AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- RHODE ISLAND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ACT (Creates the RI Pedestrian Safety Act allows cities and town to use automated safety monitoring which a civil fine of $50 for violations.)

S2751

2026 -- S 2751
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LC005857
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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A N A C T
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- RHODE ISLAND PEDESTRIAN
SAFETY ACT

Introduced By:
Senators Bissaillon, and Burke

Date Introduced:
February 27, 2026

Referred To:
Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Title 31 of the General Laws entitled "MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES"
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is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
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CHAPTER 18.1
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RHODE ISLAND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ACT
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31-18.1-1. Definitions.
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As used in this chapter the following words shall have the following meanings unless the
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context clearly requires otherwise:
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(1) “Automated road safety monitoring system” means an automated motor vehicle sensor
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device that produces digital photographs or video of a motor vehicle that commits a camera
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enforceable violation at the location where the automated motor vehicle sensor device is located.
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(2) “Camera enforceable violation” means any of the following violations of a traffic law
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or regulation:
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(i) Stopping at stop sign violations;
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(ii) Stopping at intersection or crosswalk violations; and
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(iii) Failure to yield to pedestrian violations.
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(3) “Department” means the department of transportation.
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(4) “Municipal agent” means the entity or person contracted by a city, town, or
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municipality to implement, administer, or otherwise conduct the issuance, processing, and

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collection of citations and fines of camera enforceable violations under this chapter.
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31-18.1-2. Authorization of use.
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(a) Any city, town, or municipality may adopt an ordinance authorizing the use of
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automated road safety monitoring systems as a means of promoting traffic safety.
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(b) Any city, town, or municipality that authorizes the use of automated road safety
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monitoring system under subsection (a) of this section may impose a fine for a camera enforceable
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violation on the registered owner of a motor vehicle pursuant to § 31-18.1-3.
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(c) Any city, town, or municipality that authorizes the use of automated road safety
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monitoring system under subsection (a) of this section may enter into a contract with an entity,
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including the manufacturer or vendor of automated road safety monitoring systems, or other person
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to implement, administer, operate, or otherwise conduct the issuance, processing, and collection of
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citations and fines of camera enforceable violations under this chapter.
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(d) Automated road safety monitoring systems may be used to detect camera enforceable
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violations only within the following locations:
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(1) School zones;
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(2) Hospital zones;
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(3) Work zones; and
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(4) City or town roads and intersections deemed by a city, town or municipality to be of
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high pedestrian safety concern.
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(e) Nothing in this chapter prohibits a law enforcement officer from issuing a notice of
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traffic violation to a person in control of a vehicle at the time a violation occurs.
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31-18.1-3. Citations and fines -- Amounts, required information, dispute procedures.
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(a) Fines imposed pursuant to this chapter shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) for a camera
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enforceable violation.
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(b) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, the registered owner of a motor
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vehicle shall be liable for any fine imposed for a camera enforceable violation.
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(c) Any city, town, or municipality that authorizes the use of automated road safety
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monitoring systems or its municipal agent may send a written warning to the registered owner of a
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motor vehicle for the purposes of education in lieu of enforcement through a fine, and for the period
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of thirty (30) days after the first automated road safety monitoring system becomes operational in
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the city, town, or municipality, its municipal agent shall issue only written warnings.
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(d) A certificate, or a facsimile thereof, based upon inspection of photographs, video, or
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data produced by an automated road safety monitoring system and sworn to or affirmed by the
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municipal agent shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein.

