§ 31-51-5. Driver/registered owner liability.
(a) The registered owner of a motor vehicle shall not operate or allow the motor vehicle
to be operated in violation of this chapter. There shall be a rebuttable presumption
that the registered owner of the vehicle that is photographed pursuant to this chapter
was operating the vehicle.
(b) In all prosecutions of civil traffic violations based on evidence obtained from a
live digital video school bus violation detection monitoring system as provided under
this chapter, the registered owner of the vehicle shall be primarily responsible in
all prosecutions of violations pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, except
as otherwise provided under this chapter.
(c) In the event that the registered owner of the vehicle operated in violation of this
chapter was not the operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation, the registered
owner shall either:
(1) Accept responsibility for the violation by paying the fine; or
(2) Upon receipt of the notice of the violation, provide the issuing authority, within
twenty (20) days of the date of issuance, the name and address of the individual operating
the vehicle at the time which the violation occurred.
(d) It shall be prima facie evidence, establishing a rebuttable presumption, that the
owner of the registered motor vehicle was the operator of the vehicle at the time
of the violation if the registered owner of the motor vehicle fails to pay the fine
and fails to proceed under subdivision (c)(2) of this section. Evidence offered pursuant
to this chapter shall be sufficient to establish a violation of § 31-51-2.2 by clear and convincing evidence.
(e) The owner of a rented or leased motor vehicle may establish non-liability for violations
issued pursuant to this chapter by providing to the issuing authority a copy of the
written rental or a lease agreement which shall be prima facie evidence, establishing
a rebuttable presumption, that the lessee was the operator of the vehicle. In the
event that the lessee was not the operator of the motor vehicle at the time of the
violation, the lessee shall either:
(1) Accept responsibility for the violation by paying the fine; or
(2) Upon receipt of the notice of the violation, provide the issuing authority within
twenty (20) days of the date of issuance, the name and address of the individual operating
the vehicle at the time which the violation occurred.