46.2-819.3:1 - Installation and use of video-monitoring system and automatic vehicle identification system in conj...
§ 46.2-819.3:1. Installation and use of video-monitoring system and automaticvehicle identification system in conjunction with certain toll facilities;penalty.
A. The operator of any toll facility or the locality within which such tollfacility is located may install and operate or cause to be installed andoperated a video-monitoring system in conjunction with an automatic vehicleidentification system on facilities for which tolls are collected for the useof such toll facility and that do not offer manual toll collection. Avideo-monitoring system shall include, but not be limited to, electronicsystems that monitor and capture images of vehicles using a toll facility toenable toll collection for vehicles that do not pay using a toll collectiondevice. The operator of a toll facility shall send an invoice or bill forunpaid tolls to the registered owner of a vehicle as part of avideo-monitoring toll collection process, prior to seeking remedies underthis section.
B. Information collected by a video-monitoring system in conjunction with anautomatic vehicle identification system installed and operated pursuant tosubsection A shall be limited exclusively to that information that isnecessary for the collection of unpaid tolls and establishing when violationsoccur, including use in any proceeding to determine whether a violationoccurred. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all images or otherdata collected by a video-monitoring system in conjunction with an automaticvehicle identification system shall be protected in a database with securitycomparable to that of the Department of Motor Vehicles' system and usedexclusively for the collection of unpaid tolls and for efforts to pursueviolators of this section and shall not (i) be open to the public; (ii) besold and/or used for sales, solicitation, or marketing purposes other thanthose of the toll facility operator to facilitate toll payment; (iii) bedisclosed to any other entity except as may be necessary for the collectionof unpaid tolls or to a vehicle owner or operator as part of a challenge tothe imposition of a toll; and/or (iv) be used in a court in a pending actionor proceeding unless the action or proceeding relates to a violation of thissection or upon order from a court of competent jurisdiction. Except asprovided above, information collected under this section shall be purged andnot retained later than 30 days after the collection and reconciliation ofany unpaid tolls, administrative fees, and/or civil penalties. Any entityoperating a video-monitoring system in conjunction with an automatic vehicleidentification system shall annually certify compliance with this section andmake all records pertaining to such system available for inspection and auditby the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner or the Commissioner of theDepartment of Motor Vehicles or their designee. Any violation of thissubsection shall constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor. In addition to any finesor other penalties provided for by law, any money or other thing of valueobtained as a result of a violation of this section shall be forfeited to theCommonwealth.
If a vehicle uses a toll facility without paying the toll, the owner oroperator shall be in violation of this section if he refuses to pay the tollwithin 30 days of notification. The toll facility operator may impose andcollect an administrative fee in addition to the unpaid toll so as to recoverthe expenses of collecting the unpaid toll, which administrative fee shall bereasonably related to the actual cost of collecting the unpaid toll and notexceed $100 per violation. Such fee shall not be levied upon the owner oroperator of the vehicle unless the toll has not been paid by the owner oroperator within 30 days after receipt of the invoice for the unpaid tolls,which nonpayment for 30 days shall constitute the violation of this section.Once such a violation has occurred, the owner or operator of the vehicleshall pay the unpaid tolls and any administrative fee detailed in the invoiceor bill issued by a toll facility operator. If paid within 30 days of thetoll violation, the administrative fee shall not exceed $25.
The toll facility operator may levy charges for the direct cost of use of andprocessing for a video-monitoring system and to cover the cost of theinvoice, which are in addition to the toll and may not exceed double theamount of the base toll, provided that potential toll facility users areprovided notice before entering the facility by conspicuous signs thatclearly indicate that the toll for use of the facility could be tripled forany vehicle that does not have an active, functioning automatic vehicleidentification device registered for and in use in the vehicle using the tollfacility, and such signs are posted at a location where the driver can stillchoose to avoid the use of the toll facility if he chooses not to pay thetoll.
C. If the matter proceeds to court, the registered owner or operator of avehicle shall be liable for a civil penalty as follows: for a first offense,$50; for a second offense within one year from the first offense, $100; for athird offense within two years from the second offense, $250; and for afourth and any subsequent offense within three years from the second offense,$500; plus, in each case, the unpaid toll, all accrued administrative feesimposed by the toll facility operator, and applicable court costs if thevehicle is found, as evidenced by information obtained from avideo-monitoring system in conjunction with an automatic vehicleidentification system as provided in this section, to have used such a tollfacility without payment of the required toll within 30 days of receipt ofthe invoice for the toll.
D. Any action under this section shall be brought in the general districtcourt of the city or county in which the toll facility is located, and theprerequisites for such action and the procedures and requirements for suchaction shall be as set out in subsections E through M of § 46.2-819.1, theprovisions of which shall apply, mutatis mutandis.
(2010, c. 839.)