10.12.410 Inattentive driving.
A. It is unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle in an inattentive manner upon any highway within the city or way open to the public within the city that is maintained primarily for public use and is adjacent to any highway.
B. For the purpose of this section, inattentive manner means the operation of a vehicle in a manner that:
1. Fails to maintain a careful lookout for persons or property in the direction of travel, or
2. Evidences a lack of:
a. Attentiveness required to safely operate the vehicle:
i. Under the prevailing conditions, including, but not limited to, the nature and condition of the roadway, the weather conditions, the presence of pedestrians, or the presence of other traffic; or
ii. Caused by the driver directing focus or attention to something other than driving the motor vehicle; or
b. Attentiveness that would permit the driver of a motor vehicle to observe anything resting on, or traveling on, or entering the roadway in time to take appropriate action as circumstances require.
C. For the purposes of this section, the term “highway” is defined as set forth in RCW 46.04.197 and the term “way open to the public” is defined as set forth in WAC 200-200-015(8).
D. The offense of operating a vehicle in an inattentive manner shall be considered to be a lesser offense than, but included in the offense of, negligent driving in the second degree as set forth in RCW 46.61.525.
E. A violation of this section shall be a traffic infraction punishable by a monetary penalty of $250.00, plus all mandatory court costs, fees, and assessments. (Ord. 6466 § 1, 2013.)
City clerk’s/code reviser’s note: Ordinance No. 6466 created a new Section 10.12.410 of the Auburn City Code, “Inattentive driving.” That code section was also assigned to “Citation and notice to appear.” In order to correct the duplication of code section numbering and to keep the sections in conformity with the section divisions, the “Inattentive driving” section shall be Section 10.12.410 of the Auburn City Code and the “Citation and notice to appear” section shall be Section 10.12.415 of the Auburn City Code. In order to be consistent with other references, Section 10.12.420 of the City Code is also revised to make reference to Section 10.12.415 of the Auburn City Code instead of Section 10.12.410 of the City Code.