Section 1030.84  Vehicle Inspection

 

a)         An applicant, who is required to take the road test, as defined in Section 1030.85, must provide a representative vehicle for the test.  The vehicle will be safety inspected by an examiner prior to the road test.  A vehicle that is not properly equipped or that does not have equipment in safe operating order will be rejected for use in the road test.  The following equipment shall be safety inspected as required for the type of representative vehicles being used to administer the road test:

 

1)         Registration plates shall be attached or affixed to the motor vehicle pursuant to IVC Section 3-413.  The owner of a vehicle who does not have registration plates and/or a registration sticker shall present proper documentation, pursuant to IVC Section 3-407, showing that proper registration has been applied for, prior to use of the vehicle for road test.

 

2)         When lighted lamps are required pursuant to IVC Section 12-201(b) for the road test, motor vehicles shall have mounted, exhibit and operate such lamps pursuant to IVC Sections 12-201, 12-202, 12-204, 12-205, 12-207, 12-208, 12-209, 12-210 and/or 12-215.  A motorized pedalcycle must have mounted and display a lamp and reflector as required in IVC Section 11-1507.1.

 

3)         When windshield wipers are required pursuant to IVC Section 12-503(d), they must be in proper operating condition.

 

4)         The horn must be in proper working order pursuant to IVC Section 12-601.  Horns do not include a siren, whistle or bell.

 

5)         No person shall drive a motor vehicle with any sign, poster, window application, reflective material or nonreflective material upon the front windshield, sidewings or side windows immediately adjacent to each side of the driver that materially obstructs, obscures or impairs the view from within or without the vehicle.  No person shall drive a motor vehicle with any objects placed or suspended between the driver and the front windshield or rear window that materially obstruct the driver's view.  No person shall drive a motor vehicle when the windshield or side or rear windows are in such defective condition or repair as to materially impair the driver's view to the front, side or rear.  A vehicle equipped with an unobstructed rearview mirror will be deemed to be in compliance in the event the rear window of the vehicle is materially obscured (see IVC Section 12-503).

 

6)         No vehicle may be used for the road test if one or more tires are unsafe as defined in IVC Section 12-405.  A vehicle equipped with metal studded tires may not be used for the road test.

 

7)         The service brakes, foot or hand operated, must be in a condition that allows activation with one movement of the activating device.  All First and Second Division vehicles must be equipped with an operable emergency brake.  A Class M motorcycle shall have two methods of braking.  A Class L motor-driven cycle or pedalcycle shall have at least one method of braking.

 

8)         Each driver and front seat passenger of a 1965 or later model motor vehicle operated on a street or highway in this State shall wear a properly adjusted and fastened seat safety belt pursuant to IVC Section 12-603.1.  Such requirements shall not apply to a driver possessing a written statement from a physician that the person is unable, for medical or physical reasons, to wear a seat safety belt, or to certain motor vehicles that are not required to be equipped with seat safety belts under 49 CFR 393.93.  A retractable lap seat belt shall be provided for the driver of a school bus and must be used by the driver at all times while the bus is being operated, as required by IVC Section 12-807.

 

9)         Every motor vehicle shall be equipped with a mirror so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of the motor vehicle.  A rectangular rearview mirror shall be located on the right and left sides of each Second Division school bus forward of the driver's seat.  The mirrors shall have a minimum horizontal dimension of five  inches and a minimum vertical dimension of 10 inches.

 

10)        The seat for the person giving the test must be securely affixed in a location that assures the examiner's safety and allows the examiner to perform proper scoring of the road test pursuant to Section 1030.85.  The seat must be free from excessive soil or grease and should have no protruding springs.  Vehicles must not have loose objects on the seats or floors that could pose a danger to the driver or examiner.

 

11)        The steering wheel must not be broken or have any part missing.  The steering wheel when worked back and forth shall not have more than 5-10 degrees of free play (approximately 2" at the rim of a 20" steering wheel).  Vehicles that have excessive free play (more than 10 degrees) in the steering mechanism shall be rejected as unsafe.  Free play is the degree of movement the steering wheel must have before the front wheels move.

 

12)        Both front vehicle doors must be operable from the inside and outside of the vehicle with the standard latching mechanism.  Doors may not be wired or strapped shut.

