City of Ellisville, MO Chapter 310 Enforcement and Obedience To Traffic Regulations

Section 310.010 Authority of Police and Fire Department Officials.

A. It shall be the duty of the officers of the Police Department or such officers as are assigned by the Chief of Police to enforce all traffic laws of the City and all of the State vehicle laws applicable to traffic in the City.

B. Officers of the Police Department or such officers as are assigned by the Chief of Police are hereby authorized to direct all traffic by voice, hand or signal in conformance with traffic laws; provided that, in the event of a fire or other emergency or to expedite traffic or to safeguard pedestrians, officers of the Police Department may direct traffic as conditions may require notwithstanding the provisions of the traffic laws.

C. Officers of the Fire Department, when at the scene of an incident, may direct or assist the Police in directing traffic thereat or in the immediate vicinity.

Section 310.020 Obedience To Police and Fire Department Officials.

No person shall knowingly fail or refuse to comply with any lawful order or direction of a Police Officer or Fire Department official or other designated official.

Section 310.030 Persons Propelling Pushcarts or Riding Animals To Obey Traffic Regulations. [1]

Every person propelling any pushcart or riding an animal upon a roadway, and every person driving any animal-drawn vehicle, shall be subject to the provisions of this Title applicable to the driver of any vehicle, except those provisions of this Title which by their very nature can have no application.

[1] Cross Reference—Animals generally, ch. 205.

Section 310.040 Use of Coasters, Roller Skates, Roller Blades, Skateboards, Scooters and Similar Devices Restricted. [1]

[R.O. 2005 §26-6; Ord. No. 2731 §1, 12-7-2005]

A. No person upon roller skates or roller blades, or riding in or by means of any coaster, skateboard, scooter, toy vehicle or similar device, shall go upon any public roadway except while crossing a street on a crosswalk and when so crossing such person shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to pedestrians. For purposes of this Section, a "scooter" shall be defined as a device that typically has one (1) front and one (1) rear wheel with a low footboard between, is steered by a handlebar, and is propelled either by pushing one (1) foot against the ground while resting the other foot on the footboard or by a motor. A scooter may have more than two (2) wheels. This Section shall not apply upon any street while set aside as a play street as authorized by ordinance of the City.

B. No person shall use, operate or permit the use or operation of any coasters, roller skates, roller blades, skateboard, scooter or like instrument on any sidewalk, street, parking lot or other public place within the commercial districts of the City.

C. Any person violating the provisions of this Section shall be subject to the penalty provided in Section 100.110 of Municipal Code of the City of Ellisville, except that in the event the person violating the provisions of this Section is, by reason of age, not subject to the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court, then:

1. Said person may be prosecuted through the St. Louis County Juvenile Court, and

2. The Police Officers of the City are hereby authorized to impound the roller skates, roller blades, coaster, skateboard, scooter, toy vehicle or similar device of such person and to retain possession of same until such time as the parent or guardian of the violator shall appear at the Police Department and claim such.

D. It shall be unlawful for a parent or guardian to permit a child under the age of seventeen (17) years to operate or be a passenger on a scooter, skateboard, roller blades or roller skates unless the child shall wear protective headgear which properly fits and is fastened securely upon the head of the operator or passenger. The headgear shall meet or exceed the impact standard for protective bicycle helmets set be the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the Snell Memorial Foundation or the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM).

E. Any parent or guardian found to be in violation of Section 310.040(D) may be issued a violation notice, which violation may be dismissed if the parent or guardian brings an approved helmet to the Ellisville Police Department within twenty-five (25) working days of receipt of the violation.

[1] State Law Reference—Similar provisions, §300.090, RSMo.

Section 310.050 Public Employees To Obey Traffic Regulations. [1]

The provisions of this Title shall apply to the driver of any vehicle owned by or used in the service of the United States Government, this State, County or City and it shall be unlawful for any said driver to violate any of the provisions of this Title, except as otherwise permitted in this Title.

[1] Cross Reference—Officers and employees generally, §§115.010 et seq.

Section 310.060 Emergency Vehicle Defined — Use of Lights and Sirens — Right-Of-Way — Stationary Vehicles, Procedure — Penalty.

A. Upon the immediate approach of an emergency vehicle giving audible signal by siren or while having at least one (1) lighted lamp exhibiting red light visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the front of such vehicle or a flashing blue light authorized by Section 307.175, RSMo., the driver of every other vehicle shall yield the right-of-way and shall immediately drive to a position parallel to, and as far as possible to the right of, the traveled portion of the highway and thereupon stop and remain in such position until such emergency vehicle has passed, except when otherwise directed by a Police or Traffic Officer.

B. Upon approaching a stationary emergency vehicle displaying lighted red or red and blue lights, the driver of every motor vehicle shall:

1. Proceed with caution and yield the right-of-way, if possible with due regard to safety and traffic conditions, by making a lane change into a lane not adjacent to that of the stationary vehicle, if on a roadway having at least four (4) lanes with not less than two (2) lanes proceeding in the same direction as the approaching vehicle; or

2. Proceed with due caution and reduce the speed of the vehicle, maintaining a safe speed for road conditions, if changing lanes would be unsafe or impossible.

