Distracted Driving for Council
Distracted Driving & Public Safety
Good evening Mayor and Council. I am here tonight to provide you with some information on distracted driving and obtain direction on whether or not Council would like to see the creation
of a proposed distracted driving ordinance.
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Current Law
Drivers under 18 prohibited from using wireless device
Learners permit holders prohibited in the first six months
School bus operators prohibited when children present
Handheld devices
prohibited in school zones
Officers can currently cite for other offenses, but not specifically for distraction
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Crash Data for Southlake
Between July 2015 and June 2016, Southlake Police Department data showed 501 crashes were reported. Of the total crashes recorded, 94 or 18% were reported as having some element of
driver distraction involved. In this situation, “distraction” may not necessarily mean handheld device. The distraction may have been caused by someone else in the vehicle, etc.
Although
the data collected shows Distracted Driving to be a concerning factor contributing crashes in Southlake, it is difficult to truly gauge the real-world impact Distracted Driving is really
having.
Investigating officers rarely observe evidence to prove or disprove the involvement of a mobile communication device contributing to the crash
Oftentimes drivers are not honest
with regard to self-reporting their use of mobile communication device to the investigating officer after having been involved in a crash
Other drivers involved in the crash and witnesses
do not see or report the use of mobile communication device
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Common Ordinance Provisions
Bans viewing or sending electronic messages while vehicle is in motion
Use of applications prohibited
Allows use of GPS if affixed to vehicle
Allows handheld use to report emergencies
Contains
exemption for law enforcement acting in official capacity
In our research we discovered 60 Texas municipalities throughout the state have enacted ordinances banning the use of electronic handheld devices to communicate information while driving.
We examined 6 of these cities and found there are many similarities in the ordinance language, for example:
All ban drivers from viewing or sending electronic messages while their
vehicle is in motion. Additionally all of the cities we looked at allow this activity if the vehicle is stopped.
Most ban the use of applications while the vehicle is in motion
All
of the cities examined allow the use of a GPS device if the device is affixed to the vehicle
And all of the cities we examined provide exceptions to these restrictions for law enforcement
and if an emergency exists or if the operator of a vehicle is reporting criminal activity or traffic accident information.
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Average Number of Citations per Month
In this slide we identify the 7 municipalities we examined and list certain aspects of their respective ordinances.
The cities examined included:
Austin – Amended ordinance 01/2015
to “all hands-free” due to “phone call” defense to prosecution and to apply to bicycles. To date Jan-July = 2,487 citations = 355 avg. / month ref. Lt. Robert Richman A.P.D.
Arlington
– September 2011
Conroe – March 2010
Denton – January 2014
Watauga – November 2015
Bedford – January 2014
Hurst is not yet able to enforce their ordinance
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Item 4C
James Brandon 817-748-8133
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