This bill creates a new statutory section in chapter 46.61 RCW establishing "crash prevention zones" and sets rules for how they are identified, investigated, implemented, and dissolved. Until January 1, 2029, local governments may create crash prevention zones on specified segments of U.S. Highway 395 and Highway 12; beginning January 1, 2029, counties, cities, towns, and the Secretary of Transportation may create zones by identifying roads with higher-than-expected serious-injury or fatal collisions over the prior five years using AASHTO Highway Safety Manual processes. Jurisdictions that establish a zone must hold a public hearing, conduct or contract an engineering and traffic investigation, create a local account for limited expenditures, coordinate enforcement with state and local police within existing resources, and dissolve zones after safety improvements are implemented. The bill also makes designation, related data, reports, maps, comments, studies, and testimony about crash prevention zones inadmissible as evidence in civil actions. The bill amends the hands-free/personal electronic device law (RCW 46.61.672) to confirm use of such devices while driving is a traffic infraction, lists exemptions, doubles the penalty for a second or subsequent offense, and doubles the base penalty for infractions that occur within a crash prevention zone. For infractions in DOT-created crash prevention zones, 50% of collected moneys must be deposited into the highway safety fund and used only for engineering and traffic investigations, signage, and safety improvements in the zone. The bill also amends automated traffic safety camera statutes (including RCW 46.63.250 and 46.63.210) to explicitly allow cameras to detect speed violations in specified zones, including crash prevention zones, and to expand and govern local camera programs. The bill makes procedural and fiscal changes for automated camera programs: cities and counties must adopt ordinances and conduct pre-installation analyses (including equity considerations), sign camera locations at least 30 days before activation, post annual reports, and provide data for a statewide Traffic Safety Commission report beginning July 1, 2026. It limits images to vehicle and plate information, protects personally identifying data from public disclosure, restricts vendor compensation to equipment and services (not tied to revenue), caps automated-camera fines at $145 (adjusted for inflation starting 2029) and allows doubling for school speed zone or crash prevention zone violations, treats camera infractions like parking infractions (not on driving records), requires income-based or program-based penalty reductions in some cases, and sets rules for rental car business notices. Revenue use rules are added for safety projects, complete streets, and operations, with targeted spending requirements for lower-income areas and a provision that, for cameras placed after June 6, 2024, 25% of excess noninterest revenue be deposited into the Cooper Jones active transportation safety account after four years. The bill also amends county and city statutory authority to authorize establishment of crash prevention zones (amending RCW 36.89.030 and adding a section to chapter 35.77 RCW). Some statutory texts and definitions are missing or truncated in the supplied material: the bill references but does not include full amendments to RCW 46.63.220 and 36.89.030, the new section added to chapter 35.77 RCW is not fully shown, the standalone statutory definition of "crash prevention zone" is not provided here, and the full definition of "automated traffic safety camera" is truncated. These gaps prevent a complete description of all operative language.

If enacted, local governments and the state DOT will be able to designate specific “crash prevention zones” on roads and use automated cameras more broadly, triggering new engineering studies, public hearings, signage, annual reporting, and targeted safety projects. Law enforcement is directed to increase enforcement in those zones as resources allow, drivers who use personal electronic devices in a crash prevention zone face doubled base fines, and automated-camera fines in school or crash prevention zones can also be doubled; for DOT-created zones half of the increased penalty revenue must go into the highway safety fund and be spent only on engineering/traffic studies, signs, and safety improvements. Cities and counties must adopt ordinances, do equity and need analyses before adding cameras, post detailed public reports, and keep camera image data restricted for enforcement use only. The groups most affected will be cities, counties, and DOT (new responsibilities for zone creation, investigations, account management, signage, reporting, and possible contracting with vendors), local law enforcement (more enforcement expectations within existing resources), and drivers—especially those in low-income communities and users of rental cars—who may face more camera-issued notices but also expanded ability-to-pay and reduced-penalty provisions for people on certain public assistance programs. Camera program funds will be limited to operations and safety improvements, with new requirements to direct a portion of safety investments to low-income or high-crash areas and to deposit some excess revenue into an active transportation account after a set period. Some details needed to fully understand implementation (including the full text of the new section defining crash prevention zones and several truncated subsections) are missing from the provided material.