Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 810 § 810.437 — Citations for speeding based on photo red light; response to citation

Citations for speeding based on photo red light; response to citation. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a city chooses to operate cameras that comply with this section and ORS 810.434, a citation for speeding may be issued on the basis of photographs from a camera and other technology, including but not limited to sensors, that measure the speed of a vehicle without the presence of a police officer if the following conditions are met: (a) Signs are posted, so far as is practicable, on all major routes entering the jurisdiction indicating that compliance with traffic laws is enforced through cameras and other technology. (b) For each traffic control device at which a camera is installed, signs indicating that a camera system may be in operation at the traffic control device are posted before the device at a location near the device. (c) The citation is mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle, or to the driver if identifiable, within 10 business days of the alleged violation. (d) The registered owner is given 30 days from the date the citation is delivered to respond to the citation. (e) A police officer or a duly authorized traffic enforcement agent who has reviewed the photograph and other data signs the citation. The citation may be prepared on a digital medium, and the signature may be electronic in accordance with the provisions of ORS 84.001 to 84.061. (f) The person exceeded the speed limit or designated speed by 11 miles per hour or greater. (2) If the person named as the registered owner of a vehicle in the current records of the Department of Transportation fails to respond to a citation issued under subsection (1) of this section, a default judgment under ORS 153.102 may be entered for failure to appear after notice has been given that the judgment will be entered. (3) A rebuttable presumption exists that the registered owner of the vehicle was the driver of the vehicle when the citation was issued and delivered as provided in this section. (4) A person issued a citation under subsection (1) of this section may respond to the citation by submitting a certificate of innocence or a certificate of nonliability under subsection (6) of this section or any other response allowed by law. (5) A citation issued under this section on the basis of photographs from a camera installed as provided in this section and ORS 810.434 may be delivered by mail or otherwise to the registered owner of the vehicle or to the driver if the driver is identifiable from the photograph. (6)(a) A registered owner of a vehicle may respond by mail to a citation issued under subsection (1) of this section by submitting, within 30 days from delivery of the citation, a certificate of innocence swearing or affirming that the owner was not the driver of the vehicle and by providing a photocopy of the owner’s driver license. A jurisdiction that receives a certificate of innocence under this paragraph shall dismiss the citation without requiring a court appearance by the registered owner or any other information from the registered owner other than the swearing or affirmation and the photocopy. The citation may be reissued only once, only to the registered owner and only if the jurisdiction verifies that the registered owner appears to have been the driver at the time of the violation. A registered owner may not submit a certificate of innocence in response to a reissued citation. (b) If a business or public agency responds to a citation issued under subsection (1) of this section by submitting, within 30 days from delivery of the citation, a certificate of nonliability stating that at the time of the alleged violation the vehicle was in the custody and control of an employee or was in the custody and control of a renter or lessee under the terms of a motor vehicle rental agreement or lease, and if the business or public agency provides the driver license number, name and address of the employee, renter or lessee, the citation shall be dismissed with respect to the business or public agency. The citation may then be reissued and delivered by mail or otherwise to the employee, renter or lessee identified in the certificate of nonliability. (7) The penalties for and all consequences of a speeding violation initiated by the use of a camera installed as provided in this section and ORS 810.434 are the same as for a violation initiated by any other means. (8) A registered owner or an employee, renter or lessee against whom a judgment for failure to appear is entered may move the court to relieve the owner or the employee, renter or lessee from the judgment as provided in ORS 153.105 if the failure to appear was due to mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect. (9)(a) As used in this section, “duly authorized traffic enforcement agent” means an individual who: (A) Is employed, appointed and duly sworn in by the governing body of the incorpora