 

13)        Every motor vehicle of a width or design that would not allow hand signals to be adequately visible from the front and rear shall be equipped with an electric turn signal device that indicates the intention of the driver to turn to the right or to the left.  The signaling device shall be in the form of flashing red or amber lights located at the rear of the vehicle on the side toward which the turn is to be made, mounted on the same level and as widely spaced laterally as practicable.  Turn signal lamps must be visible from a distance of not less than 300 feet in normal sunlight.

 

14)        Any motor vehicle or combination vehicle that operates with air brakes must have air brake hoses that are free from breaks, leaks or bulges that may prevent or hinder the safe operation of the vehicle braking system. Any motor vehicle or combination vehicle that operates with air brakes will not be permitted to be used for the road test if the air pressure gauge reading fails to maintain 95 pounds per square inch pressure during normal pressure buildup.

 

15)        Three safety flags, flares, fuses or reflectors shall be provided in all Second Division vehicles as described in IVC Section 12-702.

 

16)        An operating speedometer shall be mounted in all vehicles designated as a school bus in a manner that it is readable to the seated driver.

 

17)        The emergency doors at the front and the rear of a designated school bus should open from the inside.  The latch must be in operable condition.  An alarm system that is visible and audible to the driver must be activated when the engine is running and the emergency door is unlatched.

 

18)        One fire extinguisher shall be located in a position readily accessible to the driver of a school bus pursuant to IVC Section 12-808.

 

19)        A school bus shall carry a removable and readily identifiable first aid and bodily fluid kit, mounted in full view of and readily accessible to the driver as required by IVC Section 12-809.

 

20)        All school buses shall be equipped with an 8-lamp flashing signal system consisting of two alternately flashing red signal lights and two flashing yellow signal lights mounted at the front and rear of the bus as required by IVC Section 12-805.  Each signal lamp shall be a sealed beam at least 5½ inches in diameter and shall have sufficient intensity to be visible at 500 feet in normal sunlight.  The system shall be actuated only by means of a manual switch.  There shall be a device for indicating to the driver that the system is operating properly or is inoperative.

 

21)        All Second Division vehicles, as required by IVC Section 12-202, shall have mounted and properly display clearance, identification and side marker lamps.  The lamps shall be illuminated for the road test, during periods when headlamps are required by IVC Section 12-201.

 

22)        A stop arm shall be placed on the driver's side of each Second Division school bus and may be operated either manually or mechanically.  The design of this stop arm shall comply with IVC Section 12-803.

 

23)        The tailpipes of each Second Division school bus should extend beyond the rear end of the chassis frame at least one inch, but not beyond the rear of the bumper.

 

24)        A religious organization bus or senior citizen transportation vehicle may be of any color and have any markings designating its purpose other than those required for school buses pursuant to IVC Sections 12-801, 12-802, 12-804 and 12-806.  A road test, for a religious organization bus or senior citizen transportation vehicle restriction, may be administered in any vehicle of the proper representative type for the license restriction (see Section 1030.92).

 

25)        No person shall operate any motorcycle, motor-driven cycle or pedalcycle for the road test with handlebars higher than the height of the shoulders of the operator when seated in the upright driving position.

 

26)        The operator of a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle or pedalcycle used for the road test shall be protected by glasses, goggles or a transparent shield pursuant to IVC Section 11-1404.

 

27)        Second Division vehicles or medical transport vehicles shall display a certificate of safety then in effect pursuant to IVC Sections 13-111 and 13-114, except that those vehicles displaying a Department of Transportation federal census number on the side of the vehicle shall not require the certificate.

 

28)       No vehicle may be used for a road test that has any lighting or combination of lighting with a smoked or tinted lens or cover per IVC Section 12-212.

 

b)         Prior to taking a road test, as defined in Section 1030.85, each applicant shall provide proof of insurance for the vehicle to be used for the road test or demonstrate that the vehicle falls within an exception to mandatory insurance requirements set forth in IVC Section 7-601.

 

c)         If the applicant refuses to execute or fails to comply with this Section, then no road test shall be given to the applicant in that vehicle until such time as the applicant complies.

 

(Source:  Amended at 45 Ill. Reg. 9472, effective July 7, 2021)