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(e) A camera enforceable violation issued by a city, town, or municipality shall not be:
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(1) Made part of the operating record of the person upon whom such liability is imposed.
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(2) A conviction of a moving violation of the motor vehicle laws of this state.
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(f) The municipal agent may hire and designate personnel as necessary or contract for
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services to implement this chapter.
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(g)(1) Any city, town, or municipality that authorizes the use of automated road safety
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monitoring systems or its municipal agent shall provide a notice of violation to the registered owner
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of a motor vehicle that is identified in photographs or videos produced by an automated road safety
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monitoring system as evidence of a camera enforceable violation pursuant to this chapter.
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(2) A rebuttable presumption exists that the registered owner of a motor vehicle or the
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owner's agent was the driver of the vehicle when the citation for a camera enforceable violation
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was issued and notice delivered as provided in this section. The presumption may be rebutted by
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providing evidence establishing the facts provided in subsection (h)(3) of this section.
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(3) The notice of violation required under subsection (g) of this section shall include, but
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not be limited to:
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(i) A copy of the photographs or video produced by the automated road safety monitoring
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system and any other data showing the vehicle in the process of a camera enforceable violation;
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(ii) The registration number and state of issuance of the vehicle;
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(iii) The name and address of the registered owner of the vehicle;
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(iv) The date, time and location of the alleged camera enforceable violation;
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(v) The specific camera enforceable violation charged;
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(vi) Instructions for payment of the fine imposed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section;
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(vii) A signed statement by the municipal agent that, based on the inspection of the recorded
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image, the motor vehicle was being operated during the commission of a camera enforceable
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violation;
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(viii) A police officer or a duly authorized traffic enforcement agent who has reviewed the
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photograph or video signs the citation;
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(ix) Instructions on how to appeal the camera enforceable violation and to obtain a hearing;
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(x) A form approved by the municipal agent for the purposes of contesting the violation
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pursuant to subsection (g)(6) of this section.
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(4) In the case of a violation involving a motor vehicle registered in this state, the notice of
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violation shall be mailed within thirty (30) days of the violation to the address of the registered
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owner of the motor vehicle.
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(i) If a motor vehicle is registered under the laws of another state, the notice of violation

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shall be mailed within forty-five (45) days after obtaining the name and address of the registered
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owner of the motor vehicle. If the address is unavailable, it shall be sufficient for the municipal
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agent to mail a notice of violation to the official in the state or country that has charge of the
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registration of the motor vehicle.
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(ii) If the registered owner of a motor vehicle involved in a camera enforceable violation
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is engaged in the business of leasing or renting motor vehicles, the registered owner remains liable
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for payment of any fine imposed under this chapter even if the registered owner was not driving
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the motor vehicle, but may obtain payment from the lessee or renter of the motor vehicle driving
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the vehicle at the time the violation occurred and forward the payment to the state or municipality
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imposing the civil penalty.
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(5) The notice of violation shall be sent by first-class mail in accordance with this
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subsection. A manual or automatic record of mailing processed by or on behalf of the municipal
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agent in the ordinary course of business shall be prima facie evidence thereof and shall be admitted
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as evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding as to the facts contained therein.
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(6) A registered owner of a motor vehicle involved in a camera enforceable violation may
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contest the violation as to matters of law and fact to the municipal court in the city or town where
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the alleged violation occurred or the Rhode Island traffic tribunal if there is no municipal court in
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the municipality where the alleged violation occurred. The request for a hearing shall be made not
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later than thirty (30) days after the date on which the notice of violation was mailed. The registered
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owner of the motor vehicle may assert in contesting the violation that a notice of violation served
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by first-class mail or other mail delivery service was not actually delivered. The hearing contesting
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the violation shall be a de novo hearing in the first instance. A registered owner may contest the
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decisions of the municipal court or traffic tribunal consistent with applicable law related to
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decisions of said court.
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(h) A registered owner of a motor vehicle shall not be liable for a camera enforceable
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violation if the:
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(1) Violation was necessary to allow the passage of an emergency vehicle;
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(2) Violation was incurred while participating in a funeral procession;
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(3) Violation was incurred during a period of time in which the motor vehicle was reported
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to the police department of any state, city, or town as having been stolen and had not been recovered
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before the time the violation occurred; or
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(4) Violation was necessary to comply with any other law or regulation governing the
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operation of a motor vehicle.
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(i) A registered owner of a motor vehicle to whom a notice of violation has been issued

