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


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-Chaptered.html



Public Act 100-0962
HB5632 EnrolledLRB100 20888 LNS 36393 b
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
Sections 2-112, 6-109, and 11-1421 as follows:
(625 ILCS 5/2-112) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 2-112)
Sec. 2-112. Distribution of synopsis laws.
(a) The Secretary of State may publish a synopsis or
summary of the laws of this State regulating the operation of
vehicles and may deliver a copy thereof without charge with
each original vehicle registration and with each original
driver's license.
(b) The Secretary of State shall make any necessary
revisions in its publications including, but not limited to,
the Illinois Rules of the Road, to accurately conform its
publications to the provisions of the Pedestrians with
Disabilities Safety Act.
(c) The Secretary of State shall include, in the Illinois
Rules of the Road publication, information advising drivers to
use the Dutch Reach method when opening a vehicle door after
parallel parking on a street (checking the rear-view mirror,
checking the side-view mirror, then opening the door with the
right hand, thereby reducing the risk of injuring a bicyclist
or opening the door in the path a vehicle approaching from
behind).
(Source: P.A. 96-1167, eff. 7-22-10.)
(625 ILCS 5/6-109)
Sec. 6-109. Examination of Applicants.
(a) The Secretary of State shall examine every applicant
for a driver's license or permit who has not been previously
licensed as a driver under the laws of this State or any other
state or country, or any applicant for renewal of such driver's
license or permit when such license or permit has been expired
for more than one year. The Secretary of State shall, subject
to the provisions of paragraph (c), examine every licensed
driver at least every 8 years, and may examine or re-examine
any other applicant or licensed driver, provided that during
the years 1984 through 1991 those drivers issued a license for
3 years may be re-examined not less than every 7 years or more
than every 10 years.
The Secretary of State shall require the testing of the
eyesight of any driver's license or permit applicant who has
not been previously licensed as a driver under the laws of this
State and shall promulgate rules and regulations to provide for
the orderly administration of all the provisions of this
Section.
The Secretary of State shall include at least one test
question that concerns the provisions of the Pedestrians with
Disabilities Safety Act in the question pool used for the
written portion of the drivers license examination within one
year after July 22, 2010 (the effective date of Public Act
96-1167).
The Secretary of State shall include, in the question pool
used for the written portion of the driver's license
examination, test questions concerning safe driving in the
presence of bicycles, of which one may be concerning the Dutch
Reach method as described in Section 2-112.
(b) Except as provided for those applicants in paragraph
(c), such examination shall include a test of the applicant's
eyesight, his ability to read and understand official traffic
control devices, his knowledge of safe driving practices and
the traffic laws of this State, and may include an actual
demonstration of the applicant's ability to exercise ordinary
and reasonable control of the operation of a motor vehicle, and
such further physical and mental examination as the Secretary
of State finds necessary to determine the applicant's fitness
to operate a motor vehicle safely on the highways, except the
examination of an applicant 75 years of age or older shall
include an actual demonstration of the applicant's ability to
exercise ordinary and reasonable control of the operation of a
motor vehicle. All portions of written and verbal examinations
under this Section, excepting where the English language
appears on facsimiles of road signs, may be given in the
Spanish language and, at the discretion of the Secretary of
State, in any other language as well as in English upon request
of the examinee. Deaf persons who are otherwise qualified are
not prohibited from being issued a license, other than a
commercial driver's license, under this Code.
(c) Re-examination for those applicants who at the time of
renewing their driver's license possess a driving record devoid
of any convictions of traffic violations or evidence of
committing an offense for which mandatory revocation would be
required upon conviction pursuant to Section 6-205 at the time
of renewal shall be in a manner prescribed by the Secretary in
order to determine an applicant's ability to safely operate a
motor vehicle, except that every applicant for the renewal of a
driver's license who is 75 years of age or older must prove, by
an actual demonstration, the applicant's ability to exercise
reasonable care in the safe operation of a motor vehicle.
(d) In the event the applicant is not ineligible under the
provisions of Section 6-103 to receive a driver's license, the
Secretary of State shall make provision for giving an
examination, either in the county where the applicant resides
or at a place adjacent thereto reasonably convenient to the
applicant, within not more than 30 days from the date said
application is received.
(e) The Secretary of State may adopt rules regarding the
use of foreign language interpreters during the application and
examination process.
(Source: P.A. 96-1167, eff. 7-22-10; 96-1231, eff. 7-23-10;
97-333, eff. 8-12-11.)
(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
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 at all times when it is reasonably necessary to
warn pedestrians and other drivers of the approach thereof
during such trip or journey, except that in a municipality
with a population over 1,000,000, the siren and lamp or
lamps shall be in operation 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;
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
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.)
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