No person shall operate a limousine service in any street in
this municipality without a license to operate issued by the Township
in which the owner has his principal place of business and without
otherwise complying with the provisions of this article.
A.
Licenses shall be numbered consecutively and shall expire on December
31 of the year of issuance. Licenses not suspended or revoked may
be renewed annually, subject to all of the same conditions, provisions
and charges as required for the original license.
A.
Except as provided in N.J.S.A. 48:16-22 and in accordance with N.J.S.A.
48:16-14, no limousine shall be operated, wholly or partly, along
any street in any municipality until the owner of the limousine shall
have filed with the Clerk of the municipality in which the owner has
his principal place of business an insurance policy of a company duly
licensed to transact business under the insurance laws of this state
in the sum of $1,500,000 against loss by reason of the liability imposed
by law upon every limousine owner for damages on account of bodily
injury or death suffered by any person as the result of an accident
occurring by reason of the ownership, maintenance or use of the limousine
upon any public street.[1]
B.
The insurance company shall supply to the Director of the Division
of Motor Vehicles notice concerning all motor vehicle liability insurance
policies canceled for nonpayment and new policies issued after the
effective date of N.J.S.A. 48:16-18.1 et seq. The notice shall be
supplied monthly.
C.
After receipt of the notice of cancellation, the division shall notify
the owner of the date the policy was canceled. If the Director has
not received proof of liability insurance within 30 days of the date
the notification was sent to the owner, the Director shall suspend
the registration of the limousine until new proof is supplied that
motor vehicle liability insurance has been secured for the limousine.
If the owner fails to provide proof of insurance or surrender the
license plates within 60 days of the date the notification was sent
to him by the Division, the Division shall suspend the owner's
corporation code registration privilege.
D.
Operation of the limousine service shall be permitted only so long
as the insurance policy shall remain in force to the full and collectible
amount of $1,500,000.
E.
The insurance policy shall provide for the payment of any final judgment
recovered by any person on account of the ownership, maintenance and
use of such limousine or any fault with respect thereto and shall
be for the benefit of every person suffering loss, damage or injury
as aforesaid.
The owner of the limousine shall execute and deliver to the Division of Motor Vehicles, concurrently with the filing of the insurance policy required by § 251-18, a power of attorney wherein and whereby the owner shall appoint the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles his true and lawful attorney for the purpose of acknowledging service of any process out of a court of competent jurisdiction to be served against the insured by virtue of the indemnity granted under the insurance policy filed.
A.
No limousine shall be operated unless it is equipped, in accordance
with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 48:16-22.1, with:
(1)
A two-way communications system, which, at a minimum, shall provide
for communication to a person outside the vehicle for a distance of
not less than 100 miles, and which requirement may be satisfied by
a mobile telephone;
(2)
A removable first-aid kit and an operable fire extinguisher, which
shall be placed in an accessible place within the vehicle; and
(3)
Sideboards attached to the permanent body construction of the vehicle
if the height of the vehicle floor is 10 inches or more above ground
level.
B.
No owner's license shall be issued unless the licensed vehicle
shall be in such a condition, mechanical and otherwise, as to render
it fit, safe and appropriate for the comfortable and decent transportation
of passengers. The owner shall submit at the time of application an
affidavit attesting that the vehicles of his or her fleet comply with
the requirements of this section.
C.
Prior to any operation of a limousine, the driver of the limousine
must conduct a general examination of the condition of the vehicle
to ascertain its fitness to operate, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 48:16-22.2.
D.
The owner of a limousine service shall maintain records of the examination
of the mechanical and operating condition of each limousine in his
service, which report shall be subject to inspection by the Division
of Motor Vehicles, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 48:16-22.2.
A.
The Township Clerk, upon the filing of the insurance policy required
by this article and the payment of the license fee, shall issue in
duplicate an owner's license, showing that the owner of the limousine
has complied with the terms and provisions of this article.
B.
Every license shall contain the following:
(1)
The purpose of the license;
(2)
The number of the license;
(3)
The name and address of the licensee;
(4)
The name of the insurance company;
(5)
The number and date of expiration of the policy;
(6)
A description of every limousine insured thereunder; and
(7)
The registration number of every limousine insured thereunder.
C.
The duplicate license shall be filed with the Commission before any
such vehicle is registered as a limousine.
D.
The original license or a copy thereof shall be retained without
the limousine and shall be available for inspection by any law enforcement
officer in the state.
E.
In addition to the recital of insurance information required on the
license pursuant to this section, the owner of a limousine shall attach
to the original license or copy thereof retained within the limousine
a notarized letter from an insurance company containing the same insurance
information required in the recital and the vehicle identification
number (VIN) or a notarized certificate of insurance for the particular
limousine, showing the VIN as well as the limits of insurance coverage,
and available insurance card, which shall constitute proof of insurance
coverage, and which shall also be available for inspection by any
law enforcement officer in the state. A copy of the notarized letter
or notarized certificate of insurance shall constitute proof to the
Chief Administrator that the applicant has complied with the insurance
provisions of this section.
F.
Every owner shall display the owner's license in a conspicuous
place in the licensed vehicle.
A.
Any person who submits or wishes to submit application for driver
of limousine or certain other passenger vehicles must comply with
the provisions of N.J.S.A. 48:16-22.3, including, but not limited
to, criminal history record background checks, fingerprinting and
testing for controlled dangerous substances.
B.
Nothing contained in this article shall exempt any person owning
or operating any limousine service from complying with the law relating
to the ownership, registration and operation of automobiles in this
state.
A.
Every owner's license granted hereunder may be suspended or
revoked by the Township Committee, after notice and hearing, for the
violation of any of the provisions of this article or for other good
and sufficient cause.
B.
During said suspension and after revocation, the license shall be
inoperative and of no effect, and the license shall be surrendered
to the Township forthwith.
A.
Any person violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions
of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine
of not more than $1,000, by imprisonment for a term not to exceed
90 days or by community service of not more than 90 days, or any combination
of fine, imprisonment and community service, as determined by the
Municipal Court Judge. The continuation of such violation for each
successive day shall constitute a separate offense, and the person
or persons allowing or permitting the continuation of the violation
may be punished as provided above for each separate offense.
B.
The violation of any provision of this article shall be subject to
abatement summarily by a restraining order or injunction issued by
a court of competent jurisdiction.