§ 1111-B*3 — Owner liability for failure of operator to comply with traffic-control indications

* § 1111-b. Owner liability for failure of operator to comply with\ntraffic-control indications. (a) 1. Notwithstanding any other provision\nof law, the county of Suffolk is hereby authorized and empowered to\nadopt and amend a local law or ordinance establishing a demonstration\nprogram imposing monetary liability on the owner of a vehicle for\nfailure of an operator thereof to comply with traffic-control\nindications in such county in accordance with the provisions of this\nsection. Such demonstration program shall empower such county to install\nand operate traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring devices at\nno more than one hundred intersections within and under the jurisdiction\nof such county at any one time.\n 2. Such demonstration program shall utilize necessary technologies to\nensure, to the extent practicable, that photographs produced by such\ntraffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring systems shall not\ninclude images that identify the driver, the passengers, or the contents\nof the vehicle. Provided, however, that no notice of liability issued\npursuant to this section shall be dismissed solely because a photograph\nor photographs allow for the identification of the contents of a\nvehicle, provided that such county has made a reasonable effort to\ncomply with the provisions of this paragraph.\n (b) In any such county which has adopted a local law or ordinance\npursuant to subdivision (a) of this section, the owner of a vehicle\nshall be liable for a penalty imposed pursuant to this section if such\nvehicle was used or operated with the permission of the owner, express\nor implied, in violation of subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred\neleven of this article, and such violation is evidenced by information\nobtained from a traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring\nsystem; provided however that no owner of a vehicle shall be liable for\na penalty imposed pursuant to this section where the operator of such\nvehicle has been convicted of the underlying violation of subdivision\n(d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this article.\n (c) For purposes of this section, "owner" shall have the meaning\nprovided in article two-B of this chapter. For purposes of this section,\n"traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring system" shall mean a\nvehicle sensor installed to work in conjunction with a traffic-control\nsignal which automatically produces two or more photographs, two or more\nmicrophotographs, a videotape or other recorded images of each vehicle\nat the time it is used or operated in violation of subdivision (d) of\nsection eleven hundred eleven of this article.\n (d) A certificate, sworn to or affirmed by a technician employed by\nSuffolk county in which the charged violation occurred, or a facsimile\nthereof, based upon inspection of photographs, microphotographs,\nvideotape or other recorded images produced by a traffic-control signal\nphoto violation-monitoring system, shall be prima facie evidence of the\nfacts contained therein. Any photographs, microphotographs, videotape or\nother recorded images evidencing such a violation shall be available for\ninspection in any proceeding to adjudicate the liability for such\nviolation pursuant to a local law or ordinance adopted pursuant to this\nsection.\n (e) An owner liable for a violation of subdivision (d) of section\neleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to a local law or\nordinance adopted pursuant to this section shall be liable for monetary\npenalties in accordance with a schedule of fines and penalties to be set\nforth in such local law or ordinance. The liability of the owner\npursuant to this section shall not exceed fifty dollars for each\nviolation; provided, however, that such local law or ordinance may\nprovide for an additional penalty not in excess of twenty-five dollars\nfor each violation for the failure to respond to a notice of liability\nwithin the prescribed time period.\n (f) An imposition of liability under a local law or ordinance adopted\npursuant to this section shall not be deemed a conviction as an operator\nand shall not be made part of the operating record of the person upon\nwhom such liability is imposed nor shall it be used for insurance\npurposes in the provision of motor vehicle insurance coverage.\n (g) 1. A notice of liability shall be sent by first class mail to each\nperson alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of subdivision\n(d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to this\nsection. Personal delivery on the owner shall not be required. A manual\nor automatic record of mailing prepared in the ordinary course of\nbusiness shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein.\n 2. A notice of liability shall contain the name and address of the\nperson alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of subdivision\n(d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to this\nsection, the registration number of the vehicle involved in such\nviolation, the location where such violation took place, the date and\ntime of such violation and the identification number of the camera which\nrecorded the violation or other document locator number.\n 3. The notice of liability shall contain information advising the\nperson charged of the manner and the time in which he or she may contest\nthe liability alleged in the notice. Such notice of liability shall also\ncontain a warning to advise the persons charged that failure to contest\nin the manner and time provided shall be deemed an admission of\nliability and that a default judgment may be entered thereon.\n 4. The notice of liability shall be prepared and mailed by Suffolk\ncounty or by any other entity authorized by such county to prepare and\nmail such notification of violation.\n (h) Adjudication of the liability imposed upon owners by this section\nshall be by the court having jurisdiction over traffic infractions.