1Amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
2Statutes, in enforcement, providing for automated enforcement
3of failure to stop for school bus with flashing red lights.

4The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5hereby enacts as follows:

6Section 1. Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
7Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:

8§ 6314. Automated enforcement of failure to stop for school bus
9with flashing red lights.

10(a) General rule.--A school district may install and operate
11an automated side stop signal arm enforcement system for the
12purpose of enforcing the provisions of section 3345(a) (relating
13to meeting or overtaking school bus).

14(b) Applicability.--

15(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), this section
16shall apply to all drivers of a vehicle meeting or overtaking
17any school bus stopped on a highway or trafficway when the
18red signal lights on the school bus are flashing and the side

1stop signal arms are activated as described in section
23345(a) and (f.1).

3(2) Nothing in this section shall supersede the
4provisions of section 3105(h) (relating to drivers of
5emergency vehicles).

6(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as
7superseding the provisions of section 3345 (c) or (d).

8(c) Owner liability.--For each violation under section
93345(a), the owner or owners of the vehicle shall be liable as
10follows:

11(1) The penalty or a violation under subsection (a)
12shall be a fine of $250.

13(2) In addition to the evidence provided in subsection
14(d), if a school bus operator observes the violation and can
15provide a signed report attesting to the identity of the
16driver, the violation shall be made part of the operating
17record as described under section 1535 (relating to schedule
18of convictions and points) of the individual upon whom the
19penalty is imposed, the imposition of the penalty shall be
20subject to merit rating for insurance purposes, and any
21surcharge points shall be imposed in the provision for motor
22vehicle insurance coverage.

23(3) A fine is not authorized for a violation of this
24section if the exceptions provided in section 3345(g) are
25met.

26(4) Fines collected under this section shall be subject
27to 42 Pa.C.S. § 3571 (relating to Commonwealth portion of 
28fines, etc.) or 3573 (relating to municipal corporation 
29portion of fines, etc).

30(5) Violations resulting in a homicide by vehicle under
 

1section 3732 (relating to homicide by vehicle) shall be 
2subject to the penalties provided therein.

3(d) Certificate as evidence.--The school bus operator who
4observes the violation may provide a written and signed report
5further attesting to the violation within 48 hours and shall
6include the following as described in section 3345(a.1)(1):

7(1) A recorded image or video evidencing a violation of
8this title shall be admissible in any judicial or
9administrative proceeding to adjudicate the liability for the
10violation.

11(2) In addition to the evidence provided in paragraph
12(1), if a school bus operator observes the violation and
13provides a signed report attesting to the identity of the
14driver, the violation shall be made part of the operating
15record, as described under section 1535, of the individual
16upon whom the penalty is imposed. The imposition of the
17penalty shall be subject to merit rating for insurance
18purposes, and any surcharge points shall be imposed in the
19provision for motor vehicle insurance coverage.

20(e) Limitations.--

21(1) (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
22equipment deployed as part of an automated side stop
23signal arm enforcement system as provided under this
24section must be incapable of automated or user-controlled
25remote intersection surveillance by means of recorded
26video images.

27(ii) Recorded images collected as part of the
28automated side stop signal arm enforcement system may
29only record traffic violations and may not be used for
30any other surveillance purposes.

1(iii) The restrictions of this paragraph shall not
2be deemed to preclude a court of competent jurisdiction
3from issuing an order directing that the information be
4provided to law enforcement officials if the information
5is reasonably described and is requested solely in
6connection with a criminal law enforcement action.

7(2) (i) To the extent practicable, an automated side
8stop signal arm enforcement system shall use necessary
9technologies to ensure that photographs or recorded video
10images produced by the school bus violation detection
11monitoring system shall not include a frontal view
12photograph or video image of the motor vehicle that is in
13violation of the stop arm traffic control sign or images
14that identify the operator, the passengers or the
15contents of the vehicle.

16(ii) No notice of liability issued under this
17section shall be dismissed solely because a photograph or
18recorded video image allows for the identification of the
19operator, passengers or contents of a vehicle as long as
20a reasonable effort has been made to comply with this
21paragraph.

22(3) (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
23information prepared under this section and information
24relating to violations under this section which is kept
25by the department of the police officer having the
26authority to exercise police power in the area where the
27violation occurred, its authorized agents or employees,
28including recorded images, written records, reports or
29facsimiles, names, addresses and the number of violations
30under this section shall be for the exclusive use of the

1department of the police officer having the authority to
2exercise police power in the area where the violation
3occurred, its authorized agents or employees and law
4enforcement officials for the purpose of discharging
5their duties under this section.

6(ii) The information shall not be deemed a public
7record under the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3),
8known as the Right-to-Know Law.

9(iii) The information may be discoverable by court
10order or otherwise and may be offered in evidence in any
11action or proceeding which is directly related to a
12violation of this section or any other violation in
13connection with a criminal law enforcement action.

