Ever actually see the law as code, for RedLight cameras?

The Codified Ordinances of the City of Cleveland, also known as "The Code", are the ordinances of a permanent and general nature of the City of Cleveland.

PART FOUR — TRAFFIC CODE
Title III — Streets And Traffic Control Devices
Chapter 413 — Traffic Control Devices
Complete to June 30, 2008

413.031 Use of Automated Cameras to Impose Civil Penalties upon Red Light and Speeding Violators

(a) Civil enforcement system established. The City of Cleveland hereby adopts a civil enforcement system for red light and speeding offenders photographed by means of an “automated traffic enforcement camera system” as defined in division (m). This civil enforcement system imposes monetary liability on the owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator to stop at a traffic signal displaying a steady red light indication or for the failure of an operator to comply with a speed limitation.

(b) Red light offense – liability imposed. The owner of a vehicle shall be liable for the penalty imposed under this section if the vehicle crosses a marked stop line or the intersection plane at a system location when the traffic signal for that vehicle's direction is emitting a steady red light.

(c) Speeding offense – liability imposed. The owner of a vehicle shall be liable for the penalty imposed under this section if the vehicle is operated at a speed in excess of the limitations set forth in Section 433.03.

(d) Liability does not constitute a conviction. The imposition of liability under this section shall not be deemed a conviction for any purpose and shall not be made part of the operating record of any person on whom the liability is imposed.

(e) Other offenses and penalties not abrogated. Nothing in this section shall be construed as altering or limiting Sections 433.03 or 413.03 of these Codified Ordinances, the criminal penalties imposed by those sections, or the ability of a police officer to enforce those sections against any offender observed by the officer violating either of those sections. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the liability of an operator of a vehicle for any violation of division (b) or (c) of this section.

(f) Selection of camera sites. The selection of the sites where automated cameras are placed and the enforcement of this ordinance shall be made on the basis of sound professional traffic engineering and law enforcement judgments. Automated cameras shall not be placed at any site where the speed restrictions or the timing of the traffic signal fail to conform to sound professional traffic engineering principles.

(g) Locations. The following are the locations for the Automated Traffic Enforcement Camera System:

Locations

Shaker Boulevard at Shaker Square

Chester Avenue at Euclid Avenue

West Boulevard at North Marginal Road

Shaker Boulevard at East 116th Street

West Boulevard at I-90 Ramp

Chester Avenue at East 71st Street

East 55th Street at Carnegie Avenue

East 131st Street at Harvard Avenue

Carnegie Avenue at East 30th Street

Cedar Avenue at Murray Hill Road

Grayton Road at I-480 Ramp

Euclid Avenue at Mayfield Road

Warren Road at I-90 Ramp

Prospect Avenue at East 40th Street

East 116th Street at Union Avenue

Pearl Road at Biddulph Road

Carnegie Avenue at East 100th Street

Carnegie Avenue at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive

Memphis Avenue at Fulton Road

Lakeshore Boulevard at East 159th Street

St. Clair Avenue at London Road

Clifton Boulevard between West 110th Street and West 104th Street

Chester Avenue between East 55th Street and East 40th Street

Woodland Avenue between East 66th Street and East 71st Street

West Boulevard between I-90 Ramp and Madison Avenue

Broadway between Harvard Avenue and Miles Avenue

Lee Road between Tarkington Avenue and I-480 Ramp

I-90 and West 41st Street

I-90 and West 44th Street

The Director of Public Safety shall cause the general public to be notified by means of a press release issued at least thirty days before any given camera is made fully-operational and is used to issue tickets to offenders. Before a given camera issues actual tickets, there shall be a period of at least two weeks, which may run concurrently with the 30-day public-notice period, during which only “warning” notices shall be issued.

At each site of a red light or fixed speed camera, the Director of Public Service shall cause signs to be posted to apprise ordinarily observant motorists that they are approaching an area where an automated camera is monitoring for red light or speed violators. Mobile speed units shall be plainly marked vehicles.

(h) Notices of liability. Any ticket for an automated red light or speeding system violation under this section shall:

(1) Be reviewed by a Cleveland police officer;

(2) Be forwarded by first-class mail or personal service to the vehicle's registered owner's address as given on the state's motor vehicle registration, and

(3) Clearly state the manner in which the violation may be appealed.

(1) Penalties. Any violation of division (b) or division (c) of this section shall be deemed a noncriminal violation for which a civil penalty shall be assessed and for which no points authorized by Section 4507.021 of the Revised Code (“Point system for license suspension”) shall be assigned to the owner or driver of the vehicle.

(j) Ticket evaluation, public service, and appeals. The program shall include a fair and sound ticket-evaluation process that includes review by the vendor and a police officer, a strong customer-service commitment, and an appeals process that accords due process to the ticket respondent and that conforms to the requirements of the Ohio Revised Code.