\n (i) If an owner receives a notice of liability pursuant to this\nsection for any time period during which the vehicle was reported to the\npolice department as having been stolen, it shall be a valid defense to\nan allegation of liability for a violation of subdivision (d) of section\neleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to this section that the\nvehicle had been reported to the police as stolen prior to the time the\nviolation occurred and had not been recovered by such time. For purposes\nof asserting the defense provided by this subdivision it shall be\nsufficient that a certified copy of the police report on the stolen\nvehicle be sent by first class mail to the court having jurisdiction.\n (j) An owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to which a notice of\nliability was issued pursuant to subdivision (g) of this section shall\nnot be liable for the violation of subdivision (d) of section eleven\nhundred eleven of this article, provided that he or she sends to the\ncourt having jurisdiction a copy of the rental, lease or other such\ncontract document covering such vehicle on the date of the violation,\nwith the name and address of the lessee clearly legible, within\nthirty-seven days after receiving notice from the court of the date and\ntime of such violation, together with the other information contained in\nthe original notice of liability. Failure to send such information\nwithin such thirty-seven day time period shall render the owner liable\nfor the penalty prescribed by this section. Where the lessor complies\nwith the provisions of this paragraph, the lessee of such vehicle on the\ndate of such violation shall be deemed to be the owner of such vehicle\nfor purposes of this section, shall be subject to liability for the\nviolation of subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this\narticle pursuant to this section and shall be sent a notice of liability\npursuant to subdivision (g) of this section.\n (k) 1. If the owner liable for a violation of subdivision (d) of\nsection eleven hundred eleven of this article pursuant to this section\nwas not the operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation, the\nowner may maintain an action for indemnification against the operator.\n 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no owner of a\nvehicle shall be subject to a monetary fine imposed pursuant to this\nsection if the operator of such vehicle was operating such vehicle\nwithout the consent of the owner at the time such operator failed to\nobey a traffic-control indication. For purposes of this subdivision\nthere shall be a presumption that the operator of such vehicle was\noperating such vehicle with the consent of the owner at the time such\noperator failed to obey a traffic-control indication.\n (l) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the liability\nof an operator of a vehicle for any violation of subdivision (d) of\nsection eleven hundred eleven of this article.\n (m) When a county has established a demonstration program pursuant to\nthis section, all fines and penalties collected under such program shall\nbe made to the county treasurer within the first ten days of the month\nfollowing collection.\n (n) Any county that adopts a demonstration program pursuant to\nsubdivision (a) of this section shall submit an annual report detailing\nthe results of the use of such traffic-control signal photo\nviolation-monitoring system to the governor, the temporary president of\nthe senate and the speaker of the assembly on or before June first, two\nthousand ten and on the same date in each succeeding year in which the\ndemonstration program is operable. Such report shall include, but not be\nlimited to:\n 1. a description of the locations where traffic-control signal photo\nviolation-monitoring systems were used;\n 2. the aggregate number, type and severity of accidents reported at\nintersections where a traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring\nsystem is used for the three years preceding the installation of such\nsystem, to the extent the information is maintained by the department of\nmotor vehicles of this state;\n 3. the aggregate number, type and severity of accidents reported at\nintersections where a traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring\nsystem is used for the reporting year, as well as for each year that the\ntraffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring system has been\noperational, to the extent the information is maintained by the\ndepartment of motor vehicles of this state;\n 4. the number of events and number of violations recorded at each\nintersection where a traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring\nsystem is used and in the aggregate on a daily, weekly and monthly\nbasis;\n 5. the number of notices of liability issued for violations recorded\nby such system at each intersection where a traffic-control signal photo\nviolation-monitoring system is used;\n 6. the number of fines imposed and total amount of fines paid after\nfirst notice of liability;\n 7. the number and percentage of violations adjudicated and results of\nsuch adjudications including breakdowns of disposition made for\nviolations recorded by such systems;\n 8. the total amount of revenue realized by such county from such\nadjudications including a breakdown of revenue realized by such county\nfor each year since deployment of its traffic-control signal photo\nviolation-monitoring system;\n 9. expenses incurred by such county in connection with the program;\nand\n 10. quality of the adjudication process and its results.\n (o) It shall be a defense to any prosecution for a violation of\nsubdivision (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this article\npursuant to a local law or ordinance adopted pursuant to this section\nthat such traffic-control indications were malfunctioning at the time of\nthe alleged violation.\n * NB Repealed December 1, 2024\n * NB There are 3 § 1111-b's\n