HF 2053 (LSB 5142YH (4) 83)

HOUSE FILE 2053

BY  WHITEAD

A BILL FOR

An Act providing for the use of photo traffic enforcement in road work zones on primary highways.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  321.296   Speed limit enforcement in work zones —— photo traffic enforcement.
   The department of public safety, in cooperation with the department of transportation, shall place photo traffic enforcement devices in all road work zones on primary highways to enforce violations of the posted speed limits in the road work zones.

   1.  For purposes of this section, “photo traffic enforcement device” means a device used primarily for highway speed limit enforcement, substantially consisting of a low-powered Doppler radar unit and camera which automatically produces a photograph of a vehicle, including the vehicle’s registration plate, traveling in excess of the legal speed limit, with the vehicle’s speed and the date, time of day, and location of the violation printed on the photograph.
   2.  The department of transportation shall post signs providing notice to motorists in every road work zone where a photo traffic enforcement device is in use.
   3.  If a peace officer of the department of public safety determines from examination of the evidence produced by a photo traffic enforcement device that a speeding violation occurred in a road work zone, the peace officer may initiate an investigation not more than seven calendar days after the date of the violation. The peace officer may request that the owner of the vehicle supply information identifying the driver of the vehicle in accordance with section 321.484, or in the case of a commercial motor vehicle, the peace officer may request that the employer of the driver provide information identifying the driver of the vehicle.
   a.  If, from the investigation, the peace officer is able to identify the driver of the vehicle and has reasonable cause to believe a speeding violation has occurred, the peace officer shall prepare a uniform traffic citation for the violation and shall serve it personally or by certified mail on the driver of the vehicle.
   b.  If, from the investigation, the peace officer has reasonable cause to believe that a speeding violation occurred but is unable to identify the driver, the peace officer shall serve a uniform traffic citation for the violation on the owner of the motor vehicle or, in the case of a commercial motor vehicle, on the employer of the driver. Notwithstanding section 321.484, in a proceeding where the peace officer who conducted the investigation was not able to identify the driver of the motor vehicle, proof that the motor vehicle captured on camera and described in the uniform traffic citation was used to commit the speeding violation in a road work zone, together with proof that the defendant named in the citation was the owner of the motor vehicle or, in the case of a commercial motor vehicle, the employer of the driver, at the time the violation occurred, constitutes a permissible inference that the owner or employer was the person who committed the violation.
   c.  For purposes of this subsection, “owner” means a person who holds the legal title to a motor vehicle; however, if the motor vehicle is the subject of a security agreement with a right of possession in the debtor, the debtor shall be deemed the owner for purposes of this subsection, or if the motor vehicle is leased as defined in section 321.493, the lessee shall be deemed the owner for purposes of this subsection.
   4.  A photograph that meets the requirements of subsection 1 shall be accepted as prima facie evidence of the speeding violation in any legal proceeding where the speed of the motor vehicle is at issue.
    Sec. 2.  Section 321.484, subsection 2, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  If a peace officer as defined in section 801.4 has reasonable cause to believe the driver of a motor vehicle has violated section 321.261, 321.262, 321.264, 321.341, 321.342, 321.343, 321.344, or 321.372, or has committed a violation recorded by a photo traffic enforcement device under section 321.296, the officer may request any owner of the motor vehicle to supply information identifying the driver. When requested, the owner of the vehicle shall identify the driver to the best of the owner’s ability. However, the owner of the vehicle is not required to supply identification information to the officer if the owner believes the information is self-incriminating.
EXPLANATION
   This bill requires the department of public safety, in cooperation with the department of transportation, to place photo traffic enforcement devices in all road work zones on primary highways. Pursuant to current law, reduced speed limits are posted in road work zones. Under the bill, the department of transportation is also required to post signs in road work zones on primary highways notifying motorists that photo enforcement is in use.
   The bill defines “photo traffic enforcement device” as a device used primarily for highway speed limit enforcement, substantially consisting of a low-powered Doppler radar unit and camera which automatically produces a photograph of a vehicle, including the vehicle’s registration plate, traveling in excess of the legal speed limit, with the vehicle’s speed and the date, time of day, and location of the violation printed on the photograph. Under the bill, such a photograph is to be accepted as prima facie evidence of a speeding violation in any legal proceeding where the speed of the motor vehicle is at issue.
   When a peace officer of the department of public safety who has reviewed the photographic evidence determines that a speeding violation occurred, the peace officer may initiate an investigation within seven days of the date of the violation. The procedure to be followed mirrors the procedure in existing law for prosecuting offenses relating to stopping for school buses or at railroad crossings.
   The peace officer may request that the owner of the vehicle supply information identifying the driver of the vehicle. If the vehicle involved is a commercial vehicle, the peace officer may ask the employer of the driver to provide information identifying the driver.
   Once the identity of the driver is known, and if the peace officer still has reasonable cause to believe that a speeding violation occurred in a work zone, the peace officer shall issue a uniform traffic citation to the driver by personal service or by certified mail.
   If the peace officer is unable to identify the driver but still has reasonable cause to believe that a violation occurred, the peace officer shall serve a uniform traffic citation on the owner of the vehicle or, in the case of a commercial vehicle, on the employer of the driver. Proof that the motor vehicle captured on camera and described in the uniform traffic citation was used to commit the speeding violation, together with proof that the defendant named in the citation was the owner of the motor vehicle or the employer of the driver at the time the violation occurred, constitutes a permissible inference that the owner or employer was the person who committed the violation.
   For purposes of the bill, the owner of the vehicle is the person who holds the legal title to the vehicle. If there is a security interest in the vehicle, a debtor with a right of possession is deemed to be the owner, and if the motor vehicle is leased, the lessee is deemed to be the owner.