Public Act 095-0319
 		





HB1238 Enrolled
LRB095 08962 DRH 29153 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 
Section 12-815 as follows:
 



    (625 ILCS 5/12-815)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 12-815)



    Sec. 12-815. Strobe lamp on school bus. 

    (a) A school bus manufactured prior to January 1, 2000 may

be equipped with one strobe lamp that
will emit 60
to 120 
flashes per minute of white or bluish-white light visible to a

motorist approaching the bus from any direction.
A school bus

manufactured on or after January 1, 2000 shall be equipped with 
one strobe lamp that will emit 60 to
120 flashes
per minute of 
white or bluish-white light visible to a motorist approaching 
the
bus from
any direction.
 The lamp shall be of
sufficient 
brightness to be visible in normal sunlight when viewed 
directly
from a distance of at least one mile.

    (b) The strobe lamp shall be mounted on the rooftop of the 
bus with the
light generating element in the lamp located 
equidistant from each side
and either at or behind the center 
of the rooftop.  The maximum height of
the element above the 
rooftop shall not exceed 1/30 of its distance from
the rear of 
the rooftop.  If the structure of the strobe lamp obscures the

light generating element, the element shall be deemed to be in 
the center
of the lamp with a maximum height 1/4 inch less than 
the maximum height
of the strobe lamp unless otherwise 
indicated in rules and regulations
promulgated by the 
Department.  The Department may promulgate rules and

regulations to govern measurements, glare, effectiveness and 
protection of
strobe lamps on school buses, including higher 
strobe lamps than authorized
in this paragraph.

    (c) The strobe lamp may be lighted only when the school bus 
is
actually
being used as a school bus and: 


        1. is stopping or stopped for loading or discharging 
    pupils on a highway
outside an urban area; or


        2. is bearing one or more pupils.
and is either stopped 
    or, in the interest
of safety, is moving very slowly at a 
    speed:


            (i) less than the posted minimum speed limit, or


            (ii) less than 30 miles per hour on a highway 
        outside an urban area.

(Source: P.A. 91-168, eff. 1-1-00; 91-679, eff. 1-26-00.)

 

    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.