C. An "emergency vehicle" is a vehicle of any of the following types:

1. A vehicle operated by the State Highway Patrol, the State Water Patrol, the Missouri Capitol Police, or a State Park Ranger, those vehicles operated by enforcement personnel of the State Highways and Transportation Commission, Police or Fire Department, Sheriff, Constable or Deputy Sheriff, Federal Law Enforcement Officer authorized to carry firearms and to make arrests for violations of the laws of the United States, Traffic Officer or Coroner or by a privately owned emergency vehicle company;

2. A vehicle operated as an ambulance or operated commercially for the purpose of transporting emergency medical supplies or organs;

3. Any vehicle qualifying as an emergency vehicle pursuant to Section 307.175, RSMo.;

4. Any wrecker, or tow truck or a vehicle owned and operated by a public utility or public service corporation while performing emergency service;

5. Any vehicle transporting equipment designed to extricate human beings from the wreckage of a motor vehicle;

6. Any vehicle designated to perform emergency functions for a Civil Defense or Emergency Management Agency established pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 44, RSMo.;

7. Any vehicle operated by an authorized employee of the Department of Corrections who, as part of the employee's official duties, is responding to a riot, disturbance, hostage incident, escape or other critical situation where there is the threat of serious physical injury or death, responding to mutual aid call from another criminal justice agency, or in accompanying an ambulance which is transporting an offender to a medical facility;

8. Any vehicle designated to perform hazardous substance emergency functions established pursuant to the provisions of Sections 260.500 to 260.550, RSMo.

D. Additional Regulations—Exceptions.

1. The driver of any vehicle referred to in Subsection (D) of this Section shall not sound the siren thereon or have the front red lights or blue lights on except when such vehicle is responding to an emergency call or when in pursuit of an actual or suspected law violator, or when responding to, but not upon returning from, a fire.

2. The driver of an emergency vehicle may:

a. Park or stand irrespective of the provisions of Sections 304.014 to 304.025, RSMo.;

b. Proceed past a red or stop signal or stop sign, but only after slowing down as may be necessary for safe operation;

c. Exceed the prima facie speed limit so long as the driver does not endanger life or property;

d. Disregard regulations governing direction of movement or turning in specified directions.

3. The exemptions granted to an emergency vehicle pursuant to Subdivision (2) of this Subsection shall apply only when the driver of any such vehicle while in motion sounds audible signal by bell, siren, or exhaust whistle as may be reasonably necessary, and when the vehicle is equipped with at least one (1) lighted lamp displaying a red light or blue light visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the front of such vehicle.

E. No person shall purchase an emergency light as described in this Section without furnishing the seller of such light an affidavit stating that the light will be used exclusively for emergency vehicle purposes.

F. Violation of this Section shall be deemed an ordinance violation.

Section 310.070 Sirens and Flashing Lights Emergency Use — Persons Authorized — Violation — Penalty.

Motor vehicles and equipment, not otherwise defined in this Title as an authorized emergency vehicle, which are operated by any member of an organized Fire Department, ambulance association or rescue squad, whether paid or volunteer, may be operated on streets and highways in this City as an emergency vehicle under the provisions of Section 304.022, RSMo., while responding to a fire call or ambulance call or at the scene of a fire call or ambulance call and while using or sounding a warning siren and using or displaying thereon fixed, flashing or rotating blue lights, but sirens and blue lights shall be used only in bona fide emergencies. Permits for the operation of such vehicles equipped with sirens or blue lights shall be in writing and shall be issued and may be revoked by the Chief of an organized Fire Department, organized ambulance association or rescue squad and no person shall use or display a siren or rotating blue lights on a motor vehicle, fire, ambulance or rescue equipment without a valid permit authorizing the use. Permit to use a siren or lights as heretofore set out does not relieve the operator of the vehicle so equipped with complying with all other traffic laws and regulations. Violation of this Section constitutes an ordinance violation.

Section 310.080 Leaving The Scene of A Motor Vehicle Accident.

A. A person commits the offense of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident when, being the operator or driver of a vehicle on the highways, streets or roads of the City or on any publicly or privately owned parking lot or parking facility within the City generally open for use by the public and knowing that an injury has been caused to a person or damage has been caused to property due to his/her culpability or to accident, he/she leaves the place of the injury, damage or accident without stopping and giving his/her name, residence, including City and street number, motor vehicle number and driver's license number, if any, to the injured party or to a Police Officer, or if no Police Officer is in the vicinity, then to the nearest Police station or judicial officer.

B. For the purposes of this Section, all Peace Officers shall have jurisdiction, when invited by an injured person, to enter the premises of any such privately owned parking lot or parking facility for the purpose of investigating an accident and performing all necessary duties regarding such accident.