The Washington State Department of Transportation has released an animated video to help understand the new tolling / HOV lanes on I-405 from Lynnwood to Bellevue. As noted in the video it is illegal to change lanes with a double solid line and you can be ticketed. You can only legally change lanes with a…

Washington State law has recently increased penalties for a BUI (Boating Under the Influence). A BUI is now a Gross Misdemeanor, and if you are convicted you can face up to $5,000 in fines and up to one year in jail. Boat operators are held to the same standards as a motorist and can be…

On Friday, June 5, 2015 I helped the local court present its annual Law Day presentation for over 800 fifth graders of the Edmonds School District. This was my 29th year doing this. It is a lot of work, but a labor of love. It has grown from 60 kids in 1987 to over 800+…

Motorcyclists are pushing House Bill 1515, which would allow “lane splitting”. That would mean a motorcycle could drive in between cars when traffic was congested. The proposed law says that traffic as a whole must be going no more than 35 miles per hour and the motorcycle could only go 10 mph over that. The…

Recreational Marijuana stores opened last summer all around Washington State. Please remember that while it is legal to purchase and smoke, it is still illegal to drive while intoxicated. THC levels at greater than or equal to 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood is considered intoxicated and will result in a DUI charge. Here is a…

Washington and other states are looking into adopting a simple roadside saliva test for marijuana impairment. This saliva testing would attempt to determine a subject’s level of THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana that actually affects driving. The saliva test would be used to determine if the driver’s THC blood concentration was over the legal…

When our state created laws to set limits on marijuana use and driving, they based most of it on the current alcohol use and driving laws. One thing though that is not the same: Marijuana use IN a car. The Washington Traffic Safety Commission wants state lawmakers to fix that oversight when they reconvene this January.…

For Traffic Tickets, you have only 30 days to send in your filled out ticket to the listed court with either the full $ payment or your request for a Contested Hearing. The courts are very strict about this 30 day deadline.

Counsel’ rating in Drunk Driving Defense, Personal Injury Law and Criminal Misdemeanor Law categories by the Lead Counsel Review Board.   Please visit Attorney Hanson’s LeadCounsel.org profile for more information.  

Our office is pleased to announce that Attorney Paul Hanson has been selected as one of the Top 100 Criminal Defense lawyers in the State of Washington by the American Society of Legal Advocates. This selection was the culmination of a six month process in which the ASLA independently research tens of thousands of lawyers. The…