2025 -- H 5951

========

LC002049

========

     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

____________

A N   A C T

RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- AUTOMATED SAFETY ZONE

SPEED ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2025

     Introduced By: Representative Scott Slater

     Date Introduced: February 28, 2025

     Referred To: House Municipal Government & Housing

     (by request)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 31 of the General Laws entitled "MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES"

is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 14.1

AUTOMATED SAFETY ZONE SPEED ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2025

     31-14.1-1. Short title.

     This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Automated Safety Zone Speed

Enforcement Act of 2025".

     31-14.1-2. Purpose.

     This chapter enables municipalities to implement, subject to state and local approval,

automated speed enforcement systems to designated safety zones outside of school zones, as

defined in chapter 41.3 of title 31, in order to improve public safety and reduce traffic violations.

     31-14.1-3. Definitions.

     As used in this chapter:

     (1) "Automated safety zone speed enforcement system" means a device with sensors that

works with speed measurement tools to record images of vehicles violating posted speed limits,

including a system using one or more vehicle detectors in combination with photography to identify

and provide a photographic image of vehicles which are exceeding the posted speed limit, or the

speed limit designated by state law or regulation, for a given zone, and that may be in a fixed or

mobile configuration.

     (2) "Safety zone" means one or more of the following located within a municipality:

     (i) High-traffic corridors or areas identified by traffic studies commissioned and by a

municipality or the department of transportation;

     (ii) Pedestrian utilized areas, including without limitation, those near parks, playgrounds,

transit hubs, or hospitals;

     (iii) Other areas with demonstrated safety concerns, as identified by a municipality or the

state.

     31-14.1-4. Automated safety zone speed enforcement system authorized.

     Municipalities are hereby authorized to operate automated safety zone speed enforcement

systems, provided that no speed enforcement system shall be operated in the state unless:

     (1) The system has been approved and certified for use by the director of the department

of transportation;

     (2) A traffic study has been conducted by or on behalf of the municipality, and submitted

to the director of the department of transportation for review and approval; and

     (3) The municipality has demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the director of the department

of transportation, safety concerns in the proposed safety zone, including but not limited to, high

collision rates, excessive speeding, or significant pedestrian activity as identified in the traffic

study, and alignment with the municipality’s traffic safety objectives, as approved by the

municipality’s police department.

     31-14.1-5. Public Notice and Signage.

     Municipalities must provide at least thirty (30) days' public notice before activating any

automated safety zone speed enforcement system, including:

     (1) Announcements via local media outlets;

     (2) Clear signage no less than five hundred feet (500') before the enforcement area,

indicating the presence of automated speed enforcement monitoring.

     31-14.1-6. Automated safety zone speed enforcement system operational

requirements and certification.

     (a) No automated safety zone speed enforcement system shall be used in the state unless

the system has been approved and certified for use by the director of the department of

transportation. The director of the department of transportation, in cooperation with the state police,

shall require that any automated safety zone speed enforcement system approved and certified for

use meets the following requirements:

     (1) All automated safety zone speed enforcement systems operated under this chapter shall

LC002049 - Page 2 of 7

record the speed of vehicles within plus or minus one mile per hour of the actual speed.

     (2) All automated safety zone speed enforcement systems operated under this chapter shall

record at least two (2) photographic images of the vehicle exceeding the speed limit, one of which

shall include the license plate attached to the rear of the vehicle.

     (3) All automated safety zone speed enforcement systems operated under this chapter shall,

at the time of violation, imprint upon the photographic images of vehicles exceeding the speed

limit:

     (i) The date and time of the violation; and

     (ii) The identity of the street, and location upon that street, including the direction of travel

and lane of travel; this requirement may be met with code designations; and

     (iii) The posted or lawfully designated speed limit for the street being monitored; and

     (iv) The monitored speed of the vehicle identified in the photographic images as exceeding

the posted or lawfully designated safety zone speed limit; and

     (v) The consecutive event number of each photograph taken.

     (4) At least one hundred feet (100′) prior to entering a safety zone area where an automated

safety zone speed enforcement system is being operated, and on each approach to that area, four

(4) signs, each measuring three feet (3′) in height by four feet (4′) in width, shall be erected in

locations where the view is unobstructed, warning motorists that they will be entering an area

monitored by an automated safety zone enforcement system and that violators of speed limitations

may be prosecuted.

     (b) In the event a fixed or mobile automated safety zone speed enforcement system is to be

installed or used by any person other than the department of transportation or state police personnel

on a state-maintained street, roadway or highway, the director of transportation shall approve

installation or use of the system.

     31-14.1-7. Maintenance of system.

     The state department of transportation and municipalities may enter into an agreement with

a private corporation or other entity to provide automated safety zone speed enforcement system

equipment services and to maintain the system. A contract between a government agency and a

manufacturer or supplier of an automated safety zone speed enforcement system shall be based on

the value of such equipment and related support services and shall not be based on a percentage of

the revenue generated by the automated safety zone speed enforcement system.

     31-14.1-8. Citation precedent.

     In the event a law enforcement officer stops and issues a citation to the driver of a vehicle

for a speeding violation, which violation is also captured by an automated safety zone speed

LC002049 - Page 3 of 7

enforcement system, the citation issued to the driver by the law enforcement officer shall have and

take precedence, and the automated safety zone speed enforcement system citation shall be

dismissed.

     31-14.1-9. Hearings.

