Oregon Public Broadcasting

Tell me this doesn't sound familiar.

You round a bend and see a police car idling on the shoulder. Your immediate reaction is to tap the brakes, glance at the speedometer and pray you weren't speeding excessively.

Speeding tickets are at an all time high in some jurisdictions around the Northwest. Tom Banse reports there are multiple reasons why.

Washington State Trooper Brandy Kessler parks in the median of Interstate 5 just north of Olympia.  This is a well known speed trap.  Still, the fishing is easy.

Brandy Kessler: "69 on that green one.  We'll go ahead and take the 69.  They're almost 10 miles per hour over the speed limit."

Kessler sets down the radar gun.  Then it's full throttle, flashing lights.  No siren needed.  The driver of the green SUV dutifully pulls to the side of the freeway.

Brandy Kessler: "The reason I stopped you is because you're doing 69 back there.  Is there any reason you're 9 miles over?"

The driver mumbles an excuse, but the trooper isn't buying it.

Brandy Kessler: "Following traffic and not paying attention, huh?"

Like all troopers around the Northwest, Kessler can exercise discretion.  But she rarely lets off a speeder with just a warning.

Brandy Kessler: "I write everybody for speeding.  If I'm going to stop a car and put my life in danger and stand outside that car while traffic is going by at 60 or 70, then I'm going to write that ticket."

That approach conforms with the message coming down the chain of command. 

John Batiste is the chief of the Washington State Patrol.

John Batiste: "The policy that I told them I want instituted is less tolerance associated with speed in order to change bad driving behavior to drive down speed-related collisions and it has worked."

If you want to go by the numbers, the chief says five years ago troopers issued a ticket to a speeder less than half the time.  Now, 63 percent of speed-related stops result in a fine. The rest get warnings.

Meanwhile, traffic fatalities in Washington -- as well as Oregon and Idaho -- are the lowest they've been in more than 50 years.  There are many factors, but Chief Batiste is convinced tougher enforcement plays a role.

John Batiste: "Research tells us that an individual who receives a citation for a longer period after receiving that citation drives legal versus an individual who receives a warning.  Within a matter of days, they go back to bad driving habits -- speeding."

Citations also went up in Oregon, but for a different reason.  In 2006, the Oregon State Police issued 49,000 speeding tickets.  That jumped to 60,000 in 2009. 

That's purely a function of more troopers on the road according to an agency spokesman.  Oregon is adding back patrols after making deep layoffs years ago. 

Warnings interestingly are going up faster than tickets.

The National Motorists Association is a group that publicizes notorious speed traps and helps members fight tickets.  Its executive director offers another take on vigorous enforcement.

Gary Biller contends many cash-strapped cities have turned to traffic violators for a quick bailout.

Gary Biller: "We're definitely seeing a national trend over the last several months which we correlate directly to the last couple of years of tough financial times for both local and state governments."

State and local police agencies vigorously deny there's a crackdown to generate more money.  However it is true that politicians have added surcharges so that the present level of enforcement brings in more money.

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission Friday kicks off its first statewide anti-speeding campaign.  The commission will pay officers' overtime to concentrate on speed enforcement.

The National Motorists Association ranked states it considered most "fair" to drivers.  Idaho placed in the top five.  The number of speeding tickets issued statewide in Idaho has stayed flat for the past three years.  Oregon and Washington ranked near the bottom in that group's eyes.

State of Washington traffic infraction data

Idaho driving citations database at Idaho Transportation Dept.