Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Legal Services

TO:	Toni Ramirez Wheeler, Director of Legal Services
FROM:	Scott J. Miller, Staff Attorney
Date:	August 12, 2009
RE:	Ordinance 8450 – 2009 Standard Traffic Ordinance

Attached please find Ordinance 8450, which adopts by reference the 2008 Standard Traffic Ordinance for Kansas Cities prepared by the League of Kansas Municipalities, subject to the prior local changes we have made to previous editions.

In the last legislative session, several laws passed that amended Kansas’ traffic laws.  An important change involved the duties of drivers involved in motor vehicle accidents.  Drivers who collide with property or vehicles on interstates, U.S. Highways, and other divided or multi-lane highways must now make every reasonable attempt to remove their vehicle from the roadway if it obstructs the flow of traffic.  This requirement only applies if the removal can be done safely, and does not require towing.  Further, such removal is only mandated if the vehicle can be operated under its own power without further damage to the vehicle or the roadway and without endangering other vehicles or persons upon the roadway.

In large part as a response to a case originating in Lawrence, the Kansas Legislature also amended the definition of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer.  Previously, fleeing and eluding plain-clothes police officers or officers in unmarked cars did not trigger the application of the law.  Now, fleeing and eluding from such officers is illegalized provided the driver did not have a reasonable belief that the vehicle or bicycle pursuing the vehicle was not a police vehicle.  

The law was also changed to allow cities the choice of whether to permit worksite utility vehicles, golf carts and micro-utility trucks to operate on city streets.  Lawrence has already passed a law at the request of the University of Kansas to allow worksite utility vehicles to be operated on City streets, subject to insurance and other conditions.  The on-street operation of golf-carts and micro-utility trucks, on the other hand, remains illegal.

Finally, the legislature imposed new driver’s license suspension penalties for driving in violation of restrictions imposed because of the age of the driver, including learner’s permits, farm permits and restricted licenses.  The minimum suspension upon conviction is 30 days on a first offense, 90 days on a second offense, and one year for a third or subsequent offense.   

It is important for the City of Lawrence to stay abreast to changes in the traffic laws of the state.  The maintenance of consistency between Kansas’ traffic code provisions and Lawrence’s ordinances benefits the public and law enforcement alike.  I recommend that ordinance 8450 be adopted.  As drafted, the ordinance will go into effect on September first.