§ 502-19.1. Automated Traffic Enforcement System.
(a)
General.
(1)
The City of Cincinnati hereby adopts an automated traffic enforcement system for the purpose of using photographic equipment to record visual images of vehicles entering intersections in violation of § 502-19(c) and/or operating a vehicle in excess of the limits set forth in § 506-8 and using said images as the basis for issuing tickets to the owners of such vehicles within thirty (30) days of the infraction.
(2)
The Department of Transportation and Engineering and the Cincinnati Police Department shall be responsible for implementing the automated traffic enforcement system for both traffic signal and speed enforcement. These departments are hereby empowered to designate the intersections and streets to be monitored by automated traffic enforcement systems; to install, operate and maintain automated traffic enforcement systems at such designated locations; and to take any and all other measures necessary for the implementation of the system. The Police Department shall maintain a list, available to the public, of locations so monitored.
(3)
The Police Department is further empowered to contract with governmental or nongovernmental entities for services necessary for the implementation of this system. Such contracts shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 321 of this code. No entity with whom the Police Department contracts shall be paid in a manner dependent upon the number of tickets issued under this Section.
(4)
The intersections chosen for automated traffic enforcement under this section must display a yellow traffic-control signal for a time that complies with the Ohio Department of Transportation's Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
(5)
The street locations chosen for automated traffic enforcement under this section must display a speed limit sign in compliance with the Ohio Department of Transportation's Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices §§ 2B.11 and 2B.15 and the Ohio Revised Code § 4511.21.
(b)
Notice Requirements.
(1)
For at least fourteen (14) consecutive days prior to the installation of an automated traffic enforcement system at an intersection or street location, the Police Department or its designee must publish notice in a local newspaper of general circulation that the intersection or street location will be subject to automated traffic enforcement. Said notice must specify the date on which automated traffic enforcement will begin.
(2)
Prior to the date on which automated traffic enforcement begins at an intersection or street location, the Police Department or its designee shall erect a sign in a conspicuous location that provides notice that an automated traffic enforcement system is being used to monitor traffic.
(3)
For the first thirty (30) days that an automated traffic enforcement system is in operation at a given intersection or street location, no tickets may be issued on the basis of the images produced by that system. Warnings may be issued during that thirty-day period.
(c)
Offense.
(1)
An officer employed by the Cincinnati Police Department shall examine the image recorded by the automated traffic enforcement system to determine whether an infraction of § 502-19(c) or § 506-8 has occurred. If the image recorded by the automated traffic enforcement system shows an infraction of § 502-19(c) or § 506-8, contains a notation of the date and time of the alleged violation, and shows the letter and numbers on the vehicle's license plate, as well as the state in which the license plate was issued, the officer may use any lawful means to identify the vehicle's owner.
(2)
The fact that a person is registered as the owner of a vehicle with the vehicle registration office of the state that issued the license plate displayed on the vehicle shall be prima facie evidence that said person was operating the vehicle at the time of an infraction recorded by an automated traffic enforcement system.
(3)
Within thirty (30) days of the infraction and upon identification of the registered owner of the vehicle, an officer may issue and send by first-class United States mail a ticket charging the owner with an infraction of § 502-19(c). Said ticket must state the date on which the ticket was issued; the date, time and location of the infraction; the time in which a response must be made; and the manner in which the ticket may be appealed. In addition, a copy of the image(s) that served as a basis for the ticket must accompany the ticket.
(4)
A person who receives such a ticket shall be required to respond to it by paying the penalty as directed on the ticket within twenty-one (21) days of its issue date, or by submitting proof of his non-liability as set forth in subsection (c)(5) within twenty-one (21) days of its issue date, or by submitting, to the address listed on the ticket, requests a hearing as set forth in subsection (d) within twenty-one (21) days of its issue date.
(5)
Notwithstanding subsection (b)(2), the owner of the vehicle shall not be liable for a penalty under this section if:
(i)
At the time of the infraction, the vehicle was in the custody of someone other than its owner pursuant to a written lease or rental agreement and the owner submits, to the address listed on the ticket, either a copy of the lease or rental agreement along with the name and address of the lessee or renter.
(ii)
At the time of the infraction, the vehicle or the license plate depicted in the image which served as the basis for the ticket was stolen and the owner submits, to the address listed on the ticket, a copy of the police report stating the vehicle or license plate had been reported stolen at the time.
