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90_HB1021ham001
LRB9004321KDksam
1 AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1021
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend House Bill 1021 by replacing
3 the title with the following:
4 "AN ACT to require the use of certain safety equipment by
5 children when they are bicycle operators or passengers."; and
6 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
7 following:
8 "Section 1. Short Title. This Act may be cited as the
9 Child Bicycle Safety Act.
10 Section 5. Legislative findings and purpose.
11 (a) The legislature finds and declares that:
12 (1) Disability and death of children resulting from
13 injuries sustained in bicycling accidents are a serious
14 threat to the public health, welfare, and safety of the
15 people of this State, and the prevention of that
16 disability and death is a goal of the people of this
17 State.
18 (2) Head injuries are the leading cause of
19 disability and death from bicycling accidents.
20 (3) The risk of head injury from bicycling
21 accidents is significantly reduced for bicyclists who
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1 wear proper protective bicycle helmets, yet helmets are
2 worn by less than 5% of child bicyclists nationwide.
3 (4) The risk of head injury or of any other injury
4 to a small child who is a passenger on a bicycle operated
5 by another person would be significantly reduced if that
6 child sat in a separate restraining seat.
7 (b) The purpose of this Act is to reduce the incidence
8 of disability and death resulting from injuries incurred in
9 bicycling accidents by requiring that while riding on a
10 bicycle on the public roads, public bicycle paths, and other
11 public rights-of-way of this State, all bicycle operators and
12 passengers under the age of 16 wear approved protective
13 bicycle helmets; that all bicycle passengers who weigh under
14 40 pounds or are under 40 inches in height be seated in
15 separate restraining seats on the bicycle or in a trailer
16 towed by the bicycle; that no person who is unable to
17 maintain an erect, seated position shall be a passenger in a
18 bicycle restraining seat; and that all other bicycle
19 passengers not seated in a bicycle restraining seat shall be
20 seated on saddle seats.
21 Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act, the
22 following terms have the following meanings:
23 "Bicycle" means a human-powered vehicle with 2 wheels in
24 tandem designed to transport, by the action of pedaling, one
25 or more persons seated on one or more saddle seats on its
26 frame. Bicycle also means a human-powered vehicle designed to
27 transport by pedaling that has more than 2 wheels when the
28 vehicle is used on a public roadway, public bicycle path, or
29 other public right-of-way, but does not include a tricycle.
30 "Operator" means a person who travels on a bicycle seated
31 on a saddle seat where that person is intended to and can
32 pedal the bicycle.
33 "Other public right-of-way" means a right-of-way other
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1 than a public roadway or public bicycle path that is under
2 the jurisdiction and control of this State or a local
3 political subdivision of this State and is designed for use
4 and is used by vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or both.
5 "Passenger" means any person who travels on or is towed
6 in a trailer behind a bicycle in any manner except as an
7 operator.
8 "Protective bicycle helmet" means a piece of headgear
9 that meets or exceeds the impact standards for protective
10 bicycle helmets set by the American National Standards
11 Institute (ANSI) or the Snell Memorial Foundation.
12 "Public bicycle path" means a right-of-way under the
13 jurisdiction and control of this State or a local political
14 subdivision of this State for use primarily by bicycles and
15 pedestrians.
16 "Public roadway" means a right-of-way under the
17 jurisdiction and control of this State or local political
18 subdivision of this State for use primarily by motor
19 vehicles.
20 "Restraining seat" means a seat separate from the saddle
21 seat of the operator of the bicycle that is fastened securely
22 to the frame of the bicycle and is adequately equipped to
23 restrain the passenger in the seat and protect the passenger
24 from the moving parts of the bicycle.
25 "Tricycle" means a three-wheeled human powered vehicle
26 designed for use as a toy by a single child under the age of
27 6, the seat of which is no more than 2 feet from ground
28 level.
29 Section 15. Requirements for helmet and restraining seat
30 use. With regard to a bicycle used on a public roadway,
31 public bicycle path, or other public right-of-way:
32 (a) It is unlawful for a person under the age of 16 to
33 operate or to be a passenger on a bicycle unless at all times
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1 when the person is so engaged he or she wears a protective
2 bicycle helmet of good fit fastened securely upon the head
3 with the straps of the helmet.
4 (b) It is unlawful for a person to be a passenger on a
5 bicycle unless all of the following conditions are met:
6 (1) The person is able to maintain an erect, seated
7 position on the bicycle.
8 (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), the person
9 is property seated alone on a saddle seat (as on a tandem
10 bicycle).
