§ 31-21-16 - Liability of owner, operator, and lessee. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 31-21-16

   § 31-21-16  Liability of owner, operator,and lessee. – (a) The owner of a rented or leased motor vehicle shall be entitled toestablish non-liability for parking violations by providing to the traffictribunal or any municipality which has jurisdiction over parking tickets, acopy of a written rental or lease agreement which shall be prima facie evidencethat the lessee was the operator of the vehicle.

   (b) The issuing authority shall provide to the owner of arented or leased vehicle a notice, in writing, of each parking violation inwhich a motor vehicle owned by the rental or leasing company is involved,including the license number of the vehicle and the date and time of theparking violation. Upon receipt of this notice the owner of a rented or leasedvehicle shall inform the issuing authority, within twenty (20) days, to theextent available, the operator's name, home address, employer, employer'saddress, and local address, if any.

   (c) The renter or lessee shall not be considered an agent ofthe owner if the owner is engaged in the business of renting or leasingvehicles.