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1999 SESSION
989163607Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 33.1-46.2 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 33.1-46.2. Designation of high-occupancy vehicle lanes; use of such lanes; penalties.
A. In order to facilitate the rapid and orderly movement of traffic to and from urban areas during peak traffic periods, the Commonwealth Transportation Board may designate one or more lanes of any highway in the interstate, primary, or secondary highway systems as high-occupancy vehicle lanes, hereinafter referred to in this section as HOV lanes. When lanes have been so designated and have been appropriately marked with such signs or other markers as the Board may prescribe, they shall be reserved during periods designated by the Board for the exclusive use of buses and high-occupancy vehicles. Any local governing body may also, with respect to highways under its exclusive jurisdiction, designate HOV lanes and impose and enforce restrictions on the use of such HOV lanes. Any highway for which the local jurisdiction receives highway maintenance funds pursuant to § 33.1-41.1 shall be deemed to be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the local governing body for the purposes of this section. HOV lanes shall be reserved for high-occupancy vehicles of a specified number of occupants as determined by the Board or, for HOV lanes designated by a local governing body, by that local governing body. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, no designation of any lane or lanes of any highway as HOV lanes shall apply to the use of any such lanes by:
1. Emergency vehicles such as fire-fighting vehicles, ambulances, and rescue squad vehicles,
2. Law-enforcement vehicles,
3. Motorcycles,
4. Vehicles of public utility companies operating in response to an emergency call, or
5. Until July 1, 1999, vehicles bearing clean special fuel vehicle license plates issued pursuant to § 46.2-749.3.
B. The Commonwealth Transportation Board may authorize the use of HOV lanes designated by the Board by vehicles whose number of occupants would otherwise not permit the vehicles to use HOV lanes. The Board shall charge a fee for use of HOV lanes under this subsection. Such fee may be an amount determined by the Board and may be based on the number of uses, time of day or duration of use, distances traveled, type of vehicle, or such other conditions or combination of conditions as the Board may determine. The Board may limit the application of this subsection to certain types or classes of vehicles and may impose other reasonable restrictions on the use of HOV lanes under this subsection. The method of payment and amount of fees imposed and collected under this subsection and a method to afford ready identification of vehicles authorized to use HOV lanes under this subsection shall be at the discretion of the Board. The Board may promulgate such regulations as it shall deem necessary or convenient to carry out the provisions of this subsection.
C. In the Hampton Roads Planning District, HOV restrictions may be temporarily lifted and HOV lanes opened to use by all vehicles when, because of an accident, emergency, or other exceptional circumstance, (i) restricting use of HOV lanes becomes impossible or undesirable and (ii) the temporary lifting of HOV limitations is indicated by law-enforcement officers at the scene or by signs along or above the affected portion of highway.
B D. In designating any lane or lanes of any highway as
HOV lanes, the Board, or local governing body as the case may be,
shall specify the hour or hours of each day of the week during which the lanes
shall be so reserved, and the hour or hours shall be plainly posted at whatever
intervals along the lanes the Board or local governing body deems appropriate.
Any person driving a motor vehicle in a designated HOV lane in violation of
this section shall be guilty of a traffic infraction which shall not be a
moving violation and on conviction shall be fined fifty dollars. However,
violations committed within the boundaries of Planning District Eight shall be
punishable as follows:
For a first offense, by a fine of fifty dollars;
For a second offense, by a fine of $100;
For a third offense within a period of two years of the second offense, by a fine of $250; and
For a fourth or subsequent offense within a period of three years of the second offense, by a fine of $500.
Upon a conviction under this section, the court shall furnish to the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles in accordance with § 46.2-383 an abstract of the record of such conviction which shall become a part of the person's driving record. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 46.2-492, no driver demerit points shall be assessed for any violation of this section.
C E. In the prosecution of an offense, committed in the
presence of a law-enforcement officer, of failure to obey a road sign
restricting a highway, or portion thereof, to the use of high-occupancy
vehicles, proof that the vehicle described in the HOV violation summons was
operated in violation of this section, together with proof that the defendant
was at the time of such violation the registered owner of the vehicle, shall
constitute in evidence a rebuttable presumption that such registered owner of
the vehicle was the person who committed the violation. Such presumption shall
be rebutted if the registered owner of the vehicle testifies in open court
under oath that he was not the operator of the vehicle at the time of the
violation. A summons for a violation of this section may be executed in
accordance with § 19.2-76.2. Such rebuttable presumption shall not arise
when the registered owner of the vehicle is a rental or leasing company.
D F. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 19.2-76,
whenever a summons for a violation of this section is served in any county,
city, or town, it may be executed by mailing by first-class mail a copy thereof
to the address of the owner of the vehicle as shown on the records of the
Department of Motor Vehicles. If the summoned person fails to appear on the
date of return set out in the summons mailed pursuant to this section, the
summons shall be executed in the manner set out in § 19.2-76.3.
No proceedings for contempt or arrest of a person summoned by mailing shall be instituted for his failure to appear on the return date of the summons.
E G. Notwithstanding § 33.1-252, high-occupancy
vehicles having three or more occupants (HOV-3) may be permitted to use the
Omer L. Hirst-Adelard L. Brault Expressway (Dulles Toll Road) without paying a
toll.
F H. Notwithstanding the contrary provisions of this
section, the following conditions shall be met before the HOV-2 designation of
Interstate Route 66 outside the Capital Beltway can be changed to HOV-3 or any
more restrictive designation:
1. The Department shall publish a notice of its intent to change the existing designation and also immediately provide similar notice of its intent to all members of the General Assembly representing districts that touch or are directly impacted by traffic on Interstate Route 66.
2. The Department shall hold public hearings in the corridor to receive comments from the public.
3. The Department shall make a finding of the need for a change in such designation, based on public hearings and its internal data and present this finding to the Commonwealth Transportation Board for approval.
4. The Commonwealth Transportation Board shall make written findings and a decision based upon the following criteria:
a. Is changing the HOV-2 designation to HOV-3 in the public interest?
b. Is there quantitative and qualitative evidence that supports the argument that HOV-3 will facilitate the flow of traffic on Interstate Route 66?
c. Is changing the HOV-2 designation beneficial to comply with the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990?