Authorizes certain cities to implement a pilot truck weight photo-monitoring system at certain intersections throughout the city; requires owners of trucks to be monetarily liable when an operator of their truck drives the truck on a public highway in violation of a posted "No Truck" zone; establishes certain affirmative defenses.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1314
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 5, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LENTOL -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to truck weight
photo-monitoring systems in cities with a population of one million or
more
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new
2 section 1642-a to read as follows:
3 § 1642-a. Owner liability for failure of operator to comply with
4 no-thru truck indications. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of
5 law, each city with a population of one million or more is hereby
6 authorized and empowered to adopt and amend a local law or ordinance
7 establishing a demonstration program imposing monetary liability on the
8 owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator thereof to comply with
9 no-thru truck indications in such city in accordance with the provisions
10 of this section. Such demonstration program shall empower a city to
11 install and operate truck weight photo-monitoring devices at no more
12 than fifty intersections within such city at any one time.
13 (b) In any city which has adopted a local law or ordinance pursuant to
14 subdivision (a) of this section, the owner of a vehicle shall be liable
15 for a penalty imposed pursuant to this section if such vehicle was used
16 or operated with the permission of the owner, express or implied, in
17 violation of driving through a prohibited no-truck zone designated
18 pursuant to subdivision (f) of section eighteen hundred of this chapter,
19 and such violation is evidenced by information obtained from a truck
20 weight violation-monitoring system; provided however that no owner of a
21 vehicle shall be liable for a penalty imposed pursuant to this section
22 where the operator of such vehicle has been convicted of the underlying
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03121-01-1
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1 violation of subdivision (f) of section eighteen hundred of this chap-
2 ter.
3 (c) For purposes of this section, "owner" shall have the meaning
4 provided in article two-B of this chapter. For purposes of this section,
5 "truck weight violation-monitoring system" shall mean a vehicle sensor
6 installed to work in conjunction with a vehicle scale which automat-
7 ically produces two or more photographs, two or more microphotographs, a
8 videotape or other recorded images of each vehicle at the time it is
9 used or operated in violation of subdivision (f) of section eighteen
10 hundred of this chapter.
11 (d) A certificate, sworn to or affirmed by a technician employed by
12 the city in which the charged violation occurred, or a facsimile there-
13 of, based upon inspection of photographs, microphotographs, videotape or
14 other recorded images produced by a truck weight violation-monitoring
15 system, shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein.
16 Any photographs, microphotographs, videotape or other recorded images
17 evidencing such a violation shall be available for inspection in any
18 proceeding to adjudicate the liability for such violation pursuant to a
19 local law or ordinance adopted pursuant to this section.
20 (e) An owner liable for a violation of subdivision (f) of section
21 eighteen hundred of this chapter pursuant to a local law or ordinance
22 adopted pursuant to this section shall be liable for monetary penalties
23 in accordance with a schedule of fines and penalties to be set forth in
24 such local law or ordinance, except that in a city which, by local law,
25 has authorized the adjudication of such owner liability by a parking
26 violations bureau, such schedule shall be promulgated by such bureau.
27 The liability of the owner pursuant to this section shall not exceed
28 fifty dollars for each violation; provided, however, that such local law
29 or ordinance may provide for an additional penalty not in excess of
30 twenty-five dollars for each violation for the failure to respond to a
31 notice of liability within the prescribed time period.
32 (f) An imposition of liability under a local law or ordinance adopted
33 pursuant to this section shall not be deemed a conviction as an operator
34 and shall not be made part of the operating record of the person upon
35 whom such liability is imposed nor shall it be used for insurance
36 purposes in the provision of motor vehicle insurance coverage.
37 (g) 1. A notice of liability shall be sent by first class mail to each
38 person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of subdivision
39 (f) of section eighteen hundred of this chapter pursuant to this
40 section. Personal delivery on the owner shall not be required. A manual
41 or automatic record of mailing prepared in the ordinary course of busi-
42 ness shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein.
43 2. A notice of liability shall contain the name and address of the
44 person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of subdivision
45 (f) of section eighteen hundred of this chapter pursuant to this
46 section, the registration number of the vehicle involved in such
47 violation, the location where such violation took place, the date and
48 time of such violation and the identification number of the camera which
49 recorded the violation or other document locator number.
50 3. The notice of liability shall contain information advising the
51 person charged of the manner and the time in which he or she may contest
52 the liability alleged in the notice. Such notice of liability shall also
53 contain a warning to advise the persons charged that failure to contest
54 in the manner and time provided shall be deemed an admission of liabil-
55 ity and that a default judgment may be entered thereon.
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1 4. The notice of liability shall be prepared and mailed by the city
2 having jurisdiction over the intersection where the violation occurred,
3 or by any other entity authorized by the city to prepare and mail such
4 notification of violation.
