The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this article, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Authorized emergency vehicle:
(1) 
A fire department or police vehicle;
(2) 
A public or private ambulance operated by a person who has been issued a license by the Department of State Health Services;
(3) 
An emergency medical services vehicle:
a. 
Authorized under an emergency medical services provider license issued by the Department of State Health Services under Chapter 773, Health and Safety Code; and
b. 
Operating under a contract with an emergency services district that requires the emergency medical services provider to respond to emergency calls with the vehicle;
(4) 
A municipal department or public service corporation emergency vehicle that has been designated or authorized by the governing body of a municipality;
(5) 
A county-owned or county-leased emergency management vehicle that has been designated or authorized by the commissioners’ court;
(6) 
A vehicle that has been designated by the department under Section 546.0065;
(7) 
A private vehicle of a volunteer firefighter or a certified emergency medical services employee or volunteer when responding to a fire alarm or medical emergency;
(8) 
An industrial emergency response vehicle, including an industrial ambulance, when responding to an emergency, but only if the vehicle is operated in compliance with criteria in effect September 1, 1989, and established by the predecessor of the Texas Industrial Emergency Services Board of the State Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association of Texas;
(9) 
A vehicle of a blood bank or tissue bank, accredited or approved under the laws of this state or the United States, when making emergency deliveries of blood, drugs, medicines, or organs;
(10) 
A vehicle used for law enforcement purposes that is owned or leased by a federal governmental entity; or
(11) 
A private vehicle of an employee or volunteer of a county emergency management division in a county with a population of more than 46,500 and less than 48,000 that is designated as an authorized emergency vehicle by the commissioners’ court of that county.
Hands-free device.
Speakerphone capability or a telephone attachment to other piece of equipment, regardless of whether permanently installed in/on the vehicle, that allows use of the wireless device without use of either of the operator’s hands.
Operator
means, as used in reference to a vehicle, a person who drives or has physical control of a vehicle.
Parked
shall mean for the operator to completely cease movement of a vehicle in a lawful manner and location. For purposes of this section, “Parked” does not include or mean a vehicle stopped in a lane of traffic due to either a lawful traffic control device, or the conditions on the roadway, or traffic congestion patterns then existing.
Vehicle.
A device that can be used to transport or draw persons or property on a highway. The term does not include:
(1) 
A device exclusively used on stationary rails or tracks; or
(2) 
Manufactured housing as that term is defined by Chapter 1201, Occupations Code.
Wireless communication device.
A device that uses a commercial mobile service as defined by 47 USC 332 including but not limited to cell phones and other forms of electronic portable communication devices.
(Ordinance 05-2017, sec. 1, adopted 2/21/17)
(a) 
An operator of a vehicle may not use a wireless communication device for any purpose while operating a vehicle on any street or highway within the City of Wichita Falls, unless employing a hands-free device.
(b) 
This section does not apply to:
(1) 
An operator of an authorized emergency vehicle using a wireless communication device while acting in an official capacity;
(2) 
An operator who is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission while operating a radio frequency device other than a wireless communication device;
(3) 
An operator using a wireless communication device who is legally parked; or
(4) 
An operator who is using a wireless communication device while the vehicle is on private property.
(Ordinance 05-2017, sec. 1, adopted 2/21/17)
(1) 
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution of an offense under this section if a wireless communication device is used to make an emergency call to:
a. 
An emergency response service, including a rescue, emergency medical or hazardous material response service;
b. 
A hospital;
c. 
A fire department;
d. 
A health clinic;
e. 
A medical doctor’s office;
f. 
An individual to administer first aid treatment; or
g. 
A police department.
(2) 
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution of an offense under this section if a person uses their fingers to activate the wireless communication device for the purposes of accepting an incoming phone call or to end a phone call, so long as the action does not require the person to hold the wireless communication device in the person’s hand.
(Ordinance 05-2017, sec. 1, adopted 2/21/17)
Any person who violates any section of this article shall be guilty of a violation as provided in section 1-14 of the Wichita Falls Code of Ordinances.
(Ordinance 05-2017, sec. 1, adopted 2/21/17)
Editor’s note – Ord. No. 56-2016, adopted adopted 12/20/16, repealed sec. 102-70, which pertained to the meetings of the traffic safety commission and derived from Code 1966, sec. 29-201; 2001 Code, sec. 102-70.
Editor’s note – Ord. No. 56-2016, adopted adopted 12/20/16, repealed sec. 102-71, which pertained to the committees of the traffic safety commission and derived from Code 1966, sec. 29-202; 2001 Code, sec. 102-71; Ordinance 65-2001, sec. 2, adopted 7/17/01.
Editor’s note – Ord. No. 56-2016, adopted adopted 12/20/16, repealed sec. 102-72, which pertained to the purposes of the traffic safety commission and derived from Code 1966, sec. 29-203; 2001 Code, sec. 102-72.
Editor’s note – Ord. No. 56-2016, adopted adopted 12/20/16, repealed sec. 102-73, which pertained to the powers and duties of the traffic safety commission and derived from Code 1966, sec. 29-204; 2001 Code, sec. 102-73; Ordinance 65-2001, sec. 3, adopted 7/17/01.