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
________________________________________________________________________
160--A
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 7, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sen. SQUADRON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation -- recom-
mitted to the Committee on Transportation in accordance with Senate
Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
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-b to read as follows:
3 § 1642-b. 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
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01254-02-6
S. 160--A 2
1 vehicle shall be liable for a penalty imposed pursuant to this section
2 where the operator of such vehicle has been convicted of the underlying
3 violation of subdivision (f) of section eighteen hundred of this chap-
4 ter.
5 (c) For purposes of this section, "owner" shall have the meaning
6 provided in article two-B of this chapter. For purposes of this section,
7 "truck weight violation-monitoring system" shall mean a vehicle sensor
8 installed to work in conjunction with a vehicle scale which automat-
9 ically produces two or more photographs, two or more microphotographs, a
10 videotape or other recorded images of each vehicle at the time it is
11 used or operated in violation of subdivision (f) of section eighteen
12 hundred of this chapter.
13 (d) A certificate, sworn to or affirmed by a technician employed by
14 the city in which the charged violation occurred, or a facsimile there-
15 of, based upon inspection of photographs, microphotographs, videotape or
16 other recorded images produced by a truck weight violation-monitoring
17 system, shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein.
18 Any photographs, microphotographs, videotape or other recorded images
19 evidencing such a violation shall be available for inspection in any
20 proceeding to adjudicate the liability for such violation pursuant to a
21 local law or ordinance adopted pursuant to this section.
22 (e) An owner liable for a violation of subdivision (f) of section
23 eighteen hundred of this chapter pursuant to a local law or ordinance
24 adopted pursuant to this section shall be liable for monetary penalties
25 in accordance with a schedule of fines and penalties to be set forth in
26 such local law or ordinance, except that in a city which, by local law,
27 has authorized the adjudication of such owner liability by a parking
28 violations bureau, such schedule shall be promulgated by such bureau.
29 The liability of the owner pursuant to this section shall not exceed
30 fifty dollars for each violation; provided, however, that such local law
31 or ordinance may provide for an additional penalty not in excess of
32 twenty-five dollars for each violation for the failure to respond to a
33 notice of liability within the prescribed time period.
34 (f) An imposition of liability under a local law or ordinance adopted
35 pursuant to this section shall not be deemed a conviction as an operator
36 and shall not be made part of the operating record of the person upon
37 whom such liability is imposed nor shall it be used for insurance
38 purposes in the provision of motor vehicle insurance coverage.
39 (g) 1. A notice of liability shall be sent by first class mail to each
40 person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of subdivision
41 (f) of section eighteen hundred of this chapter pursuant to this
42 section. Personal delivery on the owner shall not be required. A manual
43 or automatic record of mailing prepared in the ordinary course of busi-
44 ness shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein.
45 2. A notice of liability shall contain the name and address of the
46 person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of subdivision
47 (f) of section eighteen hundred of this chapter pursuant to this
48 section, the registration number of the vehicle involved in such
49 violation, the location where such violation took place, the date and
50 time of such violation and the identification number of the camera which
51 recorded the violation or other document locator number.
52 3. The notice of liability shall contain information advising the
53 person charged of the manner and the time in which he or she may contest
54 the liability alleged in the notice. Such notice of liability shall also
55 contain a warning to advise the persons charged that failure to contest
S. 160--A 3
1 in the manner and time provided shall be deemed an admission of liabil-
2 ity and that a default judgment may be entered thereon.
3 4. The notice of liability shall be prepared and mailed by the city
4 having jurisdiction over the intersection where the violation occurred,
5 or by any other entity authorized by the city to prepare and mail such
6 notification of violation.
7 (h) Adjudication of the liability imposed upon owners by this section
8 shall be by a traffic violations bureau established pursuant to section
9 three hundred seventy of the general municipal law or, if there be none,
10 by the court having jurisdiction over traffic infractions, except that
11 any city which has established an administrative tribunal to hear and
12 determine complaints of traffic infractions constituting parking, stand-
13 ing or stopping violations may, by local law, authorize such adjudi-
14 cation by such tribunal.
