Chapter 10.24
EQUIPMENT
Sections:
10.24.040 Driving unsafe vehicles prohibited.
10.24.110 Blue oscillating, rotating or flashing lights.
10.24.130 Vehicle width, length and height – Projecting loads.
10.24.140 Signal lamps and signal devices.
For statutory provisions on equipment of vehicles, see 625 ILCS 5/12-100 et seq.
10.24.010 Clear vision.
It is unlawful to operate any vehicle which is so loaded or in such a condition that the operator does not have a clear vision of all parts of the roadway essential to the safe operation of the vehicle. Any vehicle with the view of the roadway to the rear so obstructed shall be equipped with a mirror so attached as to give the operator a view of the roadway behind him.
10.24.020 Smoke and fumes.
It is unlawful to operate any vehicle which emits dense smoke or such an amount of smoke or fumes as to be dangerous to the health of persons or as to endanger the drivers of other vehicles.
10.24.030 Unnecessary noise.
It is unlawful to operate a vehicle which makes unusually loud or unnecessary noise.
10.24.040 Driving unsafe vehicles prohibited.
It is unlawful for any person to drive or move or for the owner to cause or knowingly permit to be driven or moved on any highway any vehicle or combination of vehicles which is in such unsafe condition as to endanger any person or property, or which does not contain those parts or is not at all times equipped with such lamps and other equipment in proper condition and adjustment as required by statute, or which is equipped in any manner in violation of the statutes.
10.24.050 Brakes.
It is unlawful to drive any motor vehicle upon a street unless such vehicle is equipped with good and sufficient brakes in good working condition, as required by the state traffic law, or to operate any vehicle which is so loaded that the operator does not have ready access to the mechanics operating the brakes of such vehicle.
10.24.060 Horn.
A. Every motor vehicle shall be equipped with a good and sufficient audible signaling device in efficient working condition. Such signaling device shall be sounded when necessary to give timely warning of the approach of a vehicle, but such horn or other signaling device shall not be sounded for any purpose other than as a warning of impending danger.
B. No motor vehicle other than an emergency vehicle shall be equipped with a siren or gong signaling device.
10.24.070 Muffler.
No motor vehicle shall be operated on any street unless such vehicle is provided with a muffler in efficient actual working condition. The use of cutout is prohibited.
10.24.080 Nonskid devices.
It is unlawful to operate upon any street any motor vehicle with any nonskid device so constructed that any rigid or nonflexible portion thereof comes into contact with the pavement or roadway.
10.24.090 Tires.
It is unlawful to operate on any street any motor vehicle which is not equipped with tires conforming to the requirements of the Illinois State Traffic Law.
10.24.100 Lights.
It is unlawful to operate or park on any street any vehicle not equipped with adequate lights conforming to the requirements of the state law; provided, that vehicles may be parked at nighttime without lights on any street or portion thereof designated by ordinance as a place where vehicles may be so parked at nighttime.
10.24.110 Blue oscillating, rotating or flashing lights.
A. Blue oscillating, rotating or flashing lights, whether lighted or unlighted, are prohibited except on:
1. The front, or any part from the back of the front seat forward to the windshield, and said light may be permanently or temporarily mounted and covered or uncovered, of any motor vehicle owned or fully operated by a volunteer fireman, paid fireman, part-paid fireman or call fireman, such lights to be used only while responding to a fire call or other fire department emergency, or the vehicle of any volunteer, paid or unpaid or on call, member of a rescue squad responding to a rescue squad emergency or, if the fire department or a civil defense emergency medical services unit operates a rescue squad, its members on the way to an emergency call;
2. Vehicles of rescue squads when on the way to an emergency call; and
3. Police department vehicles in cities having a population of five hundred thousand or more inhabitants.
B. All oscillating, rotating or flashing lights referred to in this section shall be of sufficient intensity, when illuminated, to be visible at five hundred feet in normal sunlight.
C. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a manufacturer of oscillating, rotating or flashing lights or his representative from temporarily mounting such lights on a vehicle for demonstration purposes only.
10.24.120 Bicycle lamps.
Every bicycle, when upon a street during the period from sunset to sunrise, shall be equipped with at least one lighted lamp exhibiting a white light, or light of a yellow or amber tint, visible from a distance of five hundred feet to the front of the bicycle and with at least one lighted lamp exhibiting a red light visible from a distance of five hundred feet to the rear.
10.24.130 Vehicle width, length and height – Projecting loads.
A. The maximum width, length and height of any vehicle and its load shall not exceed the limits expressed in the Illinois State Traffic Law.
B. No passenger-type vehicle shall be operated on the street with a load extending beyond the line of the fenders on the left side of the vehicle nor extending more than six inches beyond the line of the fenders on the right side thereof.
C. No combination of vehicles coupled together shall consist of more than two units, but such limitation shall not apply to vehicles operated in daytime when transporting pipes, poles, machinery and other objects which cannot be readily dismembered, nor to such vehicles operated at nighttime by a public utility when engaged in emergency repair work; but such loads carried at night shall be clearly marked with sufficient lights to show the full dimensions of the load.
D. No part of the load of a vehicle shall extend more than three feet in front of the extreme front portion of the vehicle.
10.24.140 Signal lamps and signal devices.
A. Every motor vehicle and trailer having a gross weight in excess of three thousand pounds, including the weight of the trailer and the maximum load, shall be equipped with a signal lamp or signal device which is so constructed and located on the vehicle as to give a signal of the intention to stop, which shall be red or yellow in color, and signals of intention to turn to the right or left, all of which signals shall be plainly visible and understandable in normal sunlight and at night from a distance of one hundred feet to the rear but shall not project a dazzling or glaring light; except that a stop signal need be visible only from the rear.
B. Any trailer having a gross weight of three thousand pounds or less, including the weight of the trailer and maximum load, need not be equipped with such turn-signal device unless the distance from the steering wheel of the towing vehicle to the left outside of such trailer body exceeds twenty-four inches.
C. All mechanical signal devices shall be self-illuminated during the period from sunset to sunrise or when visibility is limited as to require the use of lights for safety.
10.24.150 Weight.
It is unlawful to drive on any street any motor vehicle with a weight, including load, in excess of that permitted by the State Traffic Law for driving on improved highways, or with weight distributed in a manner not conforming to such law, or in violation of special weight limits provided for by ordinance and signposted.
10.24.160 Spilling loads.
No vehicle shall be so loaded that any part of its load spills or drips on any street or alley in the municipality.