(k) Appeals. A notice of appeal shall be filed with the Hearing Officer within twenty-one (21) days from the date listed on the ticket. The failure to give notice of appeal or pay the civil penalty within this time period shall constitute a waiver of the right to contest the ticket and shall be considered an admission.

Appeals shall be heard by the Parking Violations Bureau through an administrative process established by the Clerk of the Cleveland Municipal Court. At hearings, the strict rules of evidence applicable to courts of law shall not apply. The contents of the ticket shall constitute a prima facie evidence of the facts it contains. Liability may be found by the hearing examiner based upon a preponderance of the evidence. If a finding of liability is appealed, the record of the case shall include the order of the Parking Violations Bureau, the Ticket, other evidence submitted by the respondent or the City of Cleveland, and a transcript or record of the hearing, in a written or electronic form acceptable to the court to which the case is appealed.

Liability shall not be found where the evidence shows that the automated camera captured an event is not an offense, including each of the following events and such others as may be established by rules and regulations issued by the Director of Public Safety under the authority of division (n) of this section:

1) The motorist stops in time to avoid violating a red light indication;

2) The motorist proceeds through a red light indication as part of funeral procession;

3) The motorist is operating a City-owned emergency vehicle with its emergency lights activated and proceeds through a red light indication or exceeds the posted speed limitation;

4) The motorist is directed by a police officer on the scene contrary to the traffic signal indication.

Liability shall also be excused if a vehicle is observed committing an offense where the vehicle was stolen prior to the offense and the owner has filed a police report;

The Director of Public Safety, in coordination with the Parking Violations Bureau, shall establish a process by which a vehicle owner who was not the driver at the time of the alleged offense may, by affidavit, name the person who the owner believes was driving the vehicle at the time. Upon receipt of such an affidavit timely submitted to the Parking Violations Bureau, the Bureau shall suspend further action against the owner of the vehicle and instead direct notices and collection efforts to the person identified in the affidavit. If the person named in the affidavit, when notified, denies being the driver or denies liability, then the Parking Violations Bureau shall resume the notice and collection process against the vehicle owner, the same as if no affidavit had been submitted, and if the violation is found to have been committed by a preponderance of evidence, the owner shall be liable for any penalties imposed for the offense.

A decision in favor of the City of Cleveland may be enforced by means of a civil action or any other means provided by the Revised Code.

(1) Evidence of ownership. It is prima facie evidence that the person registered as the owner of the vehicle with the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, or with any other State vehicle registration office, was operating the vehicle at the time of the offenses set out in divisions (b) and (c) of this section.

(m) Program oversight. The Director of Public Safety shall oversee the program authorized by this Section. The Director of Public Service shall oversee the installation and maintenance of all automated cameras. An encroachment permit shall be authorized in the legislation in which locations are selected.

(n) Rules and Regulations. The Director of Public Safety may issue rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of these sections, which shall be effective thirty (30) days after publication in the City Record.

(o) Establishment of Penalty. The penalty imposed for a violation of division (b) or (c) of this section shall be follows:
413.031(b)
All violations $100.00
413.031(c)
Up to 24 mph over
the speed limit $100.00
25 mph or more over
the speed limit $200.00
Any violation of a school
or construction zone
speed limit $200.00

Late penalties

For both offenses, if the penalty is not paid within 20 days from the date of mailing of the ticket to the offender, an additional $20.00 shall be imposed, and if not paid with 40 days from that date, another $40.00 shall be imposed, for a total additional penalty in such a case of $60.00.

(p) Definitions. As used in this section:

(1) “Automated traffic enforcement camera system” means an electronic system consisting of a photographic, video, or electronic camera and a vehicle sensor installed to work alone or in conjunction with an official traffic controller and to automatically produce photographs, video, or digital images of each vehicle violating divisions (b) or (c).

(2) “System location” is the approach to an intersection or a street toward which a photographic, video or electronic camera is directed and is in operation. It is the location where the automated camera system is installed to monitor offenses under this section.

(3) “Vehicle owner” is the person or entity identified by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, or registered with any other State vehicle registration office, as the registered owner of a vehicle.
(Ord. No. 1284-05. Passed 7-13-05, eff. 7-20-05)
413.032 Costs of Collection of Unpaid Tickets for Photo-Enforced Offenses

In addition to any other fees or charges authorized by these codified ordinances in relation to the commission of a violation of division (b) or division (c) of Section 413.031, a person liable for the penalties established by division (o) of Section 413.031 may be assessed a fee under this section in an amount equal to the costs paid by the City to any vendor for the costs of collection of the debt.
(Ord. No. 1029-07. Passed 8-8-07, eff. 8-16-07)