     Evidence from an automated safety zone speed enforcement system approved by the

director of the department of transportation shall be considered substantive evidence in the

prosecution of all civil traffic violations. Evidence from an automated safety zone speed

enforcement system approved by the director of the department of transportation shall be admitted

without further authentication and such evidence may be deemed sufficient to sustain a civil traffic

violation. In addition to any other defenses as set forth herein, any defenses cognizable at law, with

the exception of that available under § 31-41.1-7, shall be available to the individual who receives

the citation commencing a prosecution under this chapter.

     31-14.1-10. Driver/registered owner liability.

     (a) The registered owner of the motor vehicle shall be primarily responsible in all

prosecutions brought pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, except as otherwise provided in this

section.

     (b) In all prosecutions of civil safety zone violations based on evidence obtained from an

automated safety zone speed enforcement system, the registered owner of a vehicle which has been

operated in violation of a civil traffic violation, may be liable for such violation. The registered

owner of the vehicle may assume liability for the violation by paying the fine, or by defending the

violation pursuant to the remedies available under the law.

     (c) The lessee of a leased vehicle shall be considered the owner of a motor vehicle for

purposes of this section.

     31-14.1-11. Use of evidence in criminal and civil cases.

     Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the use of evidence produced by an automated safety

zone speed enforcement system in a criminal or civil proceeding; provided, that the admissibility

of such evidence shall follow applicable laws and rules of procedure and rules of evidence which

apply in criminal and civil proceedings.

     31-14.1-12. Nature of violations.

     Notwithstanding any other provision of law:

     (1) No violation for which a civil penalty is imposed under this chapter shall be considered

a moving violation; nor shall it be included on the driving record of the person on whom the liability

is imposed; nor shall it be used for insurance rating purposes in providing motor vehicle insurance

coverage.

LC002049 - Page 4 of 7

     (2) Impositions of a penalty pursuant to this chapter shall not be deemed a criminal

conviction of an owner or operator.

     (3) The defense available under § 31-41.1-7 (application for dismissal based on good

driving record) shall not be available for any violation imposed under this chapter.

     31-14.1-13. Security of records.

     (a) The recorded images produced by an automated safety zone speed enforcement system

shall not be deemed "public records" subject to disclosure pursuant to § 38-2-2.

     (b) All recorded images that do not identify a violation shall be destroyed within ninety

(90) days of the date the image was recorded, unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent

jurisdiction.

     (c) All recorded images that identify a violation shall be destroyed within one year after

the violation is resolved by administrative payment, trial, or other final disposition, unless

otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.

     (d) The privacy of records produced pursuant to this chapter shall be maintained; provided

that aggregate data not containing personal identifying information may be released.

     31-14.1-14. Reports.

     The agency or municipality authorizing the installation of automated safety zone speed

enforcement system shall prepare an annual report to be furnished to the director of the department

of transportation, containing data on:

     (1) The number of citations issued at each particular safety zone;

     (2) The number of those violations paid by mail and online;

     (3) The number of those violations found after trial or hearing;

     (4) The number of violations dismissed after trial or hearing;

     (5) The number of accidents at each safety zone;

     (6) A description as to the type of accident;

     (7) An indication regarding whether there were any injuries involved in any accident

reported;

     (8) The cost to maintain the automated safety zone speed enforcement system; and

     (9) The amount of revenue obtained from the automated safety zone speed enforcement

system.

     31-14.1-15. Penalties.

     (a) Every person found to have violated the provisions of this chapter shall be fined fifty

dollars ($50.00) for each offense; provided, however that for a period of thirty (30) days following

the installation of any new automated safety zone speed enforcement system, a violation recorded

LC002049 - Page 5 of 7

by the system shall only be enforced by the issuance of a warning.

     (b) A violation of this chapter shall not be considered a moving violation for purposes of

the motorist’s driving record.

     (c) Every three (3) years from the date of the motorist’s first offense under this chapter, the

court shall expunge any automated safety zone speed enforcement violations during the preceding

three-year (3) period.

     31-14.1-16. Suspension for failure to pay fine.

     (a) In the event a person has failed to pay fines or costs imposed for a violation of any

provision of this chapter within the time period established by the municipality or has failed to

make satisfactory arrangements with the municipality for payment of such fines or costs, the

division of motor vehicles shall, upon certification of the foregoing from the municipal police

department of the city or town where the violation occurred and notice to the person, suspend the

license of a person to operate a motor vehicle.

     (b) Prior to suspension, a person shall be entitled to request a review with the municipality

regarding his or her ability to pay by submitting a request to the municipal police department, which

shall evaluate the request and may establish a payment plan or alternative arrangements consistent

with the municipality’s policies.

     (c) The suspension shall remain in effect until all fines or costs are paid to the municipality

or satisfactory arrangements have been made with the municipality for payment.

     31-14.1-17. Not applicable to school zones.

     This chapter does not apply to automated school zone speed enforcement systems, which

are governed by chapter 41.3 of title 31 (the Automated School-Zone-Speed-Enforcement System

Act of 2016).

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

========

LC002049

========

LC002049 - Page 6 of 7

EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- AUTOMATED SAFETY ZONE

SPEED ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2025

***

     This act would enable cities and towns to expand the use of automated speed enforcement

systems in Rhode Island to designated safety zones, excluding school zones.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

========

LC002049

========

LC002049 - Page 7 of 7