14(4) Images obtained through the use of an automated side
15stop signal arm enforcement system shall be destroyed within
16one year of final disposition of the recorded event. The
17vendor of an automated side stop signal arm enforcement
18system shall notify the department by written notice in
19accordance with this section that the records have been
20destroyed.

21(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
22registered vehicle owner information obtained as a result of
23the operation of an automated side stop signal arm
24enforcement system under this section shall not be the
25property of the manufacturer or vendor of the automated side
26stop signal arm enforcement system and may not be used for
27any purpose other than prescribed in this section.

28(f) Defenses.--

29(1) It shall be a defense to a prosecution using an
30automated side stop signal arm enforcement system for a

1violation under section 3345 that the person named in the
2notice of the violation was not operating the vehicle at the
3time of the violation. The owner may be required to submit
4evidence that the owner was not the driver at the time of the
5alleged violation.

6(2) The person named in the notice of violation may have
7the opportunity to nominate the actual driver of the vehicle
8at the time the violation occurred.

9(3) If the owner receives a notice of violation under
10section 3345 of a time period during which the vehicle was
11reported to the police department of any state or
12municipality as having been stolen, it shall be a defense to
13the violation that the vehicle has been reported to a police
14department as stolen prior to the time the violation occurred
15and has not been recovered prior to that time.

16(4) It shall be a defense to a prosecution using an
17automated side stop signal arm enforcement system for a
18violation under section 3345 that the person receiving the
19notice of violation was not the owner of the vehicle at the
20time of the offense if the person can provide valid
21documentation of nonownership.

22(g) Approval.--

23(1) A school district may enter into an agreement with a
24private vendor or manufacturer to provide an automated side
25stop signal arm enforcement system on each bus within its
26fleet, whether owned or leased, up to and including the
27installation, operation and maintenance of such systems.

28(2) Wherever an agreement under this section is to take
29effect upon its acceptance by a school district, or is to be
30effective in school districts accepting its provisions, the

1acceptance shall be, except as otherwise provided, in a
2school district by vote of the board of school directors. The
3meeting to consider approval of an automated side stop signal
4arm enforcement system shall be properly noticed under 65
5Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 (relating to open meetings).

6(h) Duty of the school district or contracted company to
7provide school transportation.--

8(1) A school district or contracted company that
9provides school transportation shall cooperate with the
10primary police department with authority to issue violations
11using automated side stop signal arm enforcement systems
12under this section to inform the police department of the
13intent to consider an automated side stop signal arm
14enforcement system so that the police department may make
15appropriate staff changes to fulfill their duties in
16enforcing violations of section 3345.

17(2) A school district operating an automated side stop
18signal arm enforcement system shall conduct a statistical
19analysis to assess the safety impact of the system. The
20statistical analysis, either independently or with a
21manufacturer or vendor of an automated side stop signal arm
22enforcement system, shall:

23(i) Be based upon the best available crash, traffic
24and other data.

25(ii) Include the number of citations issued in the 
26school district before and after the installation of the 
27system.

28(iii) Include any additional information deemed of
29interest or importance by the school district.

30(iv) Be conducted no later than 12 months after the

1installation of the system.

2(v) Be made available to the public and published on
3the publicly accessible Internet website of the
4municipality.

5(vi) Be submitted to the department.

6(3) Provide a list of all approved bus stop locations to
7the police officer or department charged with reviewing the
8violations as well as the manufacturer or vendor.

9(i) Duty of police or police department.--Police and police
10departments enforcing violations of section 3345 and using
11automated side stop signal arm enforcement systems shall:

12(1) Review submitted evidence from the manufacturer or
13vendor of an automated side stop signal arm enforcement
14system to determine if there is sufficient evidence that a
15violation under section 3345 occurred and electronically
16certify the notice of violation.

17(2) Provide information to a school district or
18contracted company that provides school transportation with
19information related to the police or police department's
20capacity to review and authorize the notice of violation.

21(j) Duty of the manufacturer or vendor.--A manufacturer or
22vendor of automated side stop signal arm enforcement systems
23shall:

24(1) Prepare a notice of violation to the registered
25owner of a vehicle identified in a recorded image or video
26link produced by an automated side stop signal arm
27enforcement system as evidence of a violation of section 3345
28upon authorization of the police officer employed by the
29police department with primary jurisdiction over the area
30where the violation occurred. The notice of violation must

1have attached to it all of the following:

2(i) A copy of the recorded image showing the
3vehicle.

4(ii) The license plate number and state of issuance
5of the motor vehicle.

6(iii) The date, time and place of the alleged
7violation.

8(iv) Notice that the violation charged is under
9section 3345.

10(v) Instructions for return of the notice of
11violation.

12(vi) Instructions for the registered owner to
13nominate the driver of the vehicle at the time of the
14violation by way of an affidavit of nonliability.

