093_HB2326

 
                                     LRB093 10237 DRH 10491 b

 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 18c-7402 as follows:

 6        (625 ILCS 5/18c-7402) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-7402)
 7        Sec.    18c-7402.  Safety   Requirements   for   Railroad
 8    Operations.
 9        (1)  Obstruction of Crossings.
10             (a)  Obstruction  of   Emergency   Vehicles.   Every
11        railroad  shall  be  operated  in  such  a  manner  as to
12        minimize obstruction of emergency vehicles at  crossings.
13        Where  the  such obstruction occurs and the train crew is
14        aware  of  the  obstruction,   the   train   crew   shall
15        immediately   take   any  action,  consistent  with  safe
16        operating procedure, necessary to remove the obstruction.
17        In the Chicago and St. Louis switching  districts,  every
18        railroad  dispatcher  or other person responsible for the
19        movement of railroad equipment in  a  specific  area  who
20        receives   notification   that   railroad   equipment  is
21        obstructing the movement of an emergency vehicle  at  any
22        crossing  within  such  area shall immediately notify the
23        train  crew  through  use   of   existing   communication
24        facilities.  Upon notification, the train crew shall take
25        immediate action in accordance with this paragraph.
26             (b)  Obstruction   of   Highway  at  Grade  Crossing
27        Prohibited. It is unlawful for a rail carrier  to  permit
28        any  train,  railroad  car  or  engine to obstruct public
29        travel at a railroad-highway grade crossing for a  period
30        in  excess  of  10  minutes,  except  where such train or
31        railroad car is continuously moving or cannot be moved by
 
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 1        reason of circumstances over which the rail  carrier  has
 2        no reasonable control.
 3        In  a county with a population of greater than 1,000,000,
 4    as determined by the most recent federal census,  during  the
 5    hours  of  7:00  a.m. through 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. through
 6    6:00 p.m. it is unlawful for a rail  carrier  to  permit  any
 7    single  train  or railroad car to obstruct public travel at a
 8    railroad-highway grade crossing in excess of a  total  of  10
 9    minutes  during a 30 minute period, except where the train or
10    railroad car cannot be moved by reason or circumstances  over
11    which  the  rail carrier has no reasonable control.  Under no
12    circumstances will a moving train be stopped for the purposes
13    of issuing a citation related to this Section.
14        However, no employee acting under the rules or orders  of
15    the   rail  carrier  or  its  supervisory  personnel  may  be
16    prosecuted for a violation of this subsection (b).
17             (c)  Punishment for Obstruction of  Grade  Crossing.
18        Any   rail   carrier  violating  paragraph  (b)  of  this
19        subsection shall be guilty of a petty offense  and  fined
20        not  less than $200 nor more than $500 if the duration of
21        the obstruction is in excess of 10 minutes but no  longer
22        than  15  minutes.   If  the  duration of the obstruction
23        exceeds 15 minutes the  violation  shall  be  a  business
24        offense and the following fines shall be imposed:  if the
25        duration  of  the  obstruction is in excess of 15 minutes
26        but no longer than 20 minutes, the fine shall be $500; if
27        the duration of  the  obstruction  is  in  excess  of  20
28        minutes  but no longer than 25 minutes, the fine shall be
29        $700; if the duration of the obstruction is in excess  of
30        25 minutes, but no longer than 30 minutes, the fine shall
31        be  $900; if the duration of the obstruction is in excess
32        of 30 minutes but no longer than  35  minutes,  the  fine
33        shall be $1,000; if the duration of the obstruction is in
34        excess  of  35  minutes, the fine shall be $1,000 plus an
 
