Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10860 ORDINANG$ NO. 10,860 , I AN ORDINANCE REGULATING THE OPERATION OF PRIVATE AMULANCES IN THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK; PROVIDING FOR THE LICENSING OF PRIVATE AMBULANCES AND DRIVERS THEREOF IN THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK; PRO- VIDING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATIONS THEREOF; RE- PEALING ORDINANCES NO. 6896, 8088, AND SECTION 2 (c) AND 19 OF ORDnaM N0. 5876; DECLARING CD AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF LITTLE W ROCK, ARKANSAS: SECTION 1. (a) An "Ambulance" is defined to be any privately owned vehicle equipped or used for transporting the wounded, in- jured or sick, and shall include but is not restricted to emer- gency vehicles used for such purpose, and invalid coaches equipped with sirens, lights or other emergency equipment. The foregoing definition shall apply to any and all such vehicles operated in in the City of Little Rock regardless of whether or not the regular base for operation and dispatch of such vehicles is located out- side the City of Little Rock. (b) An "Authorized Emergency Vehicle" is defined as a vehicle operated by the Little Rock Fire Department, the Little Rock Police Department when such vehicle is actually re- sponding to an emergency call and such ambulances, as defined herein, as are operating under the conditions set forth in Sec- tion 2 of this Ordinance, (c) An 'Ambulance Service Operator" is defined as a person, firm or corporation which engages in the business-of dispatching and operating ambulances. (d) An "Ambulance Driver" is defined to be a parson whose occupation it is to drive an ambulance- SECTION 2. An ambulance shall not be considered an author- ized emergency vehicle entitled to the privileges and exemptions of authorized emergency vehicles, except under the following circumstances: When law enforcomeot officer or a medical doctor licensed to practice medicine by the State of Arkansas in- foams the driver of an ambulance or the person whose regular duty it is to dispatch an ambulance that an emergency exists and that an ambulance is required and that the emergency demands that the responding ambulance should operate as an authorized emergency vehicle. The notification by a medical doctor or law enforcement officer required under this Section may be made orally, in person or by telephone, but must be made directly to the ambulance driver or ambulance dispatcher. No general authority or notification by a medical doctor or law enforcement officer to an ambulance driver or ambulance dispatcher shall be sufficient to comply with this Section, but separate and specific authority or notification shall be required for each emergency call to which an ambulance responds. may. SECTION 3. (a) The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle 1, Park or stand, irrespective of the other ordinances of the City of Little Rock; 2. Proceed past a red or stop signal or stop sign, but only after slowing down as may be necessary for safe operation; 3. Exceed the maximmim speed limit so long as he does not endanger life or property; 4. Disregard regulations governing direction of movement or turning in specified di- rections. (b) The exemptions herein granted to an author- ised emergency vehicle shall apply only when the driver of any said vehicle while in motion sounds audible signal by bell, siren or ex- hamst whistle as may be reasonably necessary, and when the vehicle Is equipped with at least one lighted lamp displaying a red light visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of five bundred (500) feet to the front of such vehicle, except that an authorized emergency vehicle operated as a police vehicle need not be equipped with or display a red light visible from in front of vehicle. (c) The foregoing provisions shall not relieve the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons, nor shall such provisions protect the driver from the consequences of his %we0Sm disregard for the safety of others. (d) Except when operating as an authorized am- ergency vehicle, as provided herein, no ambulance shall be en- titled to any privileges or exemptions from the Motor Vehicle Ordinances of the City of Little Rock. SECTION 4. (a) No person shall drive an ambulance or engage in the business of ambulance operator in the City of Little Rock unless he shall first obtain a license from the City of Little Rock as hereinafter provided. Provided, an ambulance driver or - - ambulance operator whose regular base for operation and dispatch is located outside the City of Little Rock and who drives or operates ambulances in the City of Little Rock on a casual basis only shall not be required to procure the license required by this subsection. The exemption herein provided shall not be con- strued so as to exempt any ambulances from complying with the Motor Vehicle Ordinances of the City of Little Rock. Provided, further, no ambulance driver or ambulance operator whose regular base for operation and dispatch is located outside the City of Little Rock shall respond to an emergency call from a location in the City of Little Rock, unless such ambulance driver and - mbulance operator shall have first obtained the license required by this.vAsectior. (b) An application for license as ambulance driver -shall be made upon such forms as are furnished by the Chief .of _Poltee_of..the City of Little Rock and shall state the -3- t name, age, address, experience in driving motor vehicles and whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a motor vehicle violation. Every application shall be accompanied by an appli- cation fee of Five Dollars ($5.00). (c) No license shall be granted an applicant as ambulance driver unless the Chief of Police determines that the applicant is a fit person, physically, mentsllr and morally, to drive an ambulance. No person shall be grantel a license as ambulance driver who is under twenty -one (1) y3ars of age or who habitually uses or is /addicted to narcotics or intoxicating 13117tMrs. (d) An application for license as ambulance eervice operator shall be made upon suet-, F.orr- s as are furnished by the Board of Directors _o #-the City of �,.