2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE NINE - Highways and Traffic (§§ 1-8 — 5725) › Chapter 27 - Vehicle and Traffic Law (2000) › Subchapter XXIII - Collection of Fees (§§ 5681 — 5687) › § 5686 - Automated traffic control system

(a) The Secretary is hereby empowered and authorized, pursuant to the provisions of § 5602 of this title, to use and operate automatic traffic control systems including the use of electronic and/or mechanized devices of proven accuracy, at the intersections of public highways which statistically represent a high risk for drivers and pedestrians in order to issue administrative fault tickets for violations of the sections of this chapter that can be detected in this manner.
Prior to installing any automatic traffic control system in the public highways of Puerto Rico, the Secretary shall prepare regulations to designate said high risk intersections, that shall include the method of evaluating statistics and information such as, but without being limited to, the following: traffic flow in that area, interventions due to violations of the law, the number of accidents due to such infractions in said areas, and the duration of the yellow light. Said regulations shall be published, circulated and submitted to public hearings prior to being made official.
(b) Once a violation of this chapter has been detected through the use of the systems mentioned above in subsection (a), a sworn certification shall be issued by a representative of the Secretary or the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority, or by the contracted operator or the person or entity in charge of the automatic traffic control system installed in a traffic facility, to the effect that a certain vehicle has committed a violation of this chapter based on photographs, microphotographs, videotapes, or any other image registration system. The above shall constitute prima facie evidence in any procedure that the vehicle thus identified committed the charged violation. Said photographs, microphotographs, video, or registered image of a similar nature shall be admitted as evidence in any procedure for the collection of the fine and the toll fee, as the case may be, provided that they are made available to the affected party at any stage of the process for the imposition and collection of the fine and the toll fee if said party requests it in writing in due course. The image captured by such equipment shall be limited to the license plate and the vehicle. Never shall an image showing the features of the occupants be used. Moving violations committed in violation of this section shall be deemed to be civil fines and shall be included in the driver records of the owner of the motor vehicle, or of the certified driver in those cases in which the vehicle used to commit the violation is under a lease agreement, daily rental agreement, or retail installment sales contract.
(c) When imposing fines and collecting toll fees under this system the procedure below shall be followed:
(1) A notice shall be mailed to the owner of the vehicle that committed the violation, or to the certified driver in those cases where the vehicle used to commit the violation is under a lease agreement, daily rental agreement, or retail installment sales contract, according to the records of the DTPW, to the last known address appearing in said records.
(2) The notice shall be mailed no later than ninety 90) days counting from the calendar day that the violation occurred.
(3) The Secretary shall keep a register of the date, name and address to which said notice is made; and said register shall constitute prima facie evidence that the notification of the violation was committed in any procedure related to the collection of the fine and the toll fee, as the case may be.
(4) Said notice shall contain, at least:
(A) The name and address of the owner of the vehicle that committed the violation, as found in the records of the DTPW. In the case of motor vehicles under a lease agreement or retail installment sales contract, the notice shall contain at least the name and address of the certified driver of the vehicle used to commit the violation, as it appears in the records of the Department;
(B) The license number of the vehicle involved in the violation, as it appears in the photographs, micro-photographs, videos or any registered images of a similar nature used to identify the vehicle that committed the violation; and the registration number of said vehicle as it appears in the register of the DTPW.
(C) The date, place and hour that said violation occurred.
(D) The identification number of the unit or equipment that took the photographs, microphotographs, video or any registered images on which the findings of an infraction are based.
(E) The case number assigned by the Department of Transportation and Public Works, the Highways and Transportation Authority or the entity contracted by them to operate the automatic traffic control system or the toll fee collection system.
(F) Shall be advised of the right to request the holding of a hearing within fifteen (15) days following the notification, or that otherwise, the fine will be final and binding and can not be questioned.
(G) The party that challenges the fine shall bear the burden of proof to show that the violation was not committed.
(d) The Secretary shall provide through regulations to such effect, all matters concerning the administrative hearing referred to in subsection (c) above, which shall be adjudicative in nature.
(e) To comply with the functions provided in this section, the Secretary shall have the power to delegate said authority on other Department officials, employees, government agencies, or to contract private enterprises to operate the systems and remit the notices of administrative fines.
(f) The decisions made by the Secretary under this section may be reviewed judicially pursuant to the provisions of the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3.
The funds collected from the administrative fines generated by the automatic traffic control system shall be covered into a special account in the name of the Authority. These collections shall be used by the Authority to defray those expenses that are needed to implement and operate the automatic systems authorized in this chapter and the corporate purposes of the Authority.
History —Jan. 7, 2000, No. 22, § 24.06, renumbered as § 23.06 and amended on June 3, 2004, No. 132, §§ 17, 24, eff. 8 months after June 3, 2004; Sept. 15, 2012, No. 253, § 6.