Does Race Matter? A Study of Traffic Ticket Outcomes in the City of Seattle, WA.

This study of approximately 326,000 traffic citations acquired from the Seattle Municipal Court focuses on the motorists’ race, age, reason for the stop, and grounds for the court dismissal. Preliminary findings indicate African Americans are more likely than Whites and Asians to be the recipients of a citation for not having motor vehicle insurance or a driver’s license; however, they are less likely to be cited for committing a traffic violation. Police officers are two times more likely to misidentify African American drivers than Asians and four times more likely to misidentify African Americans than Whites when cases come to court. African American drivers also were more likely than Whites to have their case dismissed due to a lack of probable cause. Policy implications and theoretical rationales are offered. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]