Our officer used RCW 46.20.021 to cite a criminal traffic offense, but the Fine/Penalty Schedule Update (FPSU) screen lists this as an IT offense. Which is correct?
RCW 46.20.021 was recodified in 1999, and it appears the legislature intended that this RCW is not to be a chargeable offense. The appropriate charging sections are RCW 46.20.005, criminal traffic (CT), and RCW 46.20.015 infraction traffic (IT).
RCW 46.20.021 is included on the law table because officers do cite it. The better practice is to charge under .005 or .015 which clearly define the offenses and penalties. The statewide law table treats RCW 46.20.021 as an infraction. If the court prefers to treat this RCW as a CT type offense, the court may enter it on its local law table as a crime.
RN id: 976