They’re not tickets. What to know about WA’s new speeding ‘courtesy notices’
Since April, 8,300 Washington drivers have received notices in the mail saying they were caught exceeding the speed limit. But they’re not speeding tickets.
These so-called “courtesy notices” are part of a new pilot program that placed speed cameras in two locations on the highway. It is administered by the Washington State Department of Transportation, Washington State Patrol and Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
“The Highway Speed Camera Program began as a proviso from the legislature and includes a requirement for our vendor to gather data about driver behavior,” WSDOT spokesperson Amy Moreno told McClatchy in an email. “The cameras will be removed from the roadway in late June; we do not know if they will be returned for future safety programs or enforcement.”
Where are WA speeding cameras located?
There are currently two sets of cameras in place: one on I-5 southbound between Bow Hill Road and Cook Road in Skagit County, and one on I-90 eastbound by Liberty Lake outside of Spokane.
The two locations were chosen because they’d seen serious or fatal speeding-related crashes in the past and had enough space between exits for the cameras to record accurate information.
How WA highway speeding cameras work
Each location has a pair of cameras that photograph cars as they pass. The cameras are spaced out and calculate a car’s speed by measuring the time it took that car to get from one camera to the other.
“Notices are sent to those above the speed limit using the average speed method between two points,” Moreno said.
What happens if you’re caught speeding?
The notices include information on the cost of a speeding ticket, broken down by how many miles an hour over the limit someone is driving. However, according to WSDOT, it’s just a reminder to slow down.
You don’t need to pay a fine or respond to the notice, and it doesn’t count as a “strike” towards a ticket. In fact, WSDOT says that it doesn’t keep a record of speeding violations caught by the cameras.
“These violations are not stored anywhere and not reported to insurance or other entities,” Moreno said.
Will the speeding camera program expand?
Moreno said WSDOT hasn’t analyzed data to determine whether that’s resulted in fewer speeding violations near the two locations.
Once the program is over, the state legislature will analyze its results and decide how to proceed. According to Moreno, WSDOT isn’t currently aware of any plans to increase the number of cameras along the highway or to use the cameras to give out tickets.
“The legislature will decide whether to return these cameras for future enforcement or safety activities,” Moreno said. “WSDOT is unaware of any immediate plans for such a program.”
Why does WA have a camera pilot program?
The pilot program was authorized by the state legislature in 2024, receiving $1 million in funding, according to a WSDOT news release.
WSDOT maintains an online form where members of the public can share their thoughts on the program.
The program is part of a wider push to lower the number of crashes on Washington’s highways. According to Washington Traffic Safety Commission data, the state has seen a sharp rise in the number of speeding-related deaths recently. Washington saw between 142 and 165 speeding-related fatal crashes each year between 2014 and 2020, but that number rose to 185 in 2021, 234 in 2022 and 240 in 2023.
On highways alone, Washington saw 358 crashes in 2023 that resulted in a serious injury or death where speeding was a factor, according to WSDOT’s press release.
The state also recently introduced a separate program placing speed cameras in work zones. Unlike the highway speed camera program, people caught speeding by a work zone camera can be sent a ticket.
This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 1:41 PM.