11 (3) With respect to a person who weighs under 40
12 pounds, or is under 40 inches in height, the person can
13 be and is properly seated in and adequately secured to a
14 restraining seat on the bicycle or in a trailer towed by
15 the bicycle.
16 (c) It is unlawful for a parent or legal guardian of a
17 person below the age of 16 to knowingly permit that person to
18 operate or to be a passenger on a bicycle in violation of
19 subsection (a) or (b) of this Section.
20 (d) It is unlawful for a person regularly engaged in the
21 business of renting or leasing bicycles to rent or lease a
22 bicycle to or for the use of a person under the age of 16
23 unless one of the following occurs:
24 (1) The person is in possession of a protective
25 bicycle helmet of good fit at the time of the rental or
26 lease.
27 (2) The rental or lease includes a protective
28 bicycle helmet of good fit as required by subsection (a).
29 A fee may be charged for the helmet rental.
30 Section 20. Bicycle sales or rentals.
31 (a) A person regularly engaged in the business of
32 selling bicycles shall provide a purchaser of a bicycle with
33 a written explanation, either on the receipt of sale or on a
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1 separate form, of the provisions of subsections (a), (b), and
2 (c) of Section 15 and the penalties under Section 25 for a
3 violation and shall obtain the purchaser's signature
4 indicating receipt of the information.
5 (b) A person regularly engaged in the business of
6 renting bicycles shall require each person seeking to rent a
7 bicycle to provide his or her signature either on the rental
8 form or on a separate form indicating receipt of a written
9 explanation of the provisions of subsections (a), (b), and
10 (c) of Section 15 and the penalties under Section 25 for a
11 violation and whether a person under the age of 16 will
12 operate the bicycle.
13 (c) A person regularly engaged in the business of
14 selling or renting bicycles who complies with the applicable
15 requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of this Section is
16 not liable in a civil action for damages for any physical
17 injury sustained by a bicycle operator or passenger who is
18 under the age of 16 as a result of the operator's or
19 passenger's failure to wear a helmet or to wear a properly
20 fitted or fastened helmet in violation of the requirements of
21 this Act.
22 Section 25. Penalties; Bicycle Helmet Safety Fund.
23 (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this
24 Section, a violation of the requirements set forth in
25 Sections 15 and 20 shall be a petty offense punishable by a
26 fine of $30. The parent or legal guardian having control of
27 the minor whose conduct violates Sections 15 or 20 shall be
28 liable for the amount of the fine imposed under this Section.
29 Five dollars of each fine shall be allocated to the unit of
30 local government that issued the citation. The remaining $25
31 shall be deposited into the Bicycle Helmet Safety Fund.
32 (b) A person who violates this Act within 9 months after
33 the effective date of this Act shall receive a warning of the
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1 violation from the enforcing official, but shall not be
2 issued a citation. In the case of a first offense under
3 subsection (a), (b), or (c) of Section 15, the court may
4 dismiss the complaint and waive the fine upon receipt of
5 satisfactory proof that the convicted person has since the
6 date of the violation purchased or otherwise obtained, as
7 appropriate, a protective bicycle helmet or a restraining
8 seat and uses and intends to use the helmet or seat whenever
9 required under the appropriate subsection.
10 (c) A violation notice of this Act shall state that the
11 payment of the indicated fine, and of any applicable penalty
12 for late payment, shall operate as a final disposition of the
13 violation. Payment of the fine may be made by mail. The
14 notice shall also contain information as to the availability
15 of a hearing in which the violation may be contested on its
16 merits.
17 (d) The Bicycle Helmet Safety Fund is created as a
18 special fund in the State treasury. All interest earned on
19 moneys in this Fund shall remain in the Fund. All moneys in
20 the Bicycle Helmet Safety Fund shall be used by the Secretary
21 of State, subject to appropriation, to make grants to
22 not-for-profit organizations for the purpose of providing a
23 Bicycle Helmet Safety Hotline, bicycle safety and education
24 programs, and the availability of no-cost or low-cost helmets
25 approved by the American National Standards Institute or the
26 Snell Memorial Foundation. The purpose for the hotline shall
27 be primarily to provide access to no-cost or low-cost bicycle
28 helmets. Grants made under this Section are in addition to,
29 and are not substitutes for, other grants authorized and made
30 by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall not
31 use any portion of this Fund to administer the Fund.
32 Section 100. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
33 Section 5.449 as follows:
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1 (30 ILCS 105/5.449 new)
2 Sec. 5.449. The Bicycle Helmet Safety Fund.
3 Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect 60
4 days after becoming law.".