Approaching,
overtaking, and passing school bus
Section 625 ILCS 5/11-1414
Sec. 11-1414.
Approaching, overtaking, and passing school bus.
(a) The driver of a
vehicle shall stop such vehicle before meeting or overtaking, from
either direction, any school bus stopped for the purpose of
receiving or discharging pupils on a highway, on a roadway on school
property, or upon a private road within an area that is covered by a
contract or agreement executed pursuant to Section 11-209.1 of this
Code. Such stop is required before reaching the school bus when
there is in operation on the school bus the visual signals as
specified in Sections 12-803 and 12-805 of this Code. The driver of
the vehicle shall not proceed until the school bus resumes motion or
the driver of the vehicle is signaled by the school bus driver to
proceed or the visual signals are no longer actuated.
(b) The stop signal arm
required by Section 12-803 of this Code shall be extended after the
school bus has come to a complete stop for the purpose of loading or
discharging pupils and shall be closed before the school bus is
placed in motion again. The stop signal arm shall not be extended at
any other time.
(c) The alternately
flashing red signal lamps of an 8-lamp flashing signal system
required by Section 12-805 of this Code shall be actuated after the
school bus has come to a complete stop for the purpose of loading or
discharging pupils and shall be turned off before the school bus is
placed in motion again. The red signal lamps shall not be actuated
at any other time except as provided in paragraph (d) of this
Section.
(d) The alternately
flashing amber signal lamps of an 8-lamp flashing signal system
required by Section 12-805 of this Code shall be actuated
continuously during not less than the last 100 feet traveled by the
school bus before stopping for the purpose of loading or discharging
pupils within an urban area and during not less than the last 200
feet traveled by the school bus outside an urban area. The amber
signal lamps shall remain actuated until the school bus is stopped.
The amber signal lamps shall not be actuated at any other time.
(d-5) The alternately
flashing head lamps permitted by Section 12-805 of this Code may be
operated while the alternately flashing red or amber signal lamps
required by that Section are actuated.
(e) The driver of a
vehicle upon a highway having 4 or more lanes which permits at least
2 lanes of traffic to travel in opposite directions need not stop
such vehicle upon meeting a school bus which is stopped in the
opposing roadway; and need not stop such vehicle when driving upon a
controlled access highway when passing a school bus traveling in
either direction that is stopped in a loading zone adjacent to the
surfaced or improved part of the controlled access highway where
pedestrians are not permitted to cross.
(f) Beginning with the
effective date of this amendatory Act of 1985, the Secretary of
State shall suspend for a period of 3 months the driving privileges
of any person convicted of a violation of subsection (a) of this
Section or a similar provision of a local ordinance; the Secretary
shall suspend for a period of one year the driving privileges of any
person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of subsection
(a) of this Section or a similar provision of a local ordinance if
the second or subsequent violation occurs within 5 years of a prior
conviction for the same offense. In addition to the suspensions
authorized by this Section, any person convicted of violating this
Section or a similar provision of a local ordinance shall be subject
to a mandatory fine of $150 or, upon a second or subsequent
violation, $500. The Secretary may also grant, for the duration of
any suspension issued under this subsection, a restricted driving
permit granting the privilege of driving a motor vehicle between the
driver's residence and place of employment or within other proper
limits that the Secretary of State shall find necessary to avoid any
undue hardship.
A restricted driving
permit issued hereunder shall be subject to cancellation, revocation
and suspension by the Secretary of State in like manner and for like
cause as a driver's license may be cancelled, revoked or suspended;
except that a conviction upon one or more offenses against laws or
ordinances regulating the movement of traffic shall be deemed
sufficient cause for the revocation, suspension or cancellation of
the restricted driving permit. The Secretary of State may, as a
condition to the issuance of a restricted driving permit, require
the applicant to participate in a designated driver remedial or
rehabilitative program. Any conviction for a violation of this
subsection shall be included as an offense for the purposes of
determining suspension action under any other provision of this
Code, provided however, that the penalties provided under this
subsection shall be imposed unless those penalties imposed under
other applicable provisions are greater.
The owner of any
vehicle alleged to have violated paragraph (a) of this Section
shall, upon appropriate demand by the State's Attorney or other
authorized prosecutor acting in response to a signed complaint,
provide a written statement or deposition identifying the operator
of the vehicle if such operator was not the owner at the time of the
alleged violation. Failure to supply such information shall be
construed to be the same as a violation of paragraph (a) and shall
be subject to the same penalties herein provided. In the event the
owner has assigned control for the use of the vehicle to another,
the person to whom control was assigned shall comply with the
provisions of this paragraph and be subject to the same penalties as
herein provided.
(Source: P.A. 91-260,
eff. 1-1-00; 93-181, eff. 1-1-04.)
