2022 -- S 2510 | |
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LC004669 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- AUTOMATED SCHOOL ZONE- | |
SPEED-ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM ACT OF 2022 | |
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Introduced By: Senators Seveney, DiPalma, and Acosta | |
Date Introduced: March 01, 2022 | |
Referred To: Senate Judiciary | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. The title of Chapter 31-41.3 of the General Laws entitled "Automated School- |
2 | Zone-Speed-Enforcement System Act of 2016" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | CHAPTER 31-41.3 |
4 | Automated School-Zone-Speed-Enforcement System Act of 2016 |
5 | CHAPTER 31-41.3 |
6 | AUTOMATED SPEED-ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM ACT OF 2022 |
7 | SECTION 2. Sections 31-41.3-1, 31-41.3-2, 31-41.3-3, 31-41.3-4, 31-41.3-6, 31-41.3-7, |
8 | 31-41.3-8, 31-41.3-9, 31-41.3-10, 31-41.3-11, 31-41.3-13, 31-41.3-14 and 31-41.3-15 of the |
9 | General Laws in Chapter 31-41.3 entitled "Automated School-Zone-Speed-Enforcement System |
10 | Act of 2016" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
11 | 31-41.3-1. Short title. |
12 | This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Rhode Island Automated School-Zone- |
13 | Speed-Enforcement System Act of 2016 2022." |
14 | 31-41.3-2. Legislative findings. |
15 | (a) It is hereby found and declared that ever-increasing violations of the state's school-zone |
16 | speed laws and regulations place both motorists and students pedestrians using the state's streets |
17 | and roadways within school zones in danger. The legislature hereby declares that the use of |
18 | technology to reduce aggressive and dangerous speeding is in the best interest of public safety and |
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1 | therefore adopts a policy of authorizing the use of automated traffic-speed-enforcement systems in |
2 | school zones within the state of Rhode Island. This enabling legislation will authorize the cities and |
3 | towns to employ these systems at their discretion, and with the approval of the Rhode Island |
4 | department of transportation division of traffic safety. These systems shall be used in conjunction |
5 | with civil penalties imposed upon the owners of speeding vehicles in order to reduce speeding |
6 | violations. |
7 | Nothing in this chapter shall supersede any criminal or civil penalty or sanction against the |
8 | driver of a vehicle who is cited by a law enforcement officer for a speeding violation in a school |
9 | zone. |
10 | (b) While automated speed enforcement technology has made significant advances, any |
11 | question related to accuracy of identification of the cited vehicle (e.g. multiple vehicles in close |
12 | proximity on a multi-lane road) shall not result in any enforcement action. |
13 | (c) The intent of this legislation is to facilitate placement of these automated speed- |
14 | enforcement systems only in locations where genuine traffic safety/excessive speed issues exist. |
15 | The Rhode Island department of transportation/traffic safety division shall have approval authority |
16 | for installation of automated speed-enforcement systems based on results of a road safety audit. |
17 | (d) Automated speed-enforcement systems are not to be used for the purpose of revenue |
18 | generation. All proceeds collected through citations shall be restricted to the following uses: |
19 | (1) To defray state or municipal costs for vendor contracts, acquisition, operations and |
20 | maintenance of the automated speed-enforcement systems. |
21 | (2) Investment in state or municipal traffic safety programs, law enforcement traffic safety. |
22 | (3) All remaining proceeds from automated speed-enforcement systems will be collected |
23 | and placed into a restricted receipt account for use by the Rhode Island department of transportation |
24 | division of traffic safety to fund road safety audits. |
25 | (e) Nothing in this chapter shall supersede any criminal or civil penalty or sanction against |
26 | the driver of a vehicle who is cited by a law enforcement officer for a speeding violation. |
27 | 31-41.3-3. Automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system authorized and defined. |
28 | Automated speed-enforcement system authorized and defined. |
29 | (a) The state department of transportation, state turnpike and bridge authority, and the |
30 | municipalities of this state are hereby authorized to operate "automated school-zone-speed- |
31 | enforcement systems" on all state and local roads and bridges within the State of Rhode Island. |
32 | (b) For the purposes of this chapter: |
33 | (1) An "automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system" is means an automated traffic- |
34 | speed-enforcement system operated within one-quarter (¼) mile of any type of school in the state |
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1 | of Rhode Island; |
2 | (2) An "automated traffic-speed-enforcement system" is defined as means a system using |
3 | one or more vehicle detectors in combination with photography to identify and provide a |
4 | photographic image of vehicles which are exceeding the posted speed limit, or the speed limit |
