lookout for those who may have violated traffic laws, and they will issue citations to or arrest anyone who violates the speed limit, drives recklessly or otherwise fails to comply with Washington traffic statutes.
The first impulse of most motorists accused of a traffic offense is just to plead guilty by paying fines. They think that a traffic infraction is really just a financial setback. What they may not realize is that a traffic offense could potentially put them at risk of losing their job.
When could a ticket in Washington affect someone’s employment?
They drive for work
If an individual’s profession involves operating a motor vehicle, traffic tickets could affect their ability to do their job. Even a single significant traffic infraction will typically increase what it costs to insure a driver, which means that their employer may not want them to drive on the clock anymore after getting a ticket. If someone has a commercial driver’s license (CDL), even infractions in their own vehicle could eventually cost them their CDL.
Their traffic stop makes them late for work
Perhaps someone was on their way to work and scheduled for their annual performance review with their supervisor police officer pulled them over. Maybe they were supposed to meet with a client or show up at a customer’s house to repair a furnace. The delay caused by a traffic stop could result in complaints from coworkers, issues with customers and even disciplinary action that could include the loss of someone’s job. People running behind before important meetings are likely to drive too fast and could therefore get pulled over and ticketed, a process that could make them late enough to trigger disciplinary action or customer complaints.
They could lose their license
They can no longer be punctual and reliable. If someone loses their license due to multiple traffic infractions, they will depend on others to get to and from work. Public transit, rideshare services and other alternative means of on-demand transportation are often unreliable and also expensive. Those who temporarily lose their license could go from being the most trusted worker at the company to someone who can’t seem to get to their shift on time three days out of five anymore.
Realizing that a traffic citation could affect one’s career can be a powerful motivator to fight that citation instead of just paying a fine, weathering insurance premium hikes and incurring other penalties.