15(2) The text of the notice must be as follows:

16This notice shall be returned personally, by mail or
17by an agent duly authorized in writing or
18electronically within 30 days of issuance. A hearing
19may be obtained upon the written request of the
20registered owner.

21(3) Process fines issued under this section.

22(4) Receive affidavits of nonliability in order to
23update the violation and send to the primary police
24department with authority to issue violations under section
253345 to approve the change.

26(5) Preclude the issuance of any violation occurring in
27a location where the use of the side stop signal arm
28enforcement system is not authorized, including, but not
29limited to:

30(i) Emergency vehicles.

1(ii) Unauthorized loading zone locations are
2described in section 3345 (h) and (i).

3(k) Duty of the municipality.--

4(1) To the extent possible, the municipal portion of
5fines collected for violations of section 3345 shall be used
6in the following order:

7(i) To cover the cost to the municipality and police
8department for the implementation and enforcement of this
9section.

10(ii) To fund school district pupil transportation
11costs.

12(iii) Where applicable, to fund a student driver
13education program.

14(2) The municipality shall post signs at the major entry
15and exit points of the municipality's geographic borders
16indicating that violations under section 3345(a) are being
17automatically enforced. The signs shall also contain the
18potential fine for such violation.

19(l) Notice to owner.--

20(1) In the case of a violation involving a motor vehicle
21registered under the laws of this Commonwealth, the notice of
22violation shall be mailed within 60 days after the commission
23of the violation or within 60 days after the discovery of the
24identity of the registered owner, whichever is later, to the
25address of the registered owner as listed in the records of
26the department.

27(2) In the case of motor vehicles registered in
28jurisdictions other than this Commonwealth, the notice of
29violation shall be mailed within 60 days after the discovery
30of the identity of the registered owner to the address of the

1registered owner as listed in the records of the official in
2the jurisdiction having charge of the registration of the
3vehicle.

4(m) Mailing of notice and records.--

5(1) A notice of violation shall be sent by first class
6mail.

7(2) A manual or automatic record of mailing prepared by
8the manufacturer or vendor in the ordinary course of business
9shall be prima facie evidence of mailing and shall be
10admissible in any judicial or administrative proceeding as to
11the facts contained in it.

12(n) Payment of fine.--

13(1) An owner to whom a notice of violation has been
14issued may admit responsibility for the violation and pay the
15fine provided in the notice.

16(2) (i) Payment must be made personally, through an
17authorized agent, electronically or by mailing both
18payment and the notice of violation to the manufacturer
19or vendor of an automated side stop signal arm
20enforcement system. Payment by mail must be made only by
21money order, credit card or check made payable to the
22manufacturer or vendor.

23(ii) The manufacturer or vendor shall remit the
24fine, less the operation and maintenance costs
25necessitated under this section, as provided under 42
26Pa.C.S. §§ 3571 and 3573.

27(o) Hearing.--

28(1) An owner to whom a notice of violation has been
29issued may, within 30 days of the mailing of the notice,
30request in writing a hearing to contest the liability alleged

1in the notice before a magisterial district judge.

2(2) The manufacturer or vendor of an automated side stop
3signal arm enforcement system shall file the notice of
4violation and supporting documents with the magisterial
5district judge, who shall hear and decide the matter de novo.

6(p) Compensation to manufacturer or vendor.--The
7compensation paid to the manufacturer or vendor of the automated
8side stop signal arm enforcement system may not be based on the
9number of citations issued or a portion or percentage of the
10fine generated by the citations. The compensation paid to the
11manufacturer or vendor of the equipment shall be based upon the
12value of the equipment and services provided or rendered in
13support of the automated side stop signal arm enforcement
14system.

15(q) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
16words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
17subsection:

18"Automated side stop signal arm enforcement system" or
19"system." A camera system with two or more camera sensors and
20computers that produce recorded video and two or more film or
21digital photographic still images of a motor vehicle being used
22or operated in a manner that violates section 3345(a).

23"Manufacturer" or "vendor." A company that creates, owns or
24has a license or permission to sell, lease or distribute an
25automated side stop signal arm enforcement system.

26"Police officer" or "police department." A state, county or
27municipal full-time law enforcement officer or agency with the
28power to issue citations for violations under this title.

29"Pupil transportation."The transport of resident pupils of a
30school district to and from preprimary, primary or secondary

1schools and students to or from public, private or parochial
2schools. The term does not include transportation for field
3trips.

4"Side stop signal arms." As described in section 4552(b.1)
5(relating to general requirements for school buses).

6"Violation certificate." A certificate, or a facsimile of a
7certificate, based upon inspection of recorded images or video
8produced by an automated side stop signal arm enforcement system
9and sworn to or affirmed by a police officer having the
10authority to exercise police power in the area where the
11violation occurred as described in section 3345(a.1)(2).

12Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.