Council public hearing on two driver safety Code Ordinances

Published on April 01, 2025

Safe Driving Stock Photo showing a hand on the steering wheel with traffic and road signs in the background

The Los Alamos County Council will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, April 8 at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers (1000 Central Ave., Los Alamos) as part of its scheduled Regular Session. The hearing will consider adoption of Ordinance 02-367, relating to distracted driving, and Ordinance 02-369, relating to speed cameras.

Proposed Ordinance 02-367 seeks to address and minimize the occurrences of distracted driving by better-defining and describing mobile phone usage while driving. The Los Alamos Police Department’s crash data indicates distracted driving consistently contributes to injury and non-injury crashes. The current law prohibits texting while driving. This amendment will further restrict mobile phone use while driving to only allow hands-free operation to encourage safe driving on Los Alamos County roads.

To address excessive speeding and speed-related crashes within the county, proposed Ordinance 02-369 introduces the installation and use of automated speed cameras in Los Alamos County. Speed cameras are a cost-effective method of reducing traffic collisions. If Ordinance 02-369 is passed, a budget option for initial program costs would be presented to the County Council for consideration at the upcoming budget hearings. The initial costs for hardware, software and administrative costs are currently estimated at $300,000. The revenue generated from the program would be allocated to the County to support traffic and safety programs, in accordance with state law.

Read Ordinances 02-367 and 02-369 in full online. The community is encouraged to attend the hearing in person or via Zoom and provide public comment. Community members may also utilize the eComment option, which will become available when the agenda is published 72-hours prior to the meeting, and remain open until noon on April 8, the day of the public hearing. Following public comment, Council will consider whether to adopt the ordinances.

Questions or feedback regarding either ordinance can be directed to Chief Sgambellone at 505-662-8227 or at dino.sgambellone@lacnm.us.

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