Bill Text: IL HB5632 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that an ambulance or rescue vehicle shall operate a siren and lamp or lamps only when it is reasonably necessary to warn pedestrians and other drivers of the approach thereof while responding to an emergency call or transporting a patient who presents a combination of circumstances resulting in a need for immediate medical intervention that is beyond the capabilities of the emergency responders using the available supplies and equipment.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-08-19 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 100-0962 [HB5632 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HB5632-Introduced.html

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100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2017 and 2018 HB5632 Introduced , by Rep. Christian L. Mitchell SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
625 ILCS 5/11-1421 from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-1421
Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that an ambulance or rescue vehicle shall operate a siren and lamp or lamps only when it is reasonably necessary to warn pedestrians and other drivers of the approach thereof while responding to an emergency call or transporting a patient who presents a combination of circumstances resulting in a need for immediate medical intervention that is beyond the capabilities of the emergency responders using the available supplies and equipment.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning transportation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing
Section 11-1421 as follows:
(625 ILCS 5/11-1421) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11-1421)
Sec. 11-1421. Conditions for operating ambulances and
rescue vehicles.
(a) No person shall operate an ambulance or rescue vehicle
in a manner not conforming to the motor vehicle laws and
regulations of this State or of any political subdivision of
this State as such laws and regulations apply to motor vehicles
in general, unless in compliance with the following conditions:
1. The person operating the ambulance shall be either
responding to a bona fide emergency call or specifically
directed by a licensed physician to disregard traffic laws
in operating the ambulance during and for the purpose of
the specific trip or journey that is involved;
2. The ambulance or rescue vehicle shall be equipped
with a siren producing an audible signal of an intensity of
100 decibels at a distance of 50 feet from the siren, and
with a lamp or lamps emitting an oscillating, rotating or
flashing red beam directed in part toward the front of the

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vehicle, and these lamps shall have sufficient intensity to
be visible at 500 feet in normal sunlight, and in addition
to other lighting requirements, excluding those vehicles
operated in counties with a population in excess of
2,000,000, may also operate with a lamp or lamps emitting
an oscillating, rotating, or flashing green light;
3. The aforesaid siren and lamp or lamps shall be in
operation only at all times when it is reasonably necessary
to warn pedestrians and other drivers of the approach
thereof while responding to an emergency call or
transporting a patient who presents a combination of
circumstances resulting in a need for immediate medical
intervention that is beyond the capabilities of the
emergency responders using the available supplies and
equipment during such trip or journey;
4. Whenever the ambulance or rescue vehicle is operated
at a speed in excess of 40 miles per hour, the ambulance or
rescue vehicle shall be operated in complete conformance
with every other motor vehicle law and regulation of this
State and of the political subdivision in which the
ambulance or rescue vehicle is operated, relating to the
operation of motor vehicles, as such provision applies to
motor vehicles in general, except laws and regulations
pertaining to compliance with official traffic-control
devices or to vehicular operation upon the right half of
the roadway; and

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5. The ambulance shall display registration plates
identifying the vehicle as an ambulance.
(b) The foregoing provisions do not relieve the driver of
an ambulance or rescue vehicle from the duty of driving with
due regard for the safety of all persons, nor do such
provisions protect the driver from the consequences resulting
from the reckless disregard for the safety of others.
(Source: P.A. 88-517.)