(a) After review of the violation by a law enforcement officer or trained technician, the governing body or contractor shall send the owner of a vehicle that has been detected by the device as being involved in a school bus violation a notice of violation by U. S. mail. A notice of violation shall be mailed no later than 14 days after being reviewed by law enforcement. In the event there is more than one owner, the notice may be issued to the first person listed on the title or other evidence of ownership, or jointly to all listed owners.
(b) The notice of violation shall include at a minimum each of the following items of information:
(1) The name and address of the person alleged to be liable as the owner of the motor vehicle involved in the violation.
(2) The license tag number of the vehicle.
(3) The violation charged.
(4) The date, time, and location where the violation occurred.
(5) The photographic images and the online video of the vehicle that are captured by the automated device. The image or video shall be reviewed by a law enforcement officer or trained technician who shall electronically certify the notice of violation. The image or video may not contain images of the face of the driver or passengers in the vehicle.
(6) The amount of the civil fine along with the time, place, and manner for payment of the fine which shall include the option to pay the fine by electronic means.
(7) The procedure under which the notice of violation may be contested, or the procedure and conditions under which responsibility for payment of the civil fine may be transferred to another individual who was operating the vehicle at the time of the violation.
(8) The date by which the local governing body must receive payment of the civil fine, receive notice by the owner that responsibility is being transferred to another, or receive notice by the owner that the notice of violation is being contested, shall be clearly and prominently stated on the notice of violation. The time may not be less than 30 days after the notice of violation is mailed.
(c) All recorded video images and other photographic information obtained through the use of school bus violation detection monitoring systems authorized in this chapter that do not identify a violation shall be destroyed by any city, town, school system or contractor within 90 days of the date the image was recorded, unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. All photographic and other recorded information that identifies a violation shall be destroyed within 30 days of final disposition of proceedings related to the enforcement or defense of a violation, unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(d) All photographic evidence regardless of whether it is a still photograph or video shall remain the sole property of the board and shall be available to a third party, other than the alleged violator, pursuant only to a valid court order.
(e) Except as expressly provided, all civil actions based on evidence produced by a school bus violation detection monitoring system shall follow the procedures set out in this chapter.
Last modified: May 3, 2021