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| [ Engrossed ] | [ Enrolled ] | [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
92_SB0172
LRB9201414ARsbA
1 AN ACT concerning 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 Sections 11-1201 and 11-1201.1 as follows:
6 (625 ILCS 5/11-1201) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-1201)
7 Sec. 11-1201. Obedience to signal indicating approach of
8 train.
9 (a) Whenever any person driving a vehicle approaches a
10 railroad grade crossing such person must exercise due care
11 and caution as the existence of a railroad track across a
12 highway is a warning of danger, and under any of the
13 circumstances stated in this Section, the driver shall stop
14 within 50 feet but not less than 15 feet from the nearest
15 rail of the railroad and shall not proceed until he can do so
16 safely. The foregoing requirements shall apply when:
17 1. A clearly visible electric or mechanical signal
18 device gives warning of the immediate approach of a
19 railroad train;
20 2. A crossing gate is lowered or a human flagman
21 gives or continues to give a signal of the approach or
22 passage of a railroad train;
23 3. A railroad train approaching a highway crossing
24 emits a warning signal and such railroad train, by reason
25 of its speed or nearness to such crossing, is an
26 immediate hazard;
27 4. An approaching railroad train is plainly visible
28 and is in hazardous proximity to such crossing.
29 5. A railroad train is approaching so closely that
30 an immediate hazard is created.
31 (b) No person shall drive any vehicle through, around or
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1 under any crossing gate or barrier at a railroad crossing
2 while such gate or barrier is closed or is being opened or
3 closed.
4 (c) The Department, and local authorities with the
5 approval of the Department, are hereby authorized to
6 designate particularly dangerous highway grade crossings of
7 railroads and to erect stop signs thereat. When such stop
8 signs are erected the driver of any vehicle shall stop within
9 50 feet but not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail of
10 such railroad and shall proceed only upon exercising due
11 care.
12 (d) At any railroad grade crossing provided with
13 railroad crossbuck signs, without automatic, electric, or
14 mechanical signal devices, crossing gates, or a human flagman
15 giving a signal of the approach or passage of a train, the
16 driver of a vehicle shall in obedience to the railroad
17 crossbuck sign, yield the right-of-way and slow down to a
18 speed reasonable for the existing conditions and shall stop,
19 if required for safety, at a clearly marked stopped line, or
20 if no stop line, within 50 feet but not less than 15 feet
21 from the nearest rail of the railroad and shall not proceed
22 until he or she can do so safely. If a driver is involved in
23 a collision at a railroad crossing or interferes with the
24 movement of a train after driving past the railroad crossbuck
25 sign, the collision or interference is prima facie evidence
26 of the driver's failure to yield right-of-way.
27 (e) It is unlawful to violate A violation of any part of
28 this Section. A first conviction of a person for a violation
29 of any part of this Section shall result in a mandatory fine
30 of $250; all subsequent convictions of that person for any
31 violation of any part of this Section shall each result in a
32 mandatory fine of $500 or 50 hours of community service.
33 (f) Corporate Local authorities of municipal
34 corporations regulating operators of shall impose fines as
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1 established in subsection (e) for vehicles that fail to obey
2 signals indicating the presence, approach, passage, or
3 departure of a train shall impose fines as established in
4 subsection (e) of this Section.
5 (Source: P.A. 89-186, eff. 1-1-96; 89-658, eff. 1-1-97.)
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 two year pilot program
23 within a county with a population of between 750,000 and
24 1,000,000 using an automated railroad grade crossing
25 enforcement system. The Commission shall determine the 3
26 railroad grade crossings within that county that pose the
27 greatest threat to human life based upon the number of
28 accidents and fatalities at the crossings during the past 5
29 years and with approval of the local law enforcement agency
30 equip the crossings with an automated railroad grade crossing
31 enforcement system.
32 (c) For each violation of Section 11-1201 recorded by an
33 automatic railroad grade crossing system, the local law
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1 enforcement agency having jurisdiction shall issue a written
2 Uniform Traffic Citation of the violation to the registered
3 owner of the vehicle as the alleged violator. The Uniform
4 Traffic Citation shall be delivered to the registered owner
5 of the vehicle, by mail, within 30 days of the violation.
6 The Uniform Traffic Citation shall include the name and
7 address of vehicle owner, the vehicle registration number,
8 the offense charged, the time, date, and location of the
9 violation, the first available court date and that the basis
10 of the citation is the photograph or other recorded image
11 from the automated railroad grade crossing enforcement
12 system.
13 (d) The Uniform Traffic Citation issued to the
14 registered owner of the vehicle violator shall be accompanied
15 by a written notice, the contents of which is set forth in
16 subsection (d-1) of this Section, explaining document which
17 explains the violator's rights and obligations and how the
18 registered owner of the vehicle violator can elect to proceed
19 by either paying the fine or challenging the issuance of the
20 Uniform Traffic Citation.
21 (d-1) The written notice explaining the alleged
22 violator's rights and obligations must include the following
23 text:
24 "You have been served with the accompanying Uniform
25 Traffic Citation and cited with having violated Section
26 11-1201 of the Illinois Vehicle Code. You are subject to a
27 civil penalty. You can elect to proceed by:
28 1. Paying the fine; or
29 2. Challenging the issuance of the Uniform Traffic
30 Citation in court.
31 Your failure to proceed by performing one of these
32 options may result in refusal or suspension of the motor
33 vehicle registration."
34 (e) Evidence.
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1 (i) A certificate alleging that a violation of
2 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 before and after the alleged
23 offense on the day of the alleged offense. Photographs or
24 recorded images made by an automatic railroad grade
25 crossing enforcement system shall be confidential, and
26 shall be made available only to the defendant,
27 governmental and law enforcement agencies for the
28 purposes of adjudicating a violation of Section 11-1201
29 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.
30 (iii) Adjudication of liability shall be based on a
31 preponderance of evidence.
32 (f) Rail crossings equipped with an automatic railroad
33 grade crossing enforcement system shall be posted with a sign
34 visible to approaching traffic stating that the railroad
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1 grade crossing is being monitored, that citations will be
2 issued, and the amount of the fine for violation.
3 (g) The cost of the installation and maintenance of each
4 automatic railroad grade crossing enforcement system shall be
5 paid from the Grade Crossing Protection Fund if the rail line
6 is not owned by Commuter Rail Board of the Regional
7 Transportation Authority. If the rail line is owned by the
8 Commuter Rail Board of the Regional Transportation Authority,
9 the costs of the installation and maintenance shall be paid
10 from the Regional Transportation Authority's portion of the
11 Public Transportation Fund.
12 (h) The Illinois Commerce Commission shall issue a
13 report to the General Assembly at the conclusion of the 5 two
14 year pilot program on the effectiveness of the automatic
15 railroad grade crossing enforcement system.
16 (i) If any part or parts of this Section are held by a
17 court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional, the
18 unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity of the
19 remaining parts of this Section. The General Assembly hereby
20 declares that it would have passed the remaining parts of
21 this Section if it had known that the other part or parts of
22 this Section would be declared unconstitutional.
23 (j) Penalty.
24 (i) A civil penalty of $250 shall be imposed for a
25 first violation of this Section, and a civil penalty of
26 $500 shall be imposed for a second or subsequent
27 violation.
28 (ii) The Secretary of State may suspend the
29 registration of the motor vehicle for up to 6 months for
30 a first offense and for any second or subsequent offense,
31 the Secretary of State must suspend the registration of
32 the motor vehicle for at least 6 months.
33 (Source: P.A. 89-454, eff. 5-17-96; 90-14, eff. 7-1-97.)
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1 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
2 becoming law.