State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

   [ Search ]   [ PDF text ]   [ Legislation ]   
[ Home ]   [ Back ]   [ Bottom ]



92_HB3909

 
                                               LRB9213960DHmg

 1        AN ACT in regard to vehicles.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section 5.  The  Illinois  Vehicle  Code  is  amended  by
 5    changing Section 11-1201.1 as follows:

 6        (625 ILCS 5/11-1201.1)
 7        Sec.  11-1201.1.  Automated Railroad Crossing Enforcement
 8    System.
 9        (a)  For the  purposes  of  this  Section,  an  automated
10    railroad  grade  crossing  enforcement  system  is  a  system
11    operated  by a law enforcement agency that records a driver's
12    response  to  automatic,  electrical  or  mechanical   signal
13    devices  and crossing gates.  The system shall be designed to
14    obtain a clear photograph or  other  recorded  image  of  the
15    vehicle,  vehicle operator and the vehicle registration plate
16    of a vehicle in violation of Section 11-1201.  The photograph
17    or other recorded image shall also display the time, date and
18    location of the violation.
19        (b)  Commencing on January 1, 1996, the Illinois Commerce
20    Commission and  the  Commuter  Rail  Board  of  the  Regional
21    Transportation Authority shall, in cooperation with local law
22    enforcement agencies, establish a 5 year pilot program within
23    a  county  with a population of between 750,000 and 1,000,000
24    using  an  automated  railroad  grade  crossing   enforcement
25    system.   The Commission shall determine the 3 railroad grade
26    crossings within that county that pose the greatest threat to
27    human life based upon the number of accidents and  fatalities
28    at the crossings during the past 5 years and with approval of
29    the  local law enforcement agency equip the crossings with an
30    automated railroad grade crossing enforcement system.
31        (b-1)  Commencing on July 20, 2001 (the effective date of
 
                            -2-                LRB9213960DHmg
 1    Public Act 92-98) this amendatory Act  of  the  92nd  General
 2    Assembly,  the  Illinois Commerce Commission and the Commuter
 3    Rail Board may, in cooperation with the local law enforcement
 4    agency, establish in a county with a  population  of  between
 5    750,000  and  1,000,000  a  2  year  pilot  program  using an
 6    automated railroad grade crossing  enforcement  system.  This
 7    pilot program may be established at a railroad grade crossing
 8    designated  by  local  authorities.    No State moneys may be
 9    expended on the automated railroad grade crossing enforcement
10    system established under this pilot program.
11        (c)  For each violation of Section 11-1201 recorded by an
12    automatic railroad  grade  crossing  system,  the  local  law
13    enforcement  agency having jurisdiction shall issue a written
14    Uniform Traffic Citation of the violation to  the  registered
15    owner  of  the  vehicle as the alleged violator.  The Uniform
16    Traffic Citation shall be delivered to the  registered  owner
17    of  the  vehicle,  by  mail, within 30 days of the violation.
18    The Uniform Traffic  Citation  shall  include  the  name  and
19    address  of  vehicle  owner, the vehicle registration number,
20    the offense charged, the time,  date,  and  location  of  the
21    violation,  the first available court date and that the basis
22    of the citation is the photograph  or  other  recorded  image
23    from   the  automated  railroad  grade  crossing  enforcement
24    system.
25        (d)  The  Uniform  Traffic   Citation   issued   to   the
26    registered  owner  of  the  vehicle shall be accompanied by a
27    written notice,  the  contents  of  which  is  set  forth  in
28    subsection   (d-1)   of  this  Section,  explaining  how  the
29    registered owner of the  vehicle  can  elect  to  proceed  by
30    either  paying  the  fine  or challenging the issuance of the
31    Uniform Traffic Citation.
32        (d-1)  The  written   notice   explaining   the   alleged
33    violator's  rights and obligations must include the following
34    text:
 
