Action Hour on Wednesday, February 7, 6 – 7 pm Pacific time, hosted by the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, with ACLU. The hour includes both HB 1513 (Traffic Safety for All) and HB 1445 (Attorney General Investigation and Reform) Click here to register: Action Hour with the ACLU of Washington (everyaction.com)
One-page information sheets on HB 1513:
- Traffic Safety for All Backgrounder 2024 from ACLU Washington
- It’s Time to Prioritize Traffic Safety for All – HB 1513 from WCPA
Talking Points for Traffic Safety for All (HB 1513)
Background
- In the U.S., we ask police to do too many things they are not suited for. There is a national movement to put some of those tasks into better hands.
- One branch of the national movement is working on alternative crisis response, to mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness calls that come in through 911 systems.
- Quaker Voice supported two bills last year that helped strengthen the non-police response – 24 hours crisis centers (CJ) and mental health workforce (in EJ)
- Another branch of that movement is working on traffic stops.
- One branch of the national movement is working on alternative crisis response, to mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness calls that come in through 911 systems.
- Traffic stops are the most frequent place where people living in the U.S. encounter police.
- The national data shows that they are racially biased everywhere, including in the state of Washington. Black and brown people are stopped way out of proportion to their numbers in the population.
- These stops are dangerous places. A large share of the people killed by police are killed during traffic stops for minor infringements, like hanging air fresheners or broken tail lights. This violence particularly affects black and brown people.
- Very, very few stops are actually associated with crimes or lead to arrest of criminals – less than 1%.
- Thus, traffic stops turn out to be a pathway for police to harass residents, and they are used differentially to do that. The harassment itself is so well known (think of the recognized phenomenon of Driving While Black – DWB) that its existence undermines community health.
- Watch the testimony given by Rep. Chipalo Street, the prime sponsor of HB 1513, on his personal experience.
- For low-income car owners and drivers, the cost of the ticket is often prohibitive, and fees can drive it up further. Yet car transportation may be needed to get from lower-rent housing to where the jobs area.
- The Traffic Safety for All bill (HB 1513) does the following:
- Reduces unnecessary low-level stops
- Focuses officer attention on impaired driving, distracted driving, speeding, and unrestrained passengers – the leading causes of accidents
- Prevents officers from pulling people over for equipment failures and expired tags unless there is a safety risk
- Restricts irrelevant questioning and voluntary searches
- Creates a pool of grant money for pilot programs to help people comply with equipment requirements
- Requires more robust data collection
- Several communities around the country have seen success with policies like this.
- Reduces unnecessary low-level stops
- This year is great year for us to have conversations with our state legislators about the importance of these steps towards equity on our streets.
- The coalition strategy at this point is to activate the very large number of co-sponsors. Check the priorities handout to see whether any of your representatives are on the list.