Irving Prohibits Roadside Solicitation | Dallas, Texas Personal Injury Attorney Blog

The City of Irving strengthened its solicitation and handbill ordinance to increase pedestrian and motorist safety, and improve traffic flow and the aesthetics of major roads. The revised regulation prohibits:

• Roadside solicitation except as allowed by state law.
• Costume/sign-holding advertisers in a roadway or on public property adjacent to a roadway.

The new ordinance makes good safety sense. Clearly the people who stand near the roadway and wave signs such as going out of business and advertising sales are doing so to catch the attention of passing motorists. It is just that distraction that the City of Irving does not want drivers to be operating under.

In addition to a basic prohibition against roadside solicitation, the new ordinance also prohibits “Aggressive Solicitation” which is defined as:

1. Intentionally touching or causing physical contact with another person or an occupied vehicle without the solicited person’s consent.
2. Intentionally blocking, either individually or as part of a group of persons, the passage of the solicited person.
3. Following closely behind, ahead or alongside a person after he/she has been solicited or
4. Using violent or threatening gestures toward the solicited person.o Approaching or speaking to a person in a manner that would cause a reasonable person to believe he/she is being threatened with imminent bodily injury.

The new ordinance is also designed to prohibit solicitation in settings where people are believed to be at risk for theft because they are either in a potentially vulnerable position or they are likely to be handling their money or engaged in a consumer transaction. By making solication in these settings illegal, the City of Irving is acknowledging the fear that people have when their personal space is invaded by unwanted solicitors, especially when we are in a particularly vulnerable location or position. In addition to making it unlawful to engage in direct solicitation in places such as a public transportation facility or public restroom, the new ordinance also makes it unlawful to engage in such solicitation within 25 feet of:

• An automated teller machine –
• An entrance or exit of a bank, credit union or other similar financial institution –
• A pay telephone located outdoors or on the exterior of a structure –
• A self-service car wash –
• A self-service fuel pump –
• A public transportation stop –
• An outdoor dining area of a restaurant, cafe or cafeteria
• Distribution of handbills/fliers on any vehicle without consent.

The adoption of the improved ordinance will help residents who feel “uncomfortable or threatened by unwanted solicitation” to “have the law on their side,” said Assistant Police Chief Terry Zettle. “This is another element being implemented to ensure a safe and secure city.” For more information, call the Irving Police Department at (972) 721-2518

If you have legal questions, contact Montes Herald Law Group, LLP at (214) 522-9401. We are located in Las Colinas (Irving) Texas. We handle personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. Visit our website at www.MontesLawGroup.com for more information concerning our law firm and our practice areas. We handle all types of injury cases from automobile accidents, drunk driving accidents, 18 wheeler cases, insurance and bad faith cases, premises liability claims and a variety of other claims involving significant injuries or death.