093_HB1780eng

 
HB1780 Engrossed                     LRB093 06538 LCB 06663 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 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  of  this  Code.
17    The photograph or other recorded image shall also display the
18    time, date and 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
 
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 1    Public  Act  92-98), the Illinois Commerce Commission and the
 2    Commuter Rail Board may, in cooperation with  the  local  law
 3    enforcement  agency,  establish in a county with a population
 4    of between 750,000 and 1,000,000 a 2 year pilot program using
 5    an automated railroad grade crossing enforcement system. This
 6    pilot program may be established at a railroad grade crossing
 7    designated by local authorities.   No  State  moneys  may  be
 8    expended on the automated railroad grade crossing enforcement
 9    system established under this pilot program.
10        (c)  For each violation of Section 11-1201 recorded by an
11    automatic  railroad  grade  crossing  system,  the  local law
12    enforcement agency having jurisdiction shall issue a  written
13    Uniform  Traffic  Citation of the violation to the registered
14    owner of the vehicle as the alleged  violator.   The  Uniform
15    Traffic  Citation  shall be delivered to the registered owner
16    of the vehicle, by mail, within 30  days  of  the  violation.
17    The  Uniform  Traffic  Citation  shall  include  the name and
18    address of vehicle owner, the  vehicle  registration  number,
19    the  offense  charged,  the  time,  date, and location of the
20    violation, the first available court date and that the  basis
21    of  the  citation  is  the photograph or other recorded image
22    from  the  automated  railroad  grade  crossing   enforcement
23    system.
24        (d)  The   Uniform   Traffic   Citation   issued  to  the
25    registered owner of the vehicle shall  be  accompanied  by  a
26    written  notice,  the  contents  of  which  is  set  forth in
27    subsection  (d-1)  of  this  Section,  explaining   how   the
28    registered  owner  of  the  vehicle  can  elect to proceed by
29    either paying the fine or challenging  the  issuance  of  the
30    Uniform Traffic Citation.
31        (d-1)  The   written   notice   explaining   the  alleged
32    violator's rights and obligations must include the  following
33    text:
34        "You  have  been  served  with  the  accompanying Uniform
 
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 1    Traffic Citation  and  cited  with  having  violated  Section
 2    11-1201  of  the  Illinois  Vehicle  Code.   You can elect to
 3    proceed by:
 4        1.  Paying the fine; or
 5        2.  Challenging  the  issuance  of  the  Uniform  Traffic
 6        Citation in court; or
 7        3.  If you were not the operator of the  vehicle  at  the
 8        time  of  the  alleged  offense, notifying in writing the
 9        local law enforcement  agency  that  issued  the  Uniform
10        Traffic  Citation  of  the  number of the Uniform Traffic
11        Citation received and the name and address of the  person
12        operating the vehicle at the time of the alleged offense.
13        If  you  fail  to  so  notify  in  writing  the local law
14        enforcement  agency  of  the  name  and  address  of  the
15        operator of the  vehicle  at  the  time  of  the  alleged
16        offense, you may be presumed to have been the operator of
17        the vehicle at the time of the alleged offense."
18        (d-2)  If the registered owner of the vehicle was not the
19    operator  of  the vehicle at the time of the alleged offense,
20    and  if  the  registered  owner  notifies   the   local   law
21    enforcement  agency  having  jurisdiction  of  the  name  and
22    address  of  the  operator  of the vehicle at the time of the
23    alleged offense, the  local  law  enforcement  agency  having
24    jurisdiction  shall  then  issue  a  written  Uniform Traffic
25    Citation to the person alleged by  the  registered  owner  to
26    have  been  the  operator  of  the vehicle at the time of the
27    alleged offense.  If the registered owner fails to notify  in
28    writing  the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction
29    of the name and address of the operator of the vehicle at the
30    time of the alleged offense,  the  registered  owner  may  be
31    presumed to have been the operator of the vehicle at the time
32    of the alleged offense.
33        (e)  Evidence.
34             (i)  A  certificate  alleging  that  a  violation of
 
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 1        Section 11-1201 occurred, sworn to or affirmed by a  duly
 2        authorized agency, based on inspection of recorded images
 3        produced  by  an  automated railroad crossing enforcement
 4        system  are  evidence  of  the  facts  contained  in  the
 5        certificate and are admissible in any proceeding alleging
 6        a violation under this Section.
 7             (ii)  Photographs or  recorded  images  made  by  an
 8        automatic  railroad grade crossing enforcement system are
 9        confidential and shall be  made  available  only  to  the
10        alleged  violator  and  governmental  and law enforcement
11        agencies for purposes  of  adjudicating  a  violation  of
12        Section  11-1201  of the Illinois Vehicle Code.  However,
13        any photograph  or  other  recorded  image  evidencing  a
14        violation  of  Section 11-1201 shall be admissible in any
15        proceeding resulting from the  issuance  of  the  Uniform
16        Traffic  Citation when there is reasonable and sufficient
17        proof  of  the  accuracy  of  the  camera  or  electronic
18        instrument recording the image.  There  is  a  rebuttable
19        presumption  that  the  photograph  or  recorded image is
20        accurate if the camera or electronic recording instrument
21        was in good working order at the beginning and the end of
22        the day of the alleged offense.
23        (f)  Rail crossings equipped with an  automatic  railroad
24    grade crossing enforcement system shall be posted with a sign
25    visible  to  approaching  traffic  stating  that the railroad
26    grade crossing is being monitored,  that  citations  will  be
27    issued, and the amount of the fine for violation.
28        (g)  Except  as provided in subsection (b-1), the cost of
29    the installation and maintenance of each  automatic  railroad
30    grade  crossing  enforcement  system  shall  be paid from the
31    Grade Crossing Protection Fund if the rail line is not  owned
32    by   Commuter  Rail  Board  of  the  Regional  Transportation
33    Authority.  Except as provided in subsection  (b-1),  if  the
34    rail line is owned by the Commuter Rail Board of the Regional
 
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 1    Transportation  Authority,  the costs of the installation and
 2    maintenance shall be paid from  the  Regional  Transportation
 3    Authority's portion of the Public Transportation Fund.
 4        (h)  The  Illinois  Commerce  Commission  shall  issue  a
 5    report  to  the  General  Assembly at the conclusion of the 5
 6    year pilot program established under subsection  (b)  on  the
 7    effectiveness   of  the  automatic  railroad  grade  crossing
 8    enforcement system.
 9        (i)  If any part or parts of this Section are held  by  a
10    court  of  competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional, the
11    unconstitutionality shall not  affect  the  validity  of  the
12    remaining parts of this Section.  The General Assembly hereby
13    declares  that  it  would  have passed the remaining parts of
14    this Section if it had known that the other part or parts  of
15    this Section would be declared unconstitutional.
16        (j)  Penalty.
17             (i)  A  violation of this Section is a petty offense
18        for which a fine of $250 shall be  imposed  for  a  first
19        violation,  and  a  fine  of  $500 shall be imposed for a
20        second or subsequent violation.  The court may impose  25
21        hours  of community service in place of the $250 fine for
22        the first violation.
23             (ii)  For a  second  or  subsequent  violation,  the
24        Secretary  of  State  may suspend the registration of the
25        motor vehicle for a period of at least 6 months.
26    (Source: P.A.  92-98,  eff.  7-20-01;  92-245,  eff.  8-3-01;
27    92-651, eff 7-11-02; 92-814, eff. 1-1-03.)