5 | designated by state law or regulation, for a given school zone, location on a state or local road, |
6 | bridge, or “bridge zone, and may be in fixed or mobile configurations; and |
7 | (3) A "school bridge zone" is defined means as anywhere within a one-quarter (¼) mile |
8 | radius of any type of school in the state of Rhode Island a bridge structure owned and/or controlled |
9 | by the Rhode Island turnpike and bridge authority and all approaches thereto, including the |
10 | approach to the Newport Pell Bridge known as "Structure E". |
11 | 31-41.3-4. Automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system operational |
12 | requirements and certification. Automated speed-enforcement system operational |
13 | requirements and certification. |
14 | (a) No automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system shall be used in the state of |
15 | Rhode Island unless the system has been approved and certified for use in the state by the director |
16 | of the department of transportation, or for “bridge zones”, by the director of the Rhode Island |
17 | turnpike and bridge authority. The director of the department of transportation Each director, in |
18 | cooperation with the state police, shall require that any automated school-zone-speed-enforcement |
19 | system approved and certified for use in the state of Rhode Island meets the following requirements: |
20 | (1) All automated school-zone-speed-enforcement systems operated under this chapter |
21 | shall record the speed of vehicles within plus or minus one mile per hour of the actual speed. |
22 | (2) All automated school-zone-speed-enforcement systems operated under this chapter |
23 | shall record at least two (2) photographic images of the vehicle exceeding the speed limit, one of |
24 | which shall include the license plate attached to the rear of the vehicle. |
25 | (3) All automated school-zone-speed-enforcement systems operated under this chapter |
26 | shall, at the time of violation, imprint upon the photographic images of vehicles exceeding the |
27 | speed limit: |
28 | (i) The date and time of the violation; and |
29 | (ii) The identity of the highway, street, or school zone bridge or bridge zone being |
30 | monitored, and location upon that highway, street, or within that school zone bridge or within the |
31 | bridge zone, including the direction of travel and lane of travel; this requirement may be met with |
32 | code designations; and |
33 | (iii) The posted or lawfully designated speed limit for the highway, street, bridge or bridge |
34 | zone or school zone being monitored; and |
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1 | (iv) The monitored speed of the vehicle identified in the photographic images as exceeding |
2 | the posted or lawfully designated school zone speed limit; and |
3 | (v) The consecutive event number of each photograph taken. |
4 | (4) At least one hundred feet (100') prior to entering an automated school-zone area where |
5 | a speed-enforcement system is being operated, and on each approach to that area, four (4) signs, |
6 | each measuring three feet (3') in height by four feet (4') in width, shall be erected in locations where |
7 | the view is unobstructed, warning motorists that they will be entering an area monitored by an |
8 | automated speed-zone-enforcement system and that violators of speed limitations may be |
9 | prosecuted. The automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system shall be operational only from |
10 | seven o'clock a.m. (7:00 a.m.) to six o'clock p.m. (6:00 p.m.) on school days of the promulgated |
11 | one-hundred-eighty-day (180) school calendar year adopted in the applicable community. Signs |
12 | indicating that speed limits are enforced by automated speed-enforcement systems shall be clearly |
13 | posted in areas where the systems are in use, at least one hundred feet (100’) and not more than two |
14 | hundred feet (200’) before the location of each system, warning motorists that they will be entering |
15 | an area monitored by an automated speed-enforcement system and that violators of speed |
16 | limitations may be prosecuted. |
17 | (5)(b) It shall be the vendor's responsibility to furnish an annual report, with all pertinent |
18 | data required pursuant to § 31-41.3-14, to the speaker of the house, and the senate president and |
19 | the agency or municipality authorizing installation of the automated speed-enforcement system. |
20 | 31-41.3-6. Maintenance of system. |
21 | The state department of transportation, municipalities and/or the municipalities Rhode |
22 | Island turnpike and bridge authority, may enter into an agreement with a private corporation or |
23 | other entity to provide automated school-zone-speed-enforcement systems equipment services and |
24 | to maintain the systems. A contract between a government agency and a manufacturer or supplier |
25 | of automated traffic-speed-enforcement systems shall be based on the value of such equipment and |
26 | related support services and shall not be based on a percentage of the revenue generated by the |
27 | automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system. |
28 | 31-41.3-7. Citation precedent. |
29 | In the event a law enforcement officer stops and issues a citation to the driver of a vehicle |
