HB349: relative to establishment and enforcement of speed limits.

HB 349 - AS INTRODUCED

2003 SESSION

03-0469

03/01

HOUSE BILL HB 349

AN ACT relative to establishment and enforcement of speed limits.

SPONSORS: Rep. Vachon, Straf 68

COMMITTEE: Transportation

ANALYSIS

This bill:

I. Defines "engineering and traffic investigation" for purposes of establishment and alteration of speed limits.

II. Limits the use of speed traps, as defined in the bill.

III. Establishes evidentiary requirements for enforcement of speed limitations.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-0469

03/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

AN ACT relative to establishment and enforcement of speed limits.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Section; Motor Vehicles; Words and Phrases Defined; Engineering and Traffic Investigation. Amend RSA 259 by inserting after section 28-a the following new section:

259:28-b Engineering and Traffic Investigation. "Engineering and traffic investigation" shall mean a survey of highway and traffic conditions in accordance with methods approved by the commissioner of transportation for use by state and local authorities. An engineering and traffic investigation shall include, but not be limited to, consideration of:

I. Prevailing speeds as determined by traffic engineering measurements;

II. Accident records; and

III. Highway, traffic, and roadside conditions unlikely to be readily apparent to drivers.

2 New Section; Motor Vehicles; Words and Phrases Defined; Speed Trap. Amend RSA 259 by inserting after section 105 the following new section:

259:105-a Speed Trap. "Speed trap" shall mean either:

I. A section of highway measured as to distance and with boundaries marked, designated, or otherwise determined in order that the speed of a vehicle may be calculated by measuring the time it takes the vehicle to travel the measured distance; or

II. A section of highway with a prima facie speed limit altered pursuant to RSA 265:62 or RSA 265:63 which is not justified by an engineering and traffic investigation conducted within the previous 5 years, and where speed limit enforcement involves the use of radar or other electronic devices which measure the speed of moving objects.

3 Speed Limitations; Alteration of Limits. Amend RSA 265:63, I-II to read as follows:

I. Whenever local authorities in their respective jurisdictions determine on the basis of an engineering [or] and traffic investigation that the prima facie speed permitted under this chapter is greater or less than is reasonable and safe under the conditions found to exist upon a way or part of a way, the local authority may determine and declare a reasonable and safe prima facie limit thereon which:

(a) Decreases the limit at intersections;

(b) Increases the limit within an urban district but not to more than 60 miles per hour;

(c) Decreases the limit outside an urban district but not to less than 25 miles per hour; or

(d) Decreases the limit within any business or urban residence district but not to less than 25 miles per hour.

II. Local authorities in their respective jurisdictions shall determine by an engineering [or] and traffic investigation the proper prima facie speed for all arterial streets and shall declare a reasonable and safe prima facie limit thereon which may be greater or less than the prima facie speed permitted hereunder for an urban district.

4 New Section; Enforcement of Speed Limitations. Amend RSA 265 by inserting after section 67 the following new section:

265:67-a Enforcement of Speed Limitations.

I. No police officer or other person shall use a speed trap in arresting, or participating in or assisting in the arrest of, any person for any alleged violation of this chapter, nor use a speed trap to obtain evidence as to the speed of any vehicle for the purpose of an arrest or prosecution under this chapter.

II.(a) No evidence as to the speed of a vehicle upon a highway obtained from or by the maintenance or use of a speed trap shall be admitted in any court upon the trial of any person for an alleged violation of this chapter.

(b) In any prosecution under this chapter of a charge involving the speed of a vehicle, where enforcement involves the use of radar or other electronic devices which measure the speed of moving objects, the prosecution shall establish, as part of its prima facie case, that the evidence is not based upon a speed trap.

III. In any prosecution under this chapter upon a charge involving the speed of a vehicle, any police officer or other person shall be incompetent as a witness if the testimony is based upon or obtained from or by the maintenance or use of a speed trap.

IV. If a police officer, while on duty for the exclusive or main purpose of enforcing the provisions of RSA 265:60, arrests, or participates in or assists in the arrest of, a person upon a charge involving the speed of a vehicle, the officer shall be incompetent as a witness unless the officer was wearing a distinctive uniform or using a motor vehicle clearly identifiable as an official police vehicle at the time of the arrest.

V. Every court shall be without jurisdiction to render a judgment of conviction against any person for a violation of this chapter involving the speed of a vehicle if the court admits any evidence or testimony secured in violation of, or which is inadmissible under this chapter.

5 Repeal. RSA 265:63, II-a, relative to conduct of engineering or traffic investigation, is repealed.

6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2004.