40-6-20.
(a) The driver of any vehicle shall obey the instructions of an
official traffic-control device applicable thereto, placed in
accordance with this chapter, unless otherwise directed by a police
officer, subject to the exceptions granted the driver of an
authorized emergency vehicle in this chapter. A violation of this
subsection shall be a misdemeanor, except as otherwise provided by
subsection (f) of this Code section.
(b) No provisions of this chapter which require official
traffic-control devices shall be enforced against an alleged
violator if at the time and place of the alleged violation an
official device was not in proper position and sufficiently legible
to be seen by an ordinarily observant person. Whenever a particular
Code section does not state that official traffic-control devices
are required, such Code section shall be effective even though no
devices are erected or in place.
(c) Whenever official traffic-control devices are placed in position
approximately conforming to the requirements of this chapter, such
devices shall be presumed to have been so placed by the official act
or direction of lawful authority, unless the contrary shall be
established by competent evidence.
(d) Any official traffic-control device placed pursuant to this
chapter and purporting to conform to the lawful requirements
pertaining to such devices shall be presumed to comply with the
requirements of this chapter, unless the contrary shall be
established by competent evidence.
(e) The disregard or disobedience of the instructions of any
official traffic-control device or signal placed in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter by the driver of a vehicle shall be
deemed prima-facie evidence of a violation of law, without requiring
proof of who and by what authority such sign or device has been
erected.
(f)(1) As used in this subsection, the term:
(A) "Owner" means the registrant of a motor
vehicle, except that
such term shall not include a motor vehicle
rental company when
a motor vehicle registered by such company is
being operated by
another person under a rental agreement with such
company.
(B) "Recorded images" means images recorded by a
traffic-control
signal monitoring device:
(i) On:
(I) Two or more
photographs;
(II) Two or more
microphotographs;
(III) Two or more
electronic images; or
(IV) Videotape; and
(ii) Showing a traffic-control signal
displaying a CIRCULAR
RED or RED ARROW signal along with
the rear of a motor vehicle
apparently operated in disregard or
disobedience of such
signal and, on at least one image or
portion of tape, clearly
revealing the number or other
identifying designation of the
license plate displayed on the motor
vehicle.
(C) "Traffic-control signal monitoring device"
means a device
with one or more motor vehicle sensors working in
conjunction
with a traffic-control signal to produce recorded
images of
motor vehicles being operated in disregard or
disobedience of a
CIRCULAR RED or RED ARROW signal.
(2) Subsection (a) of this Code section may be enforced as
provided in this subsection pursuant to the use of
traffic-control
signal monitoring devices in accordance with Article 3 of
Chapter
14 of this title.
(3) For the purpose of enforcement pursuant to this
subsection:
(A) The driver of a motor vehicle shall be liable
for a civil
monetary penalty of not more than $70.00 if such
vehicle is
found, as evidenced by recorded images produced
by a
traffic-control signal monitoring device, to have
been operated
in disregard or disobedience of a CIRCULAR RED or
RED ARROW
signal in violation of subsection (a) of this
Code section and
such disregard or disobedience was not otherwise
authorized by
law;
(B) The law enforcement agency for which such
device is
permitted shall send by first-class mail
addressed to the owner
of the motor vehicle postmarked not later than
ten days after
the date of the alleged violation:
(i) A uniform traffic citation for
the violation, which shall
include the date and time of the
violation, the location of
the intersection, the amount of the
civil monetary penalty
imposed, and the date by which the
civil monetary penalty
shall be paid;
(ii) A copy of the recorded image;
(iii) A copy of a certificate sworn
to or affirmed by a
trained law enforcement officer or a
technician employed by a
law enforcement agency for which such
device is authorized and
stating that, based upon inspection
of recorded images, the
owner's motor vehicle was operated in
disregard or
disobedience of a CIRCULAR RED or RED
ARROW signal in
violation of subsection (a) of this
Code section and that such
disregard or disobedience was not
otherwise authorized by law;
(iv) A statement of the inference
