(625 ILCS 5/Ch. 12 Art. IV heading) ARTICLE IV. TIRES

(625 ILCS 5/12-401) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12-401)

Sec. 12-401. Restriction as to tire equipment. No metal tired vehicle, including tractors, motor vehicles of the second division, traction engines and other similar vehicles, shall be operated over any improved highway of this State, if such vehicle has on the periphery of any of the road wheels any block, stud, flange, cleat, ridge, lug or any projection of metal or wood which projects radially beyond the tread or traffic surface of the tire. This prohibition does not apply to pneumatic tires with metal studs used on vehicles operated by rural letter carriers who are employed or enjoy a contract with the United States Postal Service for the purpose of delivering mail if such vehicle is actually used for such purpose during operations between November 15 of any year and April 1 of the following year, or to motor vehicles displaying a disability license plate or a license plate for veterans with disabilities whose owner resides in an unincorporated area located upon a county or township highway or road and possesses a valid driver's license and operates the vehicle with such tires only during the period heretofore described, or to tracked type motor vehicles when that part of the vehicle coming in contact with the road surface does not contain any projections of any kind likely to injure the surface of the road; however, tractors, traction engines, and similar vehicles may be operated which have upon their road wheels V-shaped, diagonal or other cleats arranged in such a manner as to be continuously in contact with the road surface, provided that the gross weight upon such wheels per inch of width of such cleats in contact with the road surface, when measured in the direction of the axle of the vehicle, does not exceed 800 pounds.

All motor vehicles and all other vehicles in tow thereof, or thereunto attached, operating upon any roadway, shall have tires of rubber or some material of equal resiliency. Solid tires shall be considered defective and shall not be permitted to be used if the rubber or other material has been worn or otherwise reduced to a thickness of less than three-fourths of an undue vibration when the vehicle is in motion or to cause undue concentration of the wheel load on the surface of the road. The requirements of this Section do not apply to agricultural tractors or traction engines or to agricultural machinery, including wagons being used for agricultural purposes in tow thereof, or to road rollers or road building machinery operated at a speed not in excess of 10 miles per hour. All motor vehicles of the second division, operating upon any roadway shall have pneumatic tires, unless exempted herein.

Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to prohibit the use of tire chains of reasonable proportion upon any vehicle when required for safety because of snow, ice or other conditions tending to cause a vehicle to skid.

(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)

(625 ILCS 5/12-402) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12-402)

Sec. 12-402. Sale or lease of siped or regrooved pneumatic tire. No person or organization shall sell or lease or offer for sale or lease, for use on a highway, any pneumatic tire, either original tread or retread, on which the tread is siped or regrooved to a depth equal to or deeper than the molded groove depth, unless the tire was constructed or retreaded with sufficient tread material and type of labels to permit such siping or regrooving. Such labels and siping or regrooving shall be in compliance with Part 569 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and after siping or regrooving the tire shall conform to that Part.

For the purpose of this Article, siped shall mean cut without removing material, and regrooved shall mean the tread groove pattern is renewed, or a new pattern generated, or both, without additional tread material being added.

(Source: P.A. 83-213.)

(625 ILCS 5/12-403) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12-403)

Sec. 12-403. Sale or lease of retreaded or "recapped" pneumatic tire. No person or organization shall sell or lease or offer for sale or lease, for use on a highway, any pneumatic tire produced or rebuilt by a process in which tread material is attached to a used tire, unless the tire, tread material, labelling and certification, before and after processing, conform to Part 571.117 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(Source: P.A. 83-213.)

(625 ILCS 5/12-404) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12-404)

Sec. 12-404. Sale or lease of pneumatic tire without marking. No person or organization shall sell or lease or offer for sale or lease, for use on a highway, any pneumatic tire that does not bear the special marking required by this Section.

(a) Regrooved or siped tire. In addition to the identification, labelling and certification required under Section 12-402, either the word "regrooved" or the word "siped" shall be branded on each side of a pneumatic tire on which the tread is either regrooved or siped, as the case may be. In the case of a tire that is both regrooved and siped, the word "regrooved" alone on each side shall suffice, although both words may appear on each side. Each branding shall be conspicuous but shall be sized, located and applied so as not to weaken or damage the tire or otherwise degrade the performance of the tire or shorten its useful life.

(b) Retreaded tire. In addition to the labelling, identification, certification and other marking required under Section 12-403, the word "retreaded" shall be branded or molded into or onto each side of a pneumatic tire that has been retreaded or "recapped". Each molding or branding shall be conspicuous but shall be sized, located and applied so as not to weaken or damage the tire or otherwise degrade the performance of the tire or shorten its useful life.

(c) New tire. The labelling, identification, certification and other marking required by Part 571.109 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations shall appear on each new pneumatic tire intended for use on a passenger car other than a multipurpose passenger vehicle. The labelling, identification, certification and other marking required by Part 571.119 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations shall appear on each new pneumatic tire intended for use on either a multipurpose passenger vehicle or other type of vehicle that is not a passenger car.

