CHAPTER 167
S.P. 464 - L.D. 1337
An Act To Allow Firefighters and Emergency Service Personnel To Direct Traffic
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §2091 is enacted to read:
§2091. Control of vehicular traffic at emergency scenes
1. Definition. For the purposes of this section, "public safety traffic flagger" means a municipal firefighter, a volunteer firefighter or a member of an emergency medical service licensed by the Department of Public Safety, Maine Emergency Medical Services who is trained in accordance with subsection 2 and authorized by the chief official of the fire department or emergency medical service to control vehicular traffic.
2. Training. All public safety traffic flaggers must receive training approved by the Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Standards in controlling traffic on public ways. Training may consist of video instruction, instruction in a classroom setting, distribution of informational handbooks or other educational materials or other training activities.
3. Authority. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Title, a public safety traffic flagger shall wear a reflective traffic vest or protective clothing as defined by Title 26, section 2103, subsection 3 and has the authority to control vehicular traffic on a public way at or to reroute vehicular traffic around a public safety emergency, including a medical emergency, motor vehicle accident, fire, hazardous materials incident or other natural or man-made disaster or a training operation, unless otherwise directed by a law enforcement officer.
4. Obeying public safety traffic flagger. An operator of a motor vehicle on a public way shall obey a request or signal of a person who is reasonably identifiable as a public safety traffic flagger. A violation of this subsection is a traffic infraction.
5. Registered owner's liability. A person who is a registered owner of a vehicle at the time that vehicle is involved in a violation of subsection 4 commits a traffic infraction. For the purposes of this subsection, "registered owner" includes a person issued a dealer or transporter registration plate.
A. A public safety traffic flagger who observes a violation of subsection 4 may report the violation to a law enforcement officer. If a report is made, the public safety traffic flagger shall report the time and the location of the violation and the registration plate number and a description of the vehicle involved. The officer shall initiate an investigation of the reported violation and, if possible, contact the registered owner of the motor vehicle involved and request that the registered owner supply information identifying the operator of the registered owner's motor vehicle at the time of the incident.
B. The investigating officer may cause the registered owner of the vehicle to be served with a summons for a violation of this subsection.
C. Except as provided in paragraph D, it is not a defense to a violation of this subsection that a registered owner was not operating the vehicle at the time of the violation.
D. The following are defenses to a violation of this subsection.
(1) If a person other than the registered owner is operating the vehicle at the time of the violation of subsection 4 and is convicted of that violation, the registered owner may not be found in violation of this subsection.
(2) If the registered owner is a lessor of vehicles and at the time of the violation the vehicle was in the possession of a lessee and the lessor provides the investigating officer with a copy of the lease agreement containing the information required by section 254, the lessee, not the lessor, may be charged under this subsection.
(3) If the vehicle is operated using a dealer or transporter registration plate and at the time of the violation the vehicle was operated by any person other than the dealer or transporter and if the dealer or transporter provides the investigating officer with the name and address of the person who had control over the vehicle at the time of the violation, that person, not the dealer or transporter, may be charged under this subsection.
(4) If a report that the vehicle was stolen is provided to a law enforcement officer or agency before the violation occurs or within a reasonable time after the violation occurs and an investigation determines the vehicle was stolen, the registered owner may not be charged under this subsection.
Effective September 17, 2005.
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