15 (i) If an owner receives a notice of liability pursuant to this
16 section for any time period during which the vehicle was reported to the
17 police department as having been stolen, it shall be a valid defense to
18 an allegation of liability for a violation of subdivision (f) of section
19 eighteen hundred of this chapter pursuant to this section that the vehi-
20 cle had been reported to the police as stolen prior to the time the
21 violation occurred and had not been recovered by such time; or that the
22 vehicle was making a legitimate delivery within the area. For purposes
23 of asserting the defenses provided by this subdivision it shall be
24 sufficient that a certified copy of the police report on the stolen
25 vehicle or a copy of an invoice or some other proof of delivery be sent
26 by first class mail to the traffic violations bureau, court having
27 jurisdiction or parking violations bureau.
28 (j) 1. In a city where the adjudication of liability imposed upon
29 owners pursuant to this section is by a traffic violations bureau or a
30 court having jurisdiction, an owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to
31 which a notice of liability was issued pursuant to subdivision (g) of
32 this section shall not be liable for the violation of subdivision (f) of
33 section eighteen hundred of this chapter, provided that he or she sends
34 to the traffic violations bureau or court having jurisdiction a copy of
35 the rental, lease or other such contract document covering such vehicle
36 on the date of the violation, with the name and address of the lessee
37 clearly legible, within thirty-seven days after receiving notice from
38 the bureau or court of the date and time of such violation, together
39 with the other information contained in the original notice of liabil-
40 ity. Failure to send such information within such thirty-seven day time
41 period shall render the owner liable for the penalty prescribed by this
42 section. Where the lessor complies with the provisions of this para-
43 graph, the lessee of such vehicle on the date of such violation shall be
44 deemed to be the owner of such vehicle for purposes of this section,
45 shall be subject to liability for the violation of subdivision (f) of
46 section eighteen hundred of this chapter pursuant to this section and
47 shall be sent a notice of liability pursuant to subdivision (g) of this
48 section.
49 2. (i) In a city which, by local law, has authorized the adjudication
50 of liability imposed upon owners by this section by a parking violations
51 bureau, an owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to which a notice of
52 liability was issued pursuant to subdivision (g) of this section shall
53 not be liable for the violation of subdivision (f) of section eighteen
54 hundred of this chapter, provided that:
S. 160--A 4
1 (A) prior to the violation, the lessor has filed with the bureau in
2 accordance with the provisions of section two hundred thirty-nine of
3 this chapter; and
4 (B) within thirty-seven days after receiving notice from the bureau of
5 the date and time of a liability, together with the other information
6 contained in the original notice of liability, the lessor submits to the
7 bureau the correct name and address of the lessee of the vehicle identi-
8 fied in the notice of liability at the time of such violation, together
9 with such other additional information contained in the rental, lease or
10 other contract document, as may be reasonably required by the bureau
11 pursuant to regulations that may be promulgated for such purpose.
12 (ii) Failure to comply with clause (B) of subparagraph (i) of this
13 paragraph shall render the owner liable for the penalty prescribed in
14 this section.
15 (iii) Where the lessor complies with the provisions of this paragraph,
16 the lessee of such vehicle on the date of such violation shall be deemed
17 to be the owner of such vehicle for purposes of this section, shall be
18 subject to liability for such violation pursuant to this section and
19 shall be sent a notice of liability pursuant to subdivision (g) of this
20 section.
21 (k) If the owner liable for a violation of subdivision (f) of section
22 eighteen hundred of this chapter pursuant to this section was not the
23 operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation, the owner may
24 maintain an action for indemnification against the operator.
25 (l) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the liability
26 of an operator of a vehicle for any violation of subdivision (f) of
27 section eighteen hundred of this chapter.
28 (m) In any city which adopts a demonstration program pursuant to
29 subdivision (a) of this section, such city shall submit a report on the
30 results of the use of a truck weight photo-monitoring system to the
31 governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the
32 assembly by March first, two thousand nineteen. Such report shall
33 include, but not be limited to:
34 1. a description of the locations where truck weight photo-monitoring
35 systems were used;
36 2. the number of violations recorded at each intersection and in the
37 aggregate on a daily, weekly and monthly basis;
38 3. the total number of notices of liability issued;
39 4. the number of fines and total amount of fines paid after first
40 notice of liability;
41 5. the number of violations adjudicated and results of such adjudi-
42 cations including breakdowns of dispositions made;
43 6. the total amount of revenue realized by such city; and
44 7. quality of the adjudication process and its results.
45 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
46 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amend-
47 ment, and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the timely
48 implementation of this act on its effective date is hereby authorized to
49 be made on or before such effective date.