                            -3-      LRB093 10237 DRH 10491 b
 1        additional $500 for each  5  minutes  of  obstruction  in
 2        excess of 25 minutes of obstruction.
 3        (2)  Other Operational Requirements.
 4             (a)  Bell  and Whistle-Crossings. Every rail carrier
 5        shall cause a bell, and a whistle or horn  to  be  placed
 6        and  kept on each locomotive, and shall cause the same to
 7        be rung or sounded by the engineer  or  fireman,  at  the
 8        distance  of a least 1,320 feet, from the place where the
 9        railroad crosses or intersects any  public  highway,  and
10        shall  be  kept  ringing or sounding until the highway is
11        reached; provided that at crossings where the  Commission
12        shall by order direct, only after a hearing has been held
13        to  determine  the  public is reasonably and sufficiently
14        protected, the rail carrier may be  excused  from  giving
15        warning provided by this paragraph.
16             (a-5)  The  requirements  of  paragraph  (a) of this
17        subsection (2) regarding ringing a bell  and  sounding  a
18        whistle  or horn do not apply at a railroad crossing that
19        has a permanently  installed  automated  audible  warning
20        device   authorized   by  the  Commission  under  Section
21        18c-7402.1 that sounds automatically when an  approaching
22        train  is  at least 1,320 feet from the crossing and that
23        keeps sounding until the lead locomotive has crossed  the
24        highway.   The  engineer  or fireman may ring the bell or
25        sound the whistle or horn at a railroad crossing that has
26        a permanently installed audible warning device.
27             (b)  Speed Limits. Each rail carrier  shall  operate
28        its  trains  in  compliance  with speed limits set by the
29        Commission.  The Commission may set  train  speed  limits
30        only  where such limits are necessitated by extraordinary
31        circumstances effecting  the  public  safety,  and  shall
32        maintain  such train speed limits in effect only for such
33        time as the extraordinary circumstances prevail.
34             The Commission and the Department of  Transportation
 
                            -4-      LRB093 10237 DRH 10491 b
 1        shall  conduct  a  study  of  the  relation between train
 2        speeds and railroad-highway grade crossing  safety.   The
 3        Commission  shall report the findings of the study to the
 4        General Assembly no later than January 5, 1997.
 5             (c)  Special  Speed  Limit;  Pilot   Project.    The
 6        Commission and the Board of the Commuter Rail Division of
 7        the  Regional  Transportation  Authority  shall conduct a
 8        pilot project in the Village of Fox River Grove, the site
 9        of the fatal school bus accident at a  railroad  crossing
10        on  October  25,  1995,  in  order  to  improve  railroad
11        crossing  safety.   For  this  project, the Commission is
12        directed  to  set  the  maximum  train  speed  limit  for
13        Regional Transportation Authority trains at 50 miles  per
14        hour  at  intersections on that portion of the intrastate
15        rail line located in the Village of Fox River  Grove.  If
16        the  Regional Transportation Authority deliberately fails
17        to comply with this maximum speed limit, then any entity,
18        governmental  or  otherwise,  that  provides  capital  or
19        operational  funds   to   the   Regional   Transportation
20        Authority  shall  appropriately  reduce or eliminate that
21        funding. The Commission shall report to the Governor  and
22        the General Assembly on the results of this pilot project
23        in  January  1999,  January  2000,  and January 2001. The
24        Commission shall also submit a final report on the  pilot
25        project  to  the  Governor  and  the  General Assembly in
26        January 2001.  The provisions  of  this  subsection  (c),
27        other  than this sentence, are inoperative after February
28        1, 2001.
29        (3)  Report and Investigation of Rail Accidents.
30             (a)  Reports. Every rail carrier shall report to the
31        Commission, by  the  speediest  means  possible,  whether
32        telephone,   telegraph,   or  otherwise,  every  accident
33        involving its equipment, track, or other  property  which
34        resulted  in  loss  of  life to any person.  In addition,
 
                            -5-      LRB093 10237 DRH 10491 b
 1        such carriers  shall  file  a  written  report  with  the
 2        Commission.  Reports submitted under this paragraph shall
 3        be   strictly   confidential,   shall   be   specifically
 4        prohibited from disclosure,  and shall not be  admissible
 5        in  any administrative or judicial proceeding relating to
 6        the accidents reported.
 7             (b)  Investigations. The Commission may  investigate
 8        all  railroad  accidents  reported  to  it or of which it
 9        acquires knowledge independent of reports  made  by  rail
10        carriers,  and  shall  have  the  power,  consistent with
11        standards and procedures established  under  the  Federal
12        Railroad  Safety Act, as amended, to enter such temporary
13        orders as will minimize  the  risk  of  future  accidents
14        pending   notice,   hearing,  and  final  action  by  the
15        Commission.
16    (Source: P.A. 91-675, eff. 6-1-00; 92-284, eff. 8-9-01.)