Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Municipal Services & Operations

TO:	Thomas M. Markus, City Manager
FROM:	Amanda Sahin, Transportation Engineer
DATE:	October 2, 2018
RE:	Hands Free Policy Update

In June 2017 Nicole Allensworth, a resident of Lawrence, spoke during public comment to both the Transportation Commission and the City Commission.  She asked that the City consider enacting a “Hands Free” Ordinance similar to that in Manhattan, Kansas. 

Current State Law (Standard Traffic Ordinance for Kansas Cities Sec 126.2) prohibits “using a wireless communications device to write, send or read a written communication”.  The City has adopted the Standard Traffic Ordinance for Kansas Cities by ordinance. Since the beginning of 2017 the Lawrence Police Department has issued 88 citations for this violation. 

In July 2010 Manhattan, Kansas passed Ordinance No. 6853 as an amendment to the state law that expands the restriction to apply to any use of a wireless communication device unless configured to allow hands-free listening and talking.  Between 2015 and 2017 Riley County issued 830 citations for either texting while driving (current state law) or the enhanced hands free ordinance.  Approximately 60% of those citations were for texting while driving which is enforceable by state law. Riley County Police Department has had a steady reduction in crashes since 2011, with the largest reduction from 2012 to 2014, however, they are not able to correlate the reduction to the hands free ordinance. 

The City of Lawrence Police Department and Municipal Services & Operations Department have discussed the value in adopting a similar ordinance.  Staff is currently working on a comprehensive Traffic Safety Program to replace the Traffic Calming Program.  One of the goals of the program is to provide a more proactive approach to traffic enforcement.

In summary, with all the other work priorities, staff does not believe there would be a high return on creating an additional ordinance at this time.  Staff recommends waiting until the new Traffic Safety Program is established before enacting any additional traffic ordinances. 

This information was presented to the Transportation Commission at the Oct 1, 2018 meeting.  The advisory board recognizes that this is an important issue that should be addressed at some time in the future but also recognizes the other efforts being worked on to address traffic safety concerns.