5 (h) Adjudication of the liability imposed upon owners by this section
6 shall be by a traffic violations bureau established pursuant to section
7 three hundred seventy of the general municipal law or, if there be none,
8 by the court having jurisdiction over traffic infractions, except that
9 any city which has established an administrative tribunal to hear and
10 determine complaints of traffic infractions constituting parking, stand-
11 ing or stopping violations may, by local law, authorize such adjudi-
12 cation by such tribunal.
13 (i) If an owner receives a notice of liability pursuant to this
14 section for any time period during which the vehicle was reported to the
15 police department as having been stolen, it shall be a valid defense to
16 an allegation of liability for a violation of subdivision (f) of section
17 eighteen hundred of this chapter pursuant to this section that the vehi-
18 cle had been reported to the police as stolen prior to the time the
19 violation occurred and had not been recovered by such time; or that the
20 vehicle was making a legitimate delivery within the area. For purposes
21 of asserting the defenses provided by this subdivision it shall be
22 sufficient that a certified copy of the police report on the stolen
23 vehicle or a copy of an invoice or some other proof of delivery be sent
24 by first class mail to the traffic violations bureau, court having
25 jurisdiction or parking violations bureau.
26 (j) 1. In a city where the adjudication of liability imposed upon
27 owners pursuant to this section is by a traffic violations bureau or a
28 court having jurisdiction, an owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to
29 which a notice of liability was issued pursuant to subdivision (g) of
30 this section shall not be liable for the violation of subdivision (f) of
31 section eighteen hundred of this chapter, provided that he or she sends
32 to the traffic violations bureau or court having jurisdiction a copy of
33 the rental, lease or other such contract document covering such vehicle
34 on the date of the violation, with the name and address of the lessee
35 clearly legible, within thirty-seven days after receiving notice from
36 the bureau or court of the date and time of such violation, together
37 with the other information contained in the original notice of liabil-
38 ity. Failure to send such information within such thirty-seven day time
39 period shall render the owner liable for the penalty prescribed by this
40 section. Where the lessor complies with the provisions of this para-
41 graph, the lessee of such vehicle on the date of such violation shall be
42 deemed to be the owner of such vehicle for purposes of this section,
43 shall be subject to liability for the violation of subdivision (f) of
44 section eighteen hundred of this chapter pursuant to this section and
45 shall be sent a notice of liability pursuant to subdivision (g) of this
46 section.
47 2. (i) In a city which, by local law, has authorized the adjudication
48 of liability imposed upon owners by this section by a parking violations
49 bureau, an owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to which a notice of
50 liability was issued pursuant to subdivision (g) of this section shall
51 not be liable for the violation of subdivision (f) of section eighteen
52 hundred of this chapter, provided that:
53 (A) prior to the violation, the lessor has filed with the bureau in
54 accordance with the provisions of section two hundred thirty-nine of
55 this chapter; and
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1 (B) within thirty-seven days after receiving notice from the bureau of
2 the date and time of a liability, together with the other information
3 contained in the original notice of liability, the lessor submits to the
4 bureau the correct name and address of the lessee of the vehicle identi-
5 fied in the notice of liability at the time of such violation, together
6 with such other additional information contained in the rental, lease or
7 other contract document, as may be reasonably required by the bureau
8 pursuant to regulations that may be promulgated for such purpose.
9 (ii) Failure to comply with clause (B) of subparagraph (i) of this
10 paragraph shall render the owner liable for the penalty prescribed in
11 this section.
12 (iii) Where the lessor complies with the provisions of this paragraph,
13 the lessee of such vehicle on the date of such violation shall be deemed
14 to be the owner of such vehicle for purposes of this section, shall be
15 subject to liability for such violation pursuant to this section and
16 shall be sent a notice of liability pursuant to subdivision (g) of this
17 section.
18 (k) If the owner liable for a violation of subdivision (f) of section
19 eighteen hundred of this chapter pursuant to this section was not the
20 operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation, the owner may
21 maintain an action for indemnification against the operator.
22 (l) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the liability
23 of an operator of a vehicle for any violation of subdivision (f) of
24 section eighteen hundred of this chapter.
25 (m) In any city which adopts a demonstration program pursuant to
26 subdivision (a) of this section, such city shall submit a report on the
27 results of the use of a truck weight photo-monitoring system to the
28 governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the
29 assembly by March first, two thousand sixteen. Such report shall
30 include, but not be limited to:
31 1. a description of the locations where truck weight photo-monitoring
32 systems were used;
33 2. the number of violations recorded at each intersection and in the
34 aggregate on a daily, weekly and monthly basis;
35 3. the total number of notices of liability issued;
36 4. the number of fines and total amount of fines paid after first
37 notice of liability;
38 5. the number of violations adjudicated and results of such adjudi-
39 cations including breakdowns of dispositions made;
40 6. the total amount of revenue realized by such city; and
41 7. quality of the adjudication process and its results.
42 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
43 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amend-
44 ment, and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the timely
45 implementation of this act on its effective date is hereby authorized to
46 be made on or before such effective date.
