minps 09-03-19 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE September 3, 2019 East Conference Room Present: Chairman Bullock, Councilmembers Litten and O'Malley Also present: Councilmembers Anderson, George, & O'Leary, Mayor Summers, Chief Malley, Director Butler Call to Order: 7:01 p.m. AGENDA: Approve minutes from the July 15, 2019 Public Safety Committee meeting. Chairman Bullock moved to approve the minutes from the last Public Safety Committee meeting on July 15'', which was seconded by Councilman Litten. The motion passed with a 3-0 vote. ORDINANCE 05-19 -AN ORDINANCE to take effect at the earliest period allowed by law enacting Section 331.346, Using Mobile Telephones while Driving, of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Lakewood in order to update the Code so as to regulate the use of mobile phones while driving in the City. (Placed on 1st reading and referred to Public Safety 1/22/19; 2nd reading 2/4/19) Director Butler circulated a draft of Ordinance 05-19 that incorporated components suggested during the last committee session on July 15''. Butler reviewed the changes in the legislation. One of the changes was requested by motion by Councilman O'Malley, which was seconded by Councilman Litten, to permit an Uber or Lyft exception to allow the acceptance of fare. This exception was incorporated into section B7 on page 3 of the draft legislation. It notes that it is acceptable for a person who uses a communications device to transmit the acceptance of fare, provided that it is mounted. The word handheld was eliminated from the previous draft, as it could potentially allow the use of any electronic communications device as long as it was mounted, which does not comport with the intent of Council President O'Leary's initial proposal. It was noted that a person driving in a car in Lakewood cannot use a device designed to receive communications, with exceptions for emergency use, public safety officials (whether mounted or in hand), and individuals who have pulled over. Chairman Bullock's suggestion on 7/15 to create an exception for mounted devices with 1-touch dialing was incorporated in section B4. Chairman Bullock requested that 1 touch navigation also be included in section B4, along with 1 touch dialing. Mayor Summers noted that navigation has increasingly become voice activated on newer phones and indicated that the technology will be there in future to widely support voice activated navigation. Chairman Bullock and Chief Malley discussed penalties of the law and concluded that multiple charges were available to police during a fender bender situation caused by distracted driving. Members of the committee indicated their comfort with the ordinance as written.