(6)
Nothing in subsection (c)(5) shall be construed as limiting the liability of an operator of a vehicle for any violation of § 502-19(c) or § 506-8.
(d)
Appeal.
(1)
A person who received a ticket pursuant to this Section may appeal the ticket by making a written request for a hearing to the address listed on the ticket. Said request shall be accompanied by a monetary deposit in an amount equal to the amount of the civil penalty stated on the ticket.
(2)
Within ten (10) days of the receipt of the request for a hearing and the monetary deposit referred to in subsection (d)(1), a hearing shall be held by a hearing officer appointed by the Cincinnati Police Department or its designee. The hearing officer shall determine whether a preponderance of evidence establishes that a violation occurred and that the person who received the ticket is liable for the penalty set forth in subsection (e).
(3)
A certified copy of the ticket alleging a violation of § 502-19(c) or § 506-8, along with a copy of the image that served as a basis for the ticket, shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein and shall be admissible in a proceeding alleging a violation under this ordinance.
(4)
In considering whether the person is liable, the hearing officer may consider any of the following as an affirmative defense of a violation:
(i)
That the ticket was issued and sent by first-class mail more than thirty (30) days after the date of the infraction recorded by the automated traffic enforcement system.
(ii)
That the driver of the vehicle passed through the intersection or had increased speed in order to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle, in accordance with Ohio Revised Code § 4511.45, or to a funeral procession, in accordance with Ohio Revised Code § 4511.451.
(iii)
That either the vehicle or license plate depicted on the image which served as the basis for the ticket was stolen before the violation occurred and was not in possession of the owner at the time of the violation, if the owner submits proof that a police report about the stolen vehicle or license plate was filed prior to, or within forty-eight (48) hours after, the violation.
(iv)
That this section is unenforceable because the automated traffic enforcement system was not operating properly, or the automated traffic enforcement system was not in a proper position, or that the image that served as the basis for the ticket is not legible enough to show the letters and numbers or the state that issued the license plate on the vehicle.
(v)
That the driver of the vehicle entered the intersection as part of a funeral procession or at the direction of a police officer.
(vi)
Substantial and convincing evidence that the owner or person named in the ticket was not operating the vehicle at the time of the violation. To satisfy the evidentiary burden under this subsection, the owner or person named in the ticket shall provide the hearing officer with substantial and convincing evidence of the identity of the person who was operating the vehicle at the time of the violation, including, at a minimum, the operator's name and current address.
(5)
The hearing officer shall notify the Police Chief or the Police Chief's designee, as well as the person named on the ticket, of the decision within three (3) days of the hearing. In addition, should the hearing officer conclude that a preponderance of evidence demonstrates that someone other than the person named in the ticket was operating the vehicle at the time of the violation, the hearing officer shall forward to the Cincinnati Police Department all evidence provided to him as to the operator's identity.
(6)
Within five (5) business days of receiving the evidence referred to in subsection (c)(5), the Cincinnati Police Department or its designee may issue a ticket to the person whom the evidence indicates was operating the vehicle at the time of the violation.
(e)
Penalties.
(1)
Unless the operator of a vehicle which is in violation of § 502-19(c) received a citation from a police officer at the time the violation occurred, the operator shall be subject to a civil penalty of $100.00 if the vehicle is recorded by an automated traffic enforcement system.
(2)
Unless the operator of a vehicle that is in violation of § 506-8 received a citation from a police officer at the time of the violation occurred, the operator shall be subject to a civil penalty of $100.00 if the vehicle is recorded by an automated traffic enforcement system.
(3)
A violation for which a civil penalty is imposed under this Section shall not be considered a moving violation for the purpose of assessing points under Ohio Revised Code § 4507.021 and shall not be reported to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles of any state.
(4)
The failure to respond to a ticket in a timely fashion as set forth in subsection (b)(4) shall constitute a waiver of the right to contest liability for the violation under subsection (c). Said failure shall result in an additional penalty of $100.00.
(5)
If the penalties set forth in this subsection remain unpaid for more than thirty (30) days after the date on which the ticket was issued, the penalties shall be collected, together with any interest and penalties thereon, by civil suit or other appropriate means of collection.
(Ordained by Ord. No. 261-2004, eff. Sept. 3, 2004)