                            -3-                LRB9213960DHmg
 1        "You have  been  served  with  the  accompanying  Uniform
 2    Traffic  Citation  and  cited  with  having  violated Section
 3    11-1201 of the Illinois  Vehicle  Code.   You  can  elect  to
 4    proceed by:
 5        1.  Paying the fine; or
 6        2.  Challenging  the  issuance  of  the  Uniform  Traffic
 7        Citation in court; or
 8        3.  If  you  were  not the operator of the vehicle at the
 9        time of the alleged offense,  notifying  in  writing  the
10        local  law  enforcement  agency  that  issued the Uniform
11        Traffic Citation of the number  of  the  Uniform  Traffic
12        Citation  received and the name and address of the person
13        operating the vehicle at the time of the alleged offense.
14        If you fail  to  so  notify  in  writing  the  local  law
15        enforcement  agency  of  the  name  and  address  of  the
16        operator  of  the  vehicle  at  the  time  of the alleged
17        offense, you may be presumed to have been the operator of
18        the vehicle at the time of the alleged offense."
19        (d-2)  If the registered owner of the vehicle was not the
20    operator of the vehicle at the time of the  alleged  offense,
21    and   if   the   registered  owner  notifies  the  local  law
22    enforcement  agency  having  jurisdiction  of  the  name  and
23    address of the operator of the vehicle at  the  time  of  the
24    alleged  offense,  the  local  law  enforcement agency having
25    jurisdiction shall  then  issue  a  written  Uniform  Traffic
26    Citation  to  the  person  alleged by the registered owner to
27    have been the operator of the vehicle  at  the  time  of  the
28    alleged  offense.  If the registered owner fails to notify in
29    writing the local law enforcement agency having  jurisdiction
30    of the name and address of the operator of the vehicle at the
31    time  of  the  alleged  offense,  the registered owner may be
32    presumed to have been the operator of the vehicle at the time
33    of the alleged offense.
34        (e)  Evidence.
 
                            -4-                LRB9213960DHmg
 1             (i)  A certificate  alleging  that  a  violation  of
 2        Section  11-1201 occurred, sworn to or affirmed by a duly
 3        authorized agency, based on inspection of recorded images
 4        produced by an automated  railroad  crossing  enforcement
 5        system  are  evidence  of  the  facts  contained  in  the
 6        certificate and are admissible in any proceeding alleging
 7        a violation under this Section.
 8             (ii)  Photographs  or  recorded  images  made  by an
 9        automatic railroad grade crossing enforcement system  are
10        confidential  and  shall  be  made  available only to the
11        alleged violator and  governmental  and  law  enforcement
12        agencies  for  purposes  of  adjudicating  a violation of
13        Section 11-1201 of the Illinois Vehicle  Code.   However,
14        any  photograph  or  other  recorded  image  evidencing a
15        violation of Section 11-1201 shall be admissible  in  any
16        proceeding  resulting  from  the  issuance of the Uniform
17        Traffic Citation when there is reasonable and  sufficient
18        proof  of  the  accuracy  of  the  camera  or  electronic
19        instrument  recording  the  image.  There is a rebuttable
20        presumption that the  photograph  or  recorded  image  is
21        accurate if the camera or electronic recording instrument
22        was in good working order at the beginning and the end of
23        the day of the alleged offense.
24        (f)  Rail  crossings  equipped with an automatic railroad
25    grade crossing enforcement system shall be posted with a sign
26    visible to approaching  traffic  stating  that  the  railroad
27    grade  crossing  is  being  monitored, that citations will be
28    issued, and the amount of the fine for violation.
29        (g)  Except as provided in subsection (b-1), the cost  of
30    the  installation  and maintenance of each automatic railroad
31    grade crossing enforcement system  shall  be  paid  from  the
32    Grade  Crossing Protection Fund if the rail line is not owned
33    by  Commuter  Rail  Board  of  the  Regional   Transportation
34    Authority.   Except  as  provided in subsection (b-1), if the
 
                            -5-                LRB9213960DHmg
 1    rail line is owned by the Commuter Rail Board of the Regional
 2    Transportation Authority, the costs of the  installation  and
 3    maintenance  shall  be  paid from the Regional Transportation
 4    Authority's portion of the Public Transportation Fund.
 5        (h)  The  Illinois  Commerce  Commission  shall  issue  a
 6    report to the General Assembly at the  conclusion  of  the  5
 7    year  pilot  program  established under subsection (b) on the
 8    effectiveness  of  the  automatic  railroad  grade   crossing
 9    enforcement system.
10        (i)  If  any  part or parts of this Section are held by a
11    court of competent jurisdiction to be  unconstitutional,  the
12    unconstitutionality  shall  not  affect  the  validity of the
13    remaining parts of this Section.  The General Assembly hereby
14    declares that it would have passed  the  remaining  parts  of
15    this  Section if it had known that the other part or parts of
16    this Section would be declared unconstitutional.
17        (j)  Penalty.
18             (i)  A violation of this Section is a petty  offense
19        for  which  a  fine  of $250 shall be imposed for a first
20        violation, and a fine of $500  shall  be  imposed  for  a
21        second or subsequent violation.
22             (ii)  For  a  second  or  subsequent  violation, the
23        Secretary of State may suspend the  registration  of  the
24        motor vehicle for a period of at least 6 months.
25    (Source:  P.A.  92-98,  eff.  7-20-01;  92-245,  eff. 8-3-01;
26    revised 10-18-01.)

[ Top ]