30 | for a speeding violation, which violation is also captured by an automated school-zone-speed- |
31 | enforcement system, the citation issued to the driver by the law enforcement officer shall have and |
32 | take precedence, and the automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system citation shall be |
33 | dismissed. |
34 | 31-41.3-8. Procedure -- Notice. |
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1 | (a) Except as expressly provided in this chapter, all prosecutions based on evidence |
2 | produced by an automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system shall follow the procedures |
3 | established in chapter 41.1 of this title, chapter 18 of title 8, and the rules promulgated by the chief |
4 | magistrate of the traffic tribunal for the hearing of civil traffic violations. Citations may be issued |
5 | by an officer solely based on evidence obtained by use of an automated school-zone-speed- |
6 | enforcement system. All citations issued based on evidence obtained from an automated school- |
7 | zone-speed-enforcement system shall be issued within fourteen (14) days of the violation. |
8 | (b) It shall be sufficient to commence a prosecution based on evidence obtained from an |
9 | automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system, provided that a copy of the citation and |
10 | supporting documentation be mailed to the address of the registered owner kept on file by the |
11 | registry of motor vehicles pursuant to § 31-3-34. For purposes of this section, the date of issuance |
12 | shall be the date of mailing. |
13 | (c) The officer issuing the citation shall certify under penalties of perjury that the evidence |
14 | obtained from the automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system was sufficient to demonstrate |
15 | a violation of the motor vehicle code. Such certification shall be sufficient in all prosecutions |
16 | pursuant to this chapter to justify the entry of a default judgment upon sufficient proof of actual |
17 | notice in all cases where the citation is not answered within the time period permitted. |
18 | (d) The citation shall contain all the information provided for in the uniform summons as |
19 | referred to in § 31-41.1-1 and the rules of procedure promulgated by the chief magistrate of the |
20 | traffic tribunal. |
21 | (e) In addition to the information in the uniform summons, the following information shall |
22 | be attached to the citation: |
23 | (1) Copies of two (2) or more photographs, or microphotographs, or other recorded images |
24 | taken as proof of the violation; and |
25 | (2) A signed statement by a trained law enforcement officer that, based on inspection of |
26 | recorded images, the motor vehicle was being operated in violation of chapter 14 of title 31 relating |
27 | to speed restrictions; and |
28 | (3) A statement that recorded images are evidence of a violation of this chapter; and |
29 | (4) A statement that the person who receives a summons under this chapter may either pay |
30 | the civil penalty in accordance with the provisions of § 31-41.1-3, or elect to stand trial for the |
31 | alleged violation. |
32 | 31-41.3-9. Hearings. |
33 | Evidence from an automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system shall be considered |
34 | substantive evidence in the prosecution of all civil traffic violations. Evidence from an automated |
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1 | school-zone-speed-enforcement system approved by the director of the department of |
2 | transportation shall be admitted without further authentication and such evidence may be deemed |
3 | sufficient to sustain a civil traffic violation. In addition to any other defenses as set forth herein, |
4 | any defenses cognizable at law, with the exception of that available under § 31-41.1-7, shall be |
5 | available to the individual who receives the citation commencing a prosecution under this chapter. |
6 | 31-41.3-10. Driver/registered owner liability. |
7 | (a) The registered owner of the motor vehicle shall be primarily responsible in all |
8 | prosecutions brought pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, except as otherwise provided in this |
9 | section. |
10 | (b) In all prosecutions of civil school-zone violations based on evidence obtained from an |
11 | automated traffic-speed-enforcement system, the registered owner of a vehicle which has been |
12 | operated in violation of a civil traffic violation, may be liable for such violation. The registered |
13 | owner of the vehicle may assume liability for the violation by paying the fine, or by defending the |
14 | violation pursuant to the remedies available under the law. |
15 | (c) The lessee of a leased vehicle shall be considered the owner of a motor vehicle for |
16 | purposes of this section. |
17 | 31-41.3-11. Use of evidence in criminal and civil cases. |
18 | Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the use of evidence produced by an automated school- |
19 | zone-speed-enforcement system in a criminal or civil proceeding; provided, that the admissibility |
20 | of such evidence shall follow the applicable laws and rules of procedure and rules of evidence |
21 | which apply in criminal and civil proceedings. |
22 | 31-41.3-13. Security of records. |
