?PUBLIC NOTICE
Written comments will be received until 10:00 AM on Friday, February 28, 2025, at the Cameron Parish West Annex Office located at 148 Smith Circle, Cameron, LA 70631 or mailed to the Cameron Parish Police Jury, PO Box 1280, Cameron, LA 70631, Attn: Mary Carroll. Oral comments will be received at 11:00 AM on Monday, March 3, 2025, in the Cameron Parish Police Jury Meeting Room during the regular Cameron Parish Police Jury Meeting. Comments are based on the proposed changes to Chapter 14 Motor Vehicles and Traffic, Article III: Operation of Vehicles Generally, Section 14-38 Operation of Utility Terrain Vehicles as listed below:
Proposed amendments to Chapter 14 Motor Vehicles and Traffic
Chapter 14 Motor Vehicles and Traffic
Article III: Operation of Vehicles Generally
Section 14-38
Operation of Utility Terrain Vehicles
Sec. 14-38: The operation of a utility terrain vehicle upon the public roads or streets of Cameron Parish is prohibited, except as otherwise provided in this section:
1. “Utility terrain vehicle” means any recreational or off-highway motor vehicle designed for and capable of travel over designated roads, with a minimum width of fifty inches but not exceeding seventy-four inches and a minimum weight of at least seven hundred pounds but not exceeding three thousand five hundred pounds. “Utility terrain vehicle” shall include those vehicles not equipped with a certification label as required by 49 CFR Part 567.4.
2. A utility terrain vehicle may be operated, between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., upon any street or road within Cameron Parish that has a speed limit of 25 miles per hour or less, (hereinafter referred to as “Cameron Parish street”) only in the regions of the parish described below:
i. Hackberry and Johnson Bayou: Eastern boundary being the Calcasieu Ship Channel to the Western boundary being the state line of Texas to the Southern boundary being the Gulf of Mexico to the Northern boundary being the Calcasieu Cameron Parish line.
ii. Cameron, Creole, Grand Chenier, Parts of Sweet Lake: Eastern boundary being the Vermillion Parish line except for the area of Klondike and Louisiana avenue / parish road 120, then to the Northern boundary being the Calcasieu Cameron Parish Line, then to the Western boundary being highway 27 to the Intracoastal Waterway then heading due west to the Calcasieu River then to the Southern boundary being the Gulf of Mexico.
3. A utility terrain vehicle may not be operated upon any street or road that has a speed limit greater than 25 miles per hour nor can a utility terrain vehicle be operated after 10:00 p.m. and before 6:00 a.m.
4. A utility terrain vehicle operated on a Cameron Parish street shall be equipped with the minimum motor vehicle equipment appropriate for motor vehicle safety including, headlamps, front and rear turn signal lamps, tail lamps, stop lamps, reflex reflectors, including one on each side as far to the rear as practicable and one red reflector on the rear of the vehicle, an exterior mirror mounted on the driver’s side of the vehicle and either an exterior mirror mounted on the passenger’s side of the vehicle or an interior mirror, a parking brake, an adequate windshield, a windshield wiper, speedometer, odometer, braking for each wheel, a seat belt assembly installed at each designated seating position, and a vehicle identification or serial number.
5. Any utility terrain vehicle operated upon a Cameron Parish street shall be registered with the state of Louisiana through the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of motor vehicles, as an off-road vehicle and shall display a decal issued by the office of motor vehicles.
6. No person shall operate a utility terrain vehicle upon a Cameron Parish street without a valid driver’s license and shall be at least twenty-one years of age.
7. Any utility terrain vehicle operated upon a Cameron Parish street shall have liability insurance with the same minimum limits as required by the provisions of La. R.S. 32:900(B).
8. No person shall be a passenger in the open bed of a utility terrain vehicle while traveling upon a parish road or municipal street. The provisions of this Subsection shall not apply in an emergency situation. The number of persons permitted to travel in a utility terrain vehicle is limited to the number of available seat belts.
9. Nothing contained in this Section shall be construed to prohibit Cameron Parish in the future from prohibiting the operation of any utility terrain vehicle on any street under its jurisdiction if Cameron Parish determines that such prohibition is necessary for the safety of the motoring public.
10. If a subdivision in Cameron Parish has an existing regulation or covenant prohibiting the use of utility terrain vehicles, then that subdivision will be responsible for the enforcement of its regulation or covenant and preventing the use of utility terrain vehicles. Further, following the adoption of this ordinance, any subdivision in Cameron Parish may enact a regulation or covenant prohibiting the use of utility terrain vehicles, and thereafter, that subdivision will be responsible for the enforcement of its regulation or covenant.
11. Utility terrain vehicles shall comply with all applicable local and state traffic laws and may be ticketed for traffic violations in the same manner as any other motor vehicle.
12. No person shall operate a utility terrain vehicle upon a bicycle path, sidewalk, sidewalk area, or other area not designated for motor vehicle use or not specifically designated for utility terrain vehicles except as provided for in La. R.S. 32:299.
RUN: Feb. 13, 20, 27 (F 22)