(Source: P.A. 83-213.)

(625 ILCS 5/12-405) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12-405)

Sec. 12-405. Operating condition of pneumatic tires. (a) Definition. The term "spare tire" as used in this Section 12-405 means any new, used or specially constructed tire that is either carried or installed for short term emergency use.

(b) Promulgated Rules. The Department shall promulgate rules concerning unsafe operating conditions of pneumatic tires. The rules shall be enforced by police officers by visual inspection of tires, including visual comparison with simple measuring scales or gauges. The rules shall include precepts and standards for determining unsafe conditions, including the determination of an effective depth of tread groove, and shall be based upon, to the extent that it is reasonable and practical, all provisions set forth in paragraph (d) of this Section.

(c) Use of Unsafe Tire. 1. No person or organization shall place, drive or move, or cause or allow to be placed, driven or moved, on a highway of this State, any vehicle equipped with one or more pneumatic tires deemed to be unsafe under a provision of paragraph (d) of this Section or a rule promulgated under paragraph (b) of this Section.

2. Exemptions. Any restriction stated in this paragraph (c) shall not apply:

(i) To a tire on a damaged, disabled, abandoned, or other unsafe or unwanted vehicle being legally towed, pushed or otherwise transferred to a repair, relocation, storage, salvage, junking, or other collection site;

(ii) To a tire on a racing or other competitive vehicle being legally moved or transported, not under its own power, to a lawful competition site or to a bona fide testing site; or

(iii) To a spare tire either carried or in short term emergency use for only such distance or time as is reasonably necessary to accomplish the repair or replacement of the damaged or unsafe tire for which the spare was substituted.

(d) Criteria for Unsafe Pneumatic Tires. A pneumatic tire shall be deemed to be unsafe if it has:

1. Any part of a ply or cord exposed;

2. A tread or sidewall crack, cut, snag, or other surface interruption deep enough to expose a ply or cord;

3. Any bulge, knot, or separation;

4. Tread wear indicators flush with the tread outer surface in any 2 or more adjacent tread grooves at 3 locations approximately equally spaced around the circumference of the tire;

5. A depth of tread groove less than 2/32 of an inch or less than 1/32 of an inch if on a motorcycle or truckster, measured in any 2 or more adjacent tread grooves at 3 locations approximately equally spaced around the circumference of the tire, at least one of which, in the judgment of the inspecting officer, is a location at which the tread is thinnest, provided that any measurement over a tie bar, tread wear indicator, hump or fillet is excluded;

6. A depth of tread groove less than 4/32 of an inch at any one location and the tire is mounted on the front wheel of a motor vehicle subject to the provisions of Chapter 18B of this Code, provided that any measurement over a tie bar, tread wear indicator, hump or fillet is excluded;

7. A marking which indicates that the tire is not intended for use on a public highway;

8. Been regrooved or recut below the bottom of an original tread groove, except in the case of a special "regroovable" tire that was manufactured or retreaded with thick undertread, identified and regrooved in compliance with the applicable federal standard in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and in compliance with each applicable Section of this Code; or

9. Other condition, marking or lack of marking that may be reasonably demonstrated to identify the tire as unsuitable for highway use, including inflation, load, speed or installation condition seriously incompatible with the tire size, construction, or other pertinent marking or feature.

(e) Sale, Lease or Installation of Pneumatic Tires. 1. No person or organization shall sell, lease, or offer for sale or lease, or mount, install, or cause or allow to be mounted or installed, for use on a highway, any pneumatic tire deemed to be unsafe under paragraph (d) of this Section or under a rule promulgated under paragraph (b) of this Section. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this Section, any person or organization offering a vehicle for sale or lease shall, prior to its being placed, driven or moved on a highway, correct any unsafe tire condition.

2. No person or organization shall sell, lease, or offer for sale or lease, for highway use, any pneumatic tire, or any vehicle equipped with a pneumatic tire, which has a depth of tread groove less than 3/32 of an inch; except a pneumatic tire on a motorcycle or truckster may have a depth of tire groove of not less than 2/32 of an inch. Groove depth shall not be measured where a tie bar, tread wear indicator, hump or fillet is located.

(f) Compliance and Enforcement. Any police officer, upon reasonable cause to believe that a person or organization has acted or is acting in violation of any provision of this Section, shall require the driver, owner, or other appropriate custodian to submit the tire or tires to an inspection. When so required, the owner or other appropriate custodian shall allow the tire inspection and the driver of a vehicle or combination of vehicles shall stop at a designated location and allow the tire or tires to be inspected or shall move the vehicle or combination to a location that is reasonably convenient and is suitable for such inspection.

(Source: P.A. 83-213.)

(625 ILCS 5/12-407) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12-407)

Sec. 12-407. Rules and regulations. The Department may promulgate rules and regulations to clarify or specify the requirements of this Article IV.

(Source: P.A. 83-213.)