23 | (a) The recorded images produced by an automated school-zone-speed-enforcement |
24 | system shall not be deemed "public records" subject to disclosure pursuant to § 38-2-2, and shall |
25 | not be subject to disclosure pursuant to the provisions of chapter 2 of title 38. |
26 | (b) All recorded images that do not identify a violation shall be destroyed within ninety |
27 | (90) days of the date the image was recorded, unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent |
28 | jurisdiction. |
29 | (c) All recorded images that identify a violation shall be destroyed within one year after |
30 | the citation is resolved by administrative payment, trial, or other final disposition of the citation, |
31 | unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. |
32 | (d) The privacy of records produced pursuant to this chapter shall be maintained; provided, |
33 | that aggregate data not containing personal identifying information may be released. |
34 | 31-41.3-14. Reports. |
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1 | (a) The agency or municipality authorizing the installation of automated school-zone- |
2 | speed-enforcement systems shall prepare require the vendor providing and/or servicing an |
3 | automated speed-enforcement system to produce and provide an annual report as required in § 31- |
4 | 41.3-4 (b) containing data on: |
5 | (1) The number of citations issued at each particular school zone location; |
6 | (2) The number of those violations paid by mail; |
7 | (3) The number of those violations found after trial or hearing; |
8 | (4) The number of violations dismissed after trial or hearing; |
9 | (5) The number of accidents at each school zone location; |
10 | (6) A description as to the type of accident; |
11 | (7) An indication regarding whether there were any injuries involved in any accident |
12 | reported; |
13 | (8) The cost to maintain the automated school-zone-speed-enforcement system; and |
14 | (9) The amount of revenue obtained from the automated school-zone-speed-enforcement |
15 | system. |
16 | 31-41.3-15. Penalties. |
17 | (a) Every person found to have violated the provisions of this chapter the posted speed limit |
18 | and is issued a citation pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and/or is the registered owner of |
19 | a motor vehicle issued a citation by an automated speed-enforcement system shall be fined fifty |
20 | dollars ($50.00) seventy-five dollars ($75.00) for each offense; provided, however that for a period |
21 | of thirty (30) days following the installation of any new automated school-zone-speed-enforcement |
22 | system, a violation recorded by the system shall only be enforced by the issuance of a warning. |
23 | (b) A violation of this chapter shall not be considered a moving violation for purposes of |
24 | the motorist's driving record. |
25 | (c) Every three (3) years from the date of the motorist's first offense under this chapter, the |
26 | court shall expunge any automated school-zone-speed-enforcement violations during the preceding |
27 | three-year (3) period. |
28 | SECTION 3. Chapter 31-41.3 of the General Laws entitled "Automated School-Zone- |
29 | Speed-Enforcement System Act of 2016" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following |
30 | section: |
31 | 31-41.3-8.1. Revenue generated by violations. |
32 | Revenue received from the enforcement of speed restrictions by an automated speed- |
33 | enforcement system shall be designated for exclusive use to fund traffic violation enforcement, and |
34 | for safety programs by municipalities, the department of transportation, and the bridge and turnpike |
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1 | authority. Any entity that employs an automated speed-enforcement system shall be responsible to |
2 | review for accuracy and certify as correct all detailed costs, revenues and residual balances as part |
3 | of the § 31-41.3-4(b) annual report. All revenue balances shall be collected in a restricted receipts |
4 | account, managed by the Rhode Island department of transportation division of traffic safety for |
5 | use in defraying costs such as conduct of road safety audits, and administration of the automated |
6 | speed enforcement system approval process. |
7 | SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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LC004669 | |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- AUTOMATED SCHOOL ZONE- | |
SPEED-ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM ACT OF 2022 | |
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1 | This act would authorize the department of transportation, the turnpike and bridge authority |
2 | and the municipalities of this state to operate "automated speed enforcement systems". No good |
3 | driving record would be available as a defense for any "automated speed enforcement system" |
4 | citation. Each violation would result in a seventy-five dollar ($75.00) fine. Proceeds collected |
5 | through citations would be used to defray state or municipal costs for vendor contracts to operate |
6 | the system, and to fund road safety audits and programs. |
7 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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LC004669 | |
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