(a) The city is empowered to utilize an automated photographic traffic signal enforcement system to detect and record traffic signal violations, to issue notices of civil violations by mail, and to prosecute civil violations for the recorded traffic signal violations which may occur within the corporate limits of the city as provided in this part. A civil penalty assessed under this part shall not exceed one hundred dollars ($100), and municipal court costs shall be assessed only in contested cases in the same manner and in the same amounts prescribed for a municipal criminal traffic-control device violation prosecuted as a misdemeanor under Section 32-5A-31, 32-5A-32, or 32-5A-35, or any combination thereof. An additional fee of ten dollars ($10) shall be added to the municipal court costs authorized to be collected in connection with notices issued under this part. Court costs collected pursuant to this part shall be distributed in the same manner as prescribed by law for the distribution of municipal court costs for misdemeanor violations. The additional ten dollars ($10) authorized by this part shall be paid to the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center as compensation for record keeping with respect to violation notices issued under this part.
(b) The city shall cause a sign to be posted at each of a minimum of five roadway entry points to the city to provide motorists with notice that photographic traffic signal enforcement systems are in use. The sign will comply with this requirement if it states substantially the following: "AUTOMATED CAMERAS USED IN RED LIGHT ENFORCEMENT," or if it otherwise gives sufficient notice.
(c) Prior to operating a photographic traffic signal enforcement system, the city shall make a public announcement and conduct a public awareness campaign on the use of a photographic traffic signal enforcement system a minimum of 30 days before using the devices. The city may place photographic traffic signal enforcement systems at locations without public notice of the specific location, may change locations without public notice, and may install and move as needed decoy devices designed to resemble photographic traffic signal enforcement systems.
(d) The city shall post a sign or signs at each intersection at which a device is located informing motorists that a photographic traffic signal enforcement system is in operation at the intersection.
(e) Under no circumstances shall the salary or other compensation of the trained technician be related to the number of notices of violation issued or amount of fines collected.
Last modified: May 3, 2021