NY Pub Auth L § 2985 (2021)
2021 New York Laws PBA - Public Authorities Article 9 - General Provisions Title 11 - Wrongful Death Actions 2985 - Owner Liability for Failure of Operator to Comply With Toll Collection Regulations.

§  2985.  Owner  liability for failure of operator to comply with toll collection regulations. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision  of  law, every  public  authority  which  operates  a  toll highway bridge and/or tunnel facility is hereby authorized and empowered  to  impose  monetary liability  on  the owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator thereof to comply with the toll collection regulations of such public  authority in accordance with the provisions of this section.   2.  The owner of a vehicle shall be liable for a civil penalty imposed pursuant to this section if such vehicle was used or operated  with  the permission  of  the  owner,  express  or  implied,  in violation of toll collection regulations, and such violation is evidenced  by  information obtained  from  a  photo-monitoring  system,  provided, however, that no owner of a vehicle shall be liable for a  penalty  imposed  pursuant  to this  section where the operator of such vehicle has been convicted of a violation of toll collection regulations for the same incident.   3. For purposes of this section,  the  term  "owner"  shall  mean  any person,  corporation,  partnership, firm, agency, association, lessor or organization who, at the time of the violation and with respect  to  the vehicle  identified in the notice of liability: (a) is the beneficial or equitable owner of such vehicle; or (b) has title to  such  vehicle;  or (c)  is  the  registrant  or  co-registrant  of  such  vehicle  which is registered with the department of motor vehicles of this  state  or  any other   state,   territory,   district,   province,   nation   or  other jurisdiction; or (d) subject to the limitations set forth in subdivision ten of this section, uses such vehicle in  its  vehicle  renting  and/or leasing  business;  and  includes  (e)  a person entitled to the use and possession of a vehicle  subject  to  a  security  interest  in  another person. For purposes of this section, the term "photo-monitoring system" shall mean a vehicle sensor installed to work in conjunction with a toll collection   facility   which   automatically   produces   one  or  more photographs, one or more microphotographs, a videotape or other recorded images of each vehicle at the time it is used or operated  in  violation of  toll  collection regulations. For purposes of this section, the term "toll collection regulations" shall mean: those rules and regulations of a public authority providing for and  requiring  the  payment  of  tolls and/or  charges  prescribed  by  such  public  authority  for the use of bridges, tunnels or highways under its jurisdiction or those  rules  and regulations of a public authority making it unlawful to refuse to pay or to  evade  or to attempt to evade the payment of all or part of any toll and/or charge for the use of bridges,  tunnels  or  highways  under  the jurisdiction of such public authority. For purposes of this section, the term  "vehicle" shall mean every device in, upon or by which a person or property is or may be  transported  or  drawn  upon  a  highway,  except devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.   4.  A  certificate,  sworn  to  or  affirmed by an agent of the public authority which charged that the  violation  occurred,  or  a  facsimile thereof,   based   upon  inspection  of  photographs,  microphotographs, videotape or other recorded images produced by a photo-monitoring system shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein  and  shall be  admissible in any proceeding charging a violation of toll collection regulations, provided that any photographs, microphotographs,  videotape or  other recorded images evidencing such a violation shall be available for  inspection  and  admission  into  evidence  in  any  proceeding  to adjudicate the liability for such violation.   5.   An  owner  found  liable  for  a  violation  of  toll  collection regulations pursuant to this section shall for a first violation thereof be liable for a monetary penalty not to  exceed  fifty  dollars  or  two times  the  toll  evaded  whichever  is  greater; for a second violation  thereof both within eighteen months be liable for a monetary penalty not to exceed one hundred dollars or five times the toll evaded whichever is greater; for a third or subsequent violation thereof all within eighteen months  be liable for a monetary penalty not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars or ten times the toll evaded whichever is greater.   6. An imposition of liability pursuant to this section shall be  based upon  a  preponderance  of  evidence  as  submitted.  An  imposition  of liability pursuant to this section shall not be deemed a  conviction  as an  operator  and  shall not be made part of the motor vehicle operating record, furnished pursuant to section three hundred  fifty-four  of  the vehicle  and  traffic  law,  of  the  person upon whom such liability is imposed nor shall it be used for insurance purposes in the provision  of motor vehicle insurance coverage.   7. (a) A notice of liability shall be sent by first class mail to each person  alleged  to  be  liable  as  an  owner  for  a violation of toll collection regulations. Such notice shall be mailed no later than thirty days after the alleged violation. Personal delivery on the  owner  shall not be required. A manual or automatic record of mailing prepared in the ordinary course of business shall be prima facie evidence of the mailing of the notice.  (b)  A  notice  of liability shall contain the name and address of the person alleged to be  liable  as  an  owner  for  a  violation  of  toll collection regulations pursuant to this section, the registration number of  the  vehicle  involved  in  such  violation, the location where such violation took place, the date  and  time  of  such  violation  and  the identification  number of the photo-monitoring system which recorded the violation or other document locator number.  (c) The notice of liability shall  contain  information  advising  the person  charged  of  the manner and the time in which he may contest the liability alleged in the notice. Such notice  of  liability  shall  also contain  a warning to advise the persons charged that failure to contest in the manner  and  time  provided  shall  be  deemed  an  admission  of liability and that a default judgment may be entered thereon.  (d) The notice of liability shall be prepared and mailed by the public authority having jurisdiction over the toll facility where the violation of toll collection regulations occurred.   8.  Adjudication  of the liability imposed upon owners by this section shall be by the entity having jurisdiction over violations of the  rules and  regulations of the public authority serving the notice of liability or where authorized by an administrative  tribunal  and  all  violations shall  be  heard  and determined in the county in which the violation is alleged to have occurred, or in New York city and upon  the  consent  of both  parties,  in  any  county within New York city in which the public authority operates or maintains a facility, and in the  same  manner  as charges  of  other  regulatory  violations  of  such public authority or pursuant to the rules and regulations of such administrative tribunal as the case may be.   9. If an owner receives a notice of liability pursuant to this section for any time period during which the vehicle was reported to the  police department  as  having  been  stolen,  it shall be a valid defense to an allegation of liability for a violation of toll  collection  regulations that  the vehicle had been reported to the police as stolen prior to the time the violation occurred and had not been recovered by such time.  If an owner receives a notice of liability pursuant to this section for any time period during which the vehicle was stolen, but not as yet reported to  the  police as having been stolen, it shall be a valid defense to an allegation of liability for a violation of toll  collection  regulations pursuant  to this section that the vehicle was reported as stolen within  two hours after the discovery of the theft by the owner.   For  purposes of  asserting  the  defense  provided  by  this  subdivision it shall be sufficient that a certified copy of the  police  report  on  the  stolen vehicle  be sent by first class mail to the court or other entity having jurisdiction.   10. An owner who is a lessor  of  a  vehicle  to  which  a  notice  of liability was issued pursuant to subdivision seven of this section shall not  be  liable  for  the  violation  of  the toll collection regulation provided that he or she sends to the public authority serving the notice of liability and to the court or other entity having jurisdiction a copy of the rental, lease or  other  such  contract  document  covering  such vehicle  on  the date of the violation, with the name and address of the lessee clearly legible, within thirty days after receiving the  original notice of liability. Failure to send such information within such thirty day  time  period  shall  render  the  lessor  liable  for  the  penalty prescribed  by  this  section.  Where  the  lessor  complies  with   the provisions  of  this subdivision, the lessee of such vehicle on the date of such violation shall be deemed to be the owner of  such  vehicle  for purposes  of  this  section  and  shall  be subject to liability for the violation of toll  collection  regulations,  provided  that  the  public authority  mails  a  notice  of  liability to the lessee within ten days after the court, or other entity having jurisdiction, deems  the  lessee to  be  the  owner.  For  purposes of this subdivision the term "lessor" shall  mean  any  person,  corporation,   firm,   partnership,   agency, association  or  organization  engaged  in  the  business  of renting or leasing vehicles to any  lessee  under  a  rental  agreement,  lease  or otherwise  wherein the said lessee has the exclusive use of said vehicle for any period of time. For  purposes  of  this  subdivision,  the  term "lessee"  shall mean any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency, association or organization that rents, leases or contracts for the  use of  one or more vehicles and has exclusive use thereof for any period of time.   11. Except as provided in subdivision ten of this section, if a person receives a notice of liability pursuant to this section it  shall  be  a valid  defense  to  an  allegation  of liability for a violation of toll collection regulations that the individual who received  the  notice  of liability  pursuant  to this section was not the owner of the vehicle at the time the violation occurred. If the owner liable for a violation  of toll  collection  regulations  pursuant  to  this  section  was  not the operator of the vehicle at the time of  the  violation,  the  owner  may maintain an action for indemnification against the operator.   12.  "Electronic  toll  collection  system"  shall  mean  a  system of collecting tolls or charges which is  capable  of  charging  an  account holder  the  appropriate  toll  or charge by transmission of information from an electronic device on a motor vehicle to  the  toll  lane,  which information  is  used  to  charge  the  account  the appropriate toll or charge. In adopting procedures for the  preparation  and  mailing  of  a notice  of  liability, the public authority having jurisdiction over the toll facility shall adopt  guidelines  to  ensure  adequate  and  timely notice  to  all  electronic  toll  collection  system account holders to inform them when their accounts are  delinquent.  An  owner  who  is  an account  holder under the electronic toll collection system shall not be found liable for a violation of this section unless such  authority  has first  sent  a  notice  of  delinquency  to  such account holder and the account holder was in fact delinquent at the time of the violation.   13. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the  liability of  an  operator  of  a  vehicle  for  any  violation of toll collection regulations.    14. Notwithstanding any  other  provision  of  law,  all  photographs, microphotographs,  videotape  or other recorded images prepared pursuant to this section shall be for the exclusive use of a public authority  in the  discharge of its duties under this section and shall not be open to the  public nor be used in any court in any action or proceeding pending therein unless such action or proceeding relates to the imposition of or indemnification for liability  pursuant  to  this  section.  The  public authority  shall  not sell, distribute or make available in any way, the names  and  addresses  of  electronic  toll  collection  system  account holders,  without  such account holders' consent to any entity that will use such information  for  any  commercial  purpose  provided  that  the foregoing  restriction  shall  not be deemed to preclude the exchange of such information between any entities  with  jurisdiction  over  and  or operating a toll highway bridge and/or tunnel facility.