8117 - Electronic toll collection.
§ 8117. Electronic toll collection. (a) Liability of owner.-- (1) If an operator of a vehicle fails to pay the prescribed toll at any location where tolls are collected by means of electronic toll collection, the owner of the vehicle shall be liable to the commission for failure of the operator of the vehicle to comply with this section if the violation is evidenced by information obtained from a violation enforcement system. (2) If a violation of this section is committed, the registration plate number of the vehicle as recorded by a violation enforcement system shall establish an inference that the owner of the vehicle was then operating the vehicle. The inference shall be overcome if the owner does all of the following: (i) Testifies that the owner was not operating the vehicle at the time of the violation. (ii) Submits to an examination as to who at the time was operating the vehicle. (iii) Reveals the name and residence address, if known, of the operator of the vehicle. (3) If an action or proceeding is commenced in a county other than that of the residence of the owner, a verified written statement setting forth the facts prescribed under paragraph (2)(i), (ii) and (iii) shall suffice to overcome the inference. (4) If the inference is overcome, the operator of the vehicle may be held liable under this section for failure to pay the prescribed toll in the same manner as if the operator were the owner of the vehicle. (b) Imposition of liability.--Liability under this section shall be imposed upon an owner for a violation of this section or the regulations of the commission occurring within the territorial limits of this Commonwealth. If a violation is committed as evidenced by a violation enforcement system, the following shall apply: (1) The commission or an authorized agent or employee must prepare and mail a notice of violation as follows: (i) The notice of violation must be sent by first class mail to each person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of this section. (ii) The notice must be mailed at the address shown on the vehicle registration or at the address of the operator, as applicable. Notice must be mailed no later than 60 days after: (A) the alleged conduct; or (B) the date the inference is overcome under subsection (a)(2). (iii) Personal service is not required. (iv) The notice must contain all of the following: (A) Information advising the person charged of the manner and time in which the liability alleged in the notice may be contested. (B) A warning advising the person charged that failure to contest in the manner and time provided shall be deemed an admission of liability and that a default judgment may be entered on the notice. (1.1) A manual or automatic record of mailing prepared in the ordinary course of business shall be prima facie evidence of the mailing of notice. (2) If an owner of a vehicle or an owner that is a lessor of a vehicle receives a notice of violation under this section for any time period during which the vehicle was reported to a police department as having been stolen, it shall be a defense to the allegation of liability that the vehicle had been reported to the police as having been stolen prior to the time the violation occurred and that the vehicle had not been recovered by the time of the violation. For purposes of asserting the defense under this paragraph, it shall be sufficient that a certified copy of the police report on the stolen vehicle be sent by first class mail to the commission within 30 days after receiving the original notice of violation. Failure to send the information within the time limit under this paragraph shall render the owner or lessor liable for the penalty prescribed by this section. (3) An owner that is a lessor of a vehicle as to which a notice of violation was issued under paragraph (1) shall not be liable for a violation if the owner sends to the commission a copy of the rental, lease or other contract document covering the vehicle on the date of the violation, with the name and address of the lessee clearly legible to the commission, within 30 days after receiving the original notice of violation. Failure to send the information within the time limit under this paragraph shall render the lessor liable for the penalty prescribed by this section. If the lessor complies with the provisions of this section, the lessee of the vehicle on the date of the violation shall be deemed to be the owner of the vehicle for purposes of this section and shall be subject to liability for the penalty under this section. (4) A certified report or a facsimile report of an authorized agent or employee of the commission reporting a violation of this section or regulations of the commission based upon the recorded information obtained from a violation enforcement system shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained in the report and shall be admissible as an official record kept in the ordinary course of business in any proceeding charging a violation of this section or the toll collection regulations of the commission. (5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, videotapes, photographs, microphotographs, other recorded images, written records, reports or facsimiles prepared pursuant to this section shall be for the exclusive use of the commission, its authorized agents, its employees and law enforcement officials for the purpose of discharging duties under this section and the regulations of the commission. The information shall not be deemed a public record under the act of June 21, 1957 (P.L.390, No.212), referred