State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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[ Introduced ][ Enrolled ][ Senate Amendment 001 ]


92_SB0172eng

 
SB172 Engrossed                               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
 
SB172 Engrossed             -2-               LRB9201414ARsbA
 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
 
SB172 Engrossed             -3-               LRB9201414ARsbA
 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
 
SB172 Engrossed             -4-               LRB9201414ARsbA
 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 can elect to
27    proceed by:
28        1.  Paying the fine; or
29        2.  Challenging  the  issuance  of  the  Uniform  Traffic
30        Citation in court; or
31        3.  If you were not the operator of the  vehicle  at  the
32        time  of  the  alleged  offense, notifying in writing the
33        local law enforcement  agency  that  issued  the  Uniform
34        Traffic  Citation  of  the  number of the Uniform Traffic
 
SB172 Engrossed             -5-               LRB9201414ARsbA
 1        Citation received and the name and address of the  person
 2        operating the vehicle at the time of the alleged offense.
 3        If  you  fail  to  so  notify  in  writing  the local law
 4        enforcement  agency  of  the  name  and  address  of  the
 5        operator of the  vehicle  at  the  time  of  the  alleged
 6        offense, you may be presumed to have been the operator of
 7        the vehicle at the time of the alleged offense."
 8        (d-2)  If the registered owner of the vehicle was not the
 9    operator  of  the vehicle at the time of the alleged offense,
10    and  if  the  registered  owner  notifies   the   local   law
11    enforcement  agency  having  jurisdiction  of  the  name  and
12    address  of  the  operator  of the vehicle at the time of the
13    alleged offense, the  local  law  enforcement  agency  having
14    jurisdiction  shall  then  issue  a  written  Uniform Traffic
15    Citation to the person alleged by  the  registered  owner  to
16    have  been  the  operator  of  the vehicle at the time of the
17    alleged offense.  If the registered owner fails to notify  in
18    writing  the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction
19    of the name and address of the operator of the vehicle at the
20    time of the alleged offense,  the  registered  owner  may  be
21    presumed to have been the operator of the vehicle at the time
22    of the alleged offense.
23        (e)  Evidence.
24             (i)  A  certificate  alleging  that  a  violation of
25        11-1201  occurred,  sworn  to  or  affirmed  by  a   duly
26        authorized agency, based on inspection of recorded images
27        produced  by  an  automated railroad crossing enforcement
28        system  are  evidence  of  the  facts  contained  in  the
29        certificate and are admissible in any proceeding alleging
30        a violation under this Section.
31             (ii)  Photographs or  recorded  images  made  by  an
32        automatic  railroad grade crossing enforcement system are
33        confidential and shall be  made  available  only  to  the
34        alleged  violator  and  governmental  and law enforcement
 
SB172 Engrossed             -6-               LRB9201414ARsbA
 1        agencies for purposes  of  adjudicating  a  violation  of
 2        Section  11-1201  of the Illinois Vehicle Code.  However,
 3        any photograph  or  other  recorded  image  evidencing  a
 4        violation  of  Section 11-1201 shall be admissible in any
 5        proceeding resulting from the  issuance  of  the  Uniform
 6        Traffic  Citation when there is reasonable and sufficient
 7        proof  of  the  accuracy  of  the  camera  or  electronic
 8        instrument recording the image.  There  is  a  rebuttable
 9        presumption  that  the  photograph  or  recorded image is
10        accurate if the camera or electronic recording instrument
11        was in good working order at the beginning and the end of
12        the day of the alleged offense.  Photographs or  recorded
13        images  made  by  an  automatic  railroad  grade crossing
14        enforcement system shall be confidential,  and  shall  be
15        made  available  only  to the defendant, governmental and
16        law enforcement agencies for the purposes of adjudicating
17        a violation of Section 11-1201 of  the  Illinois  Vehicle
18        Code.
19        (f)  Rail  crossings  equipped with an automatic railroad
20    grade crossing enforcement system shall be posted with a sign
21    visible to approaching  traffic  stating  that  the  railroad
22    grade  crossing  is  being  monitored, that citations will be
23    issued, and the amount of the fine for violation.
24        (g)  The cost of the installation and maintenance of each
25    automatic railroad grade crossing enforcement system shall be
26    paid from the Grade Crossing Protection Fund if the rail line
27    is  not  owned  by  Commuter  Rail  Board  of  the   Regional
28    Transportation  Authority.   If the rail line is owned by the
29    Commuter Rail Board of the Regional Transportation Authority,
30    the costs of the installation and maintenance shall  be  paid
31    from  the  Regional Transportation Authority's portion of the
32    Public Transportation Fund.
33        (h)  The  Illinois  Commerce  Commission  shall  issue  a
34    report to the General Assembly at the conclusion of the 5 two
 
SB172 Engrossed             -7-               LRB9201414ARsbA
 1    year pilot program on  the  effectiveness  of  the  automatic
 2    railroad grade crossing enforcement system.
 3        (i)  If  any  part or parts of this Section are held by a
 4    court of competent jurisdiction to be  unconstitutional,  the
 5    unconstitutionality  shall  not  affect  the  validity of the
 6    remaining parts of this Section.  The General Assembly hereby
 7    declares that it would have passed  the  remaining  parts  of
 8    this  Section if it had known that the other part or parts of
 9    this Section would be declared unconstitutional.
10        (j)  Penalty.
11             (i)  A violation of this Section is a petty  offense
12        for  which  a  fine  of $250 shall be imposed for a first
13        violation, and a fine of $500  shall  be  imposed  for  a
14        second or subsequent violation.
15             (ii)  For  a  second  or  subsequent  violation, the
16        Secretary of State may suspend the  registration  of  the
17        motor vehicle for a period of at least 6 months.
18    (Source: P.A. 89-454, eff. 5-17-96; 90-14, eff. 7-1-97.)

19        Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
20    becoming law.

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