provided by subparagraph (D)
of this paragraph and of the means
specified therein by which
such inference may be rebutted;
(v) Information advising the owner of
the motor vehicle of the
manner and time in which liability as
alleged in the citation
may be contested in court; and
(vi) Warning that failure to pay the
civil monetary penalty or
to contest liability in a timely
manner shall waive any right
to contest liability and result in a
civil monetary penalty;
provided, however, that only warning notices and
not citations
for violations shall be sent during the 30 day
period commencing
with the installation of a traffic-control signal
monitoring
device at such location;
(C) Proof that a motor vehicle was operated in
disregard or
disobedience of a CIRCULAR RED or RED ARROW
signal in violation
of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be
evidenced by
recorded images produced by a traffic-control
signal monitoring
device authorized pursuant to Article 3 of
Chapter 14 of this
title. A copy of a certificate sworn to or
affirmed by a
trained law enforcement officer or a technician
employed by a
law enforcement agency for which such device is
authorized and
stating that, based upon inspection of recorded
images, a motor
vehicle was operated in disregard or disobedience
of a CIRCULAR
RED or RED ARROW signal in violation of
subsection (a) of this
Code section and that such disregard or
disobedience was not
otherwise authorized by law shall be prima-facie
evidence of the
facts contained therein; and
(D) Liability under this subsection shall be
determined based
upon preponderance of the evidence.
Prima-facie evidence that
the vehicle described in the citation issued
pursuant to this
subsection was operated in violation of
subsection (a) of this
Code section, together with proof that the
defendant was at the
time of such violation the registered owner of
the vehicle,
shall permit the trier of fact in its discretion
to infer that
such owner of the vehicle was the driver of the
vehicle at the
time of the alleged violation. Such an
inference may be
rebutted if the owner of the vehicle:
(i) Testifies under oath in open
court that he or she was not
the operator of the vehicle at the
time of the alleged
violation;
(ii) Presents to the court prior to
the return date
established on the citation a
certified copy of a police
report showing that the vehicle had
been reported to the
police as stolen prior to the time of
the alleged violation;
or
(iii) Submits to the court prior to
the return date
established on the citation a sworn
notarized statement
identifying the name of the operator
of the vehicle at the
time of the alleged violation.
(4) A violation for which a civil penalty is imposed pursuant
to
this subsection shall not be considered a moving traffic
violation, for the purpose of points assessment under Code
Section
40-5-57. Such violation shall be deemed noncriminal,
and
imposition of a civil penalty pursuant to this subsection
shall
not be deemed a conviction and shall not be made a part of
the
operating record of the person upon whom such liability is
imposed, nor shall it be used for any insurance purposes in
the
provision of motor vehicle insurance coverage.
(5) If a person summoned by first-class mail fails to appear
on
the date of return set out in the summons and has not paid
the
penalty for the violation or filed a police report or
affidavit
pursuant to division (3)(D)(ii) or (3)(D)(iii) of this
subsection,
the person summoned shall have waived the right to contest
the
violation and shall be liable for a civil monetary penalty of
not
more than $70.00.
(6) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the
provisions of law governing jurisdiction, procedure,
defenses,
adjudication, appeal, and payment and distribution of
penalties
otherwise applicable to violations of subsection (a) of this
Code
section shall apply to enforcement under this subsection;
provided, however, that any appeal from superior or state
court
shall be by application in the same manner as that provided
by
Code Section 5-6-35.
(7) Recorded images made for purposes of this subsection
shall not
be a public record for purposes of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of
Title 50.
(8) The provisions of this subsection shall not limit law
enforcement agencies to the use of traffic-control signal
monitoring devices in enforcing subsection (a) of this Code
section; and, when there is evidence obtained from another
source
or sources which constitutes a prima-facie case of a
violation of
subsection (a) of this Code section, such violation may be
prosecuted as otherwise provided by law in lieu of, but not
in
addition to, enforcement under this subsection.