to as the Right- to-Know Law. The information shall not be discoverable by court order or otherwise; nor shall it be offered in evidence in any action or proceeding which is not directly related to a violation of this section, the regulations of the commission or indemnification for liability imposed pursuant to this section. The restrictions set forth in this paragraph: (i) shall not be deemed to preclude a court of competent jurisdiction from issuing an order directing that the information be provided to law enforcement officials if the information is reasonably described and is requested solely in connection with a criminal law enforcement action; (ii) shall not be deemed to preclude the exchange of the information between any entities with jurisdiction over or which operate an electronic toll collection system in this Commonwealth or any other jurisdiction; and (iii) shall not be deemed to prohibit the use of information exclusively for the purpose of billing electronic toll collection account holders, deducting toll charges from the account of an account holder, enforcing toll collection laws and related regulations or enforcing the provisions of an account holder agreement. (6) An imposition of liability under this section must be based upon a preponderance of evidence. (7) An imposition of liability pursuant to this section shall not be deemed a conviction of an owner and shall not be made part of the motor vehicle operating record of the person upon whom the liability is imposed, nor shall it be considered in the provision of motor vehicle insurance coverage. (8) An owner that admits, is found liable or fails to respond to the notice of violation for a violation of this section shall be civilly liable to the commission for all of the following: (i) Either: (A) the amount of the toll evaded or attempted to be evaded if the amount can be determined; or (B) the maximum toll from the farthest point of entry on the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the actual point of exit if the amount of the toll evaded or attempted to be evaded cannot be determined. (ii) A reasonable administrative fee not to exceed $35 per notification. (9) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the liability of the operator of a vehicle for a violation of this section or of the regulations of the commission. (c) Placement of electronic toll collection device.--An electronic toll collection device which is affixed to the front windshield of a vehicle in accordance with the regulations of the commission shall not be deemed to constitute a violation of 75 Pa.C.S. § 4524 (relating to windshield obstructions and wipers). (d) Privacy of electronic toll collection account holder information.-- (1) Except as set forth under paragraph (2), notwithstanding any other provision of law, all of the following apply to information kept by the commission, its authorized agents or its employees which is related to the account of an electronic toll collection system account holder: (i) The information shall be for the exclusive use of the commission, its authorized agents, its employees and law enforcement officials for the purpose of discharging their duties pursuant to this section and the regulations of the commission. This subparagraph includes names, addresses, account numbers, account balances, personal financial information, vehicle movement records and other information compiled from transactions with the account holders. (ii) The information shall not be deemed a public record under the Right-to-Know Law, nor shall it be discoverable by court order or otherwise or be offered in evidence in any action or proceeding which is not directly related to the discharge of duties under this section, the regulations of the commission or a violation of an account holder agreement. (2) Paragraph (1) shall not be deemed to do any of the following: (i) Preclude a court of competent jurisdiction from issuing an order directing that the information be provided to law enforcement officials if the information is reasonably described and is requested solely in connection with a criminal law enforcement action. (ii) Preclude the exchange of the information between any entities with jurisdiction over or which operate an electronic toll collection system in this Commonwealth or any other jurisdiction. (iii) Prohibit the use of the information exclusively for the purpose of billing electronic toll collection account holders, deducting toll charges from the account of an account holder, enforcing toll collection laws and related regulations or enforcing the provisions of an account holder agreement. (e) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "owner" means any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency, association, organization or lessor that, at the time a vehicle is operated in violation of this section or regulations of the commission: (1) is the beneficial or equitable owner of the vehicle; (2) has title to the vehicle; or (3) is the registrant or coregistrant of the vehicle registered with the department or a comparable agency of another jurisdiction or uses the vehicle in its vehicle renting or leasing business. The term includes a person entitled to the use and possession of a vehicle subject to a security interest in another person. References in Text. The act of June 21, 1957 (P.L.390, No.212), referred to as the Right-to-Know Law, referred to in subsec. (d)(1), was repealed by the act of Feb. 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law. Cross References. Section 8117 is referred to in section 8102 of this title.