�a��� Rack and shall state the name and address of the applica�= i , a tescription of the vehicle or vehicles intended for use as .ijr o ance or ambulances by applicant and the place of operation of the applicant. Every application shall be accompanied by an application fee of Tveat9- Five Dollars ($25.00). Said applicatioc fee does not relieve SkMh ambulance. service operators from the pay -m wit of occupation. or privilege license tax nor- - or hereinaftz= ?evied by the City of Little Rock. (e) No license shall be granted an applicant as ambulance service operator unless the Board of Directors of the City of Little Rock determines (1) that the public convenience and necessity requires the proposed ambulance service; (2) that appli- cant is a fit person and properly equipped to render the proposed service; and (3) that the applicant has in force at the time his application is approved an insurance policy providing insurance coverage for each and every ambulance owned, operated and leased by the applicant indemnifying the applicant for liability incurred by reason of the injury to or death of persons in accidents, and pro- perty damage ca'ased by accidents, resulting from any cause for -4- • ' • - 'Alph" the ,owner of such ambulance` would be liable, regardless of whether the ambulance was being driven by the owner, his agent or lessee; such insurance policy or policies to carry minimum limits of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) for injury to or death of any one person, One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) for in- jury or death resulting to more than one person as a result of any one accident, and Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) property damage. (f) The Chief of Police shall cause to have made periodic inspections of the ambulances of all ambulance operators at least every six months. If any ambulance be found mechanically defective, the operator of such ambulance service shall immediately withdraw such ambulance from use until the mechanical defect is corrected and written authority is procured from the Chief of Police or his authorized representative permitting the re -use of such ambulance. (g) If any ambulance driver shall be convicted in any court of this state of any moving violation of the motor vehicle laws of this State or City, his license as ambulance driver shall be automatically suspended far a period of thirty days. Upon the second such conviction his license as an ambulance driver shall be permanently revoked. (h) The license of any ambulance service operator shall ba pe=aaently revoked for any of the following reasons: 1. Permitting any ambulance owned, operated or leased by him to be driven by any person not licensed as an ambulance driver; 2. Permitting any ambulance owned, operated or leased by him to respond to a call for ambulance service when such ambulance has been directed to be withdrawn from -5- use under subsection (f) hereof. SECTION 5. Any person who shall drive an ambulance or engage in the business of ambulance service operator without having first obtained the license required by this ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor which shall be punished by the imposition of a fine in an amount of not less than $50.00 and not more than $500.00 or a jail sentence of not less than three nor more than thirty days or both fine and jail sentence. SECTION 6. Any ambulance driver who shall drive an ambulance with the siren blowing, the red light flashing or in any other manner which gives the impression that such ambulance is responding to an emergency call when the ambulance is not, in fact, responding to an emergency call, shall have his license as ambulance driver permanently revoked and shall be further guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $10.00 nor more than $100.00. SECTION 7. All licenses to ambulance drivers issued in pur- suance of the authority of this ordinance, shall extend for a period of one year. Each application for renewal shall be ac- companied by an application fee in the same amount as the original .application fee called for under this ordinance. SECTION 8. All licenses to ambulance service operators issued in pursuance of the authority of this ordinance shall extend for not more than a period of /one year and shall be renewable only by authority of the Board of Directors of the City of Little Rock. Each appli- cation for renewal shall be accompanied by an application fee in the amount of Twenty -Five Dollars ($25.00). SECTION 9. Before responding to any emergency call within the City of Little Rock, authority to respond to such call must be procured by the ambulance service operator-by telephone from the Police Department of the City of Little Rock. The Police De- partment of the City of Little Rock shall keep a record of all requests for authority made pursuant to this ordinance, and shall -6- i, • not authorise more than one ambulance to respond to any one am- ergency situation. Provided, that whenever it appears that there are more wounded, injured, sick or dead persons present at the soebe of any such emergency than can be transported by any one Ambulance.. the Police Department may authorize an additional ambulance or ambulances to respond to such emergency call. Any ambulance driver or ambulance service operator who aball respond to an emergency call without procuring prior authority from the Police Department of the City of Little Rock as provided herein shall have his license as ambulance driver or ambulance service operator permanently revoked and shall be further guilty of a . misdemeanor punishable by fine of not less than $10.00 nor more then $100.000 *EM014 10. Within one -half hour after conveying any in- jured, sick or dead person or persons to any public or private hospital or removing such person or persons therefrom or after conveying or removing any such person or persons from any place within the City of Little Rock to another place within the City of Little Rock or beyond its limits, it shall be the duty of the ambulance service operator to notify the Police Department of the City of Little Rock of such conveyance. Such notice shall give the name and address of the injured, sick or dead person or persons, when such information is available, and the place to and 4` from which such person or persons were removed.. Within twenty- four hours after the removal of such injured, sick or dead person ,_'*r persons, it shall be the duty of the ambulance service operator to file a written report with the Police Department of the City of Little Rock giving the information required above and any other relevant information which the Police Department of the City of Little Rock might require. The Police Department of the City of Little Rock shall provide written forms upon which the information required under this- Section shall be furnished. -7- SECTION 11. Should any Section, or Subsection of this ordi- nance be declared to be unconstitutional and void by a court of affect competent jurisdiction, such decision shall in no way # the validity of any of the remaining parts of this ordinance. SECTION 12. Ordinance No. 6896, Ordinance No. 8088 and Sec- tions 2 (c) and 19 of Ordinance No. 5876 of the City of Little Rock are hereby repealed. SBCMN 13. Bemuse at the present time the unregulated operation of ambulance service on the streets of the City of Little Rock constitutes a hazard and a menace to the life and safety of citizens and an impairment to traffic control, and because ehis situation is hostile to the best interests of the community, an emergency is hereby declared to exist and this ordinance is found to be necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety and shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage. Provided, that any person, firm or corporation en- gage-1 in the business of ambulance service operator in the City of Little Rock and any person engaged in the occupation of ambu- lance driver in the City of Little Rock at the effective date of this ordinance shall have a period of thirty days within which to procure the license required by this ordinance. PASSED: October 20, 1958 ATT�sT�— e.,^.� APPROVED: - P/ *4 *j City Clerk Mayor.