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pursuant to this chapter may admit responsibility for the violation and pay the fine provided therein.
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Payment of the established fine shall operate as the final disposition of a camera enforceable
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violation.
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31-18.1-4. Required signage and community notice.
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(a) A municipality that authorizes the use of automated road safety monitoring systems
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shall install at each location of an automated road safety monitoring system an unobstructed sign
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notifying the public that an automated road safety monitoring system is in use.
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(b) A municipality that authorizes the use of automated road safety monitoring systems
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shall make a public announcement and conduct a public awareness campaign of its use of
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automated road safety monitoring systems beginning not less than thirty (30) days before the first
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such automated road safety monitoring system is put into use; provided, however, a municipality
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may install, but shall not activate automated road safety monitoring systems during the thirty (30)
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day time period.
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31-18.1-5. Reporting.
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(a) Annually, not later than December 1, a municipality that authorizes the use of
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automated road safety monitoring systems shall transmit a report to the police department of the
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municipality that details each automated road safety monitoring system located in the municipality.
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(b) The report required under subsection (a) of this section shall include, but not be limited
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to:
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(1) A list of the locations of each automated road safety monitoring system in the
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municipality;
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(2) An analysis of the nexus between public safety and each location’s automated road
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safety monitoring system;
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(3) The number of fines and warnings issued for camera enforceable violations;
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(4) The total amount of fines collected during the year;
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(5) Crash data, to the extent available, at each separate location of an automated road safety
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camera system; and
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(6) The total number of pedestrians and other road users present in the photographs or other
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recorded evidence for all camera enforceable violations for which fines and warnings were issued
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during the one year period.
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(c) The city, town, or municipality’s police department shall post all reports received
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pursuant to this section on its website.
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31-18.1-6. Compensation to manufacturer or vendor.
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The compensation paid to the manufacturer or vendor of an automated road safety

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monitoring system shall be based on the value of the equipment and services provided or rendered
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in support of the automated road safety monitoring system, and shall not be based on the number
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of camera enforceable violations issued or a portion or percentage of the fines generated by the
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citations.
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31-18.1-7. Limitations.
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(a) Photographs and other recorded evidence taken by an automated road safety monitoring
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system shall be destroyed not more than forty-eight (48) hours after the final disposition of a camera
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enforceable violation.
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(b) Photographs and other recorded evidence taken by an automated road safety monitoring
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system shall not be discoverable in any judicial or administrative proceeding, other than a
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proceeding held pursuant to this chapter, without a court order. A photograph or other recorded
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evidence taken pursuant to this chapter shall not be admissible in any judicial or administrative
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proceeding, other than in a proceeding to adjudicate liability for a violation of this chapter, without
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a court order.
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(c) Photographs and other recorded evidence taken by an automated road safety monitoring
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system shall only record camera enforceable violations and may not be used for any other
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surveillance purposes. The restrictions set forth in this subsection shall not be deemed to preclude
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a court of competent jurisdiction from issuing an order directing that the information be provided
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to law enforcement officials if the information is reasonably described and is requested solely in
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connection with a criminal law enforcement action.
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(1) An automated road safety monitoring system shall not be utilized to take a frontal view
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photograph of a motor vehicle committing a camera enforceable violation. A frontal view
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photograph of a motor vehicle committing a camera enforceable violation taken by an automated
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road safety monitoring system shall not be discoverable or admissible in any judicial or
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administrative proceeding and shall not be used as the basis for a camera enforceable violation
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under this chapter. To the extent practicable, additional efforts shall be made to ensure that
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photographs produced by an automated road safety monitoring system do not identify the vehicle
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operator, the passengers or the contents of the vehicle; provided, however, that no notice of
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violation issued pursuant to this chapter shall be dismissed solely because a photograph or
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photographs allow for the identification of the vehicle operator, the passengers or the contents of
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the vehicle; provided that, the municipality has made a reasonable effort to comply with the
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provisions of this section.
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(2) Photographs and other recorded evidence taken by an automated road safety monitoring
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system shall blur any facial image of a pedestrian or other road user captured by the automated road

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safety monitoring system prior to uploading or otherwise sending or transmitting the photograph
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or other recorded evidence to a municipality or its municipal agent.
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(d) A municipality or a manufacturer or vendor of an automated road safety monitoring
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system may not use, disclose, sell or permit access to data collected by an automated road safety
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monitoring system, except as necessary to process camera enforceable violations in accordance
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with this chapter.
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(e) Photographs and other personal identifying information collected by a city, town, or
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municipality pursuant to this chapter shall not be a public record.
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31-18.1-8. Use of revenues.
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Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a municipality that authorizes the use of
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automated road safety monitoring systems shall use the revenue generated by the systems to fund
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road safety projects with the highest potential to reduce vulnerable road user injuries and fatalities
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including, but not limited to, improvements to access and safety for road users with mobility, sight,
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or other disabilities.
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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC005857
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- RHODE ISLAND PEDESTRIAN
SAFETY ACT
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This act would create the Rhode Island Pedestrian Safety Act which would authorize cities
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and towns to use automated road safety monitoring systems to enforce stop sign, crosswalk, and
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pedestrian right-of-way violations in school zones, hospital zones, and other designated safety
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zones. This act would impose a fifty dollar ($50.00) civil fine on the registered owner.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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LC005857
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