ILLINOIS SECRETARY OF STATE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 16, 2003 CONTACT: Elizabeth Kaufman

Secretary of State Jesse White Alerts Drivers to New Laws
Affecting Motorists for 2004

CHICAGO — Secretary of State Jesse White is alerting motorists to new laws most of which will affect them beginning January 1, 2004.

"These new laws serve as important tools to help make our roads even safer for drivers throughout the state of Illinois," White said.

Some of the new laws include:

• New penalties for those under the age of 18 for driving with more than one person under the age of 20 in the vehicle (Senate Bill 58)
  After a person under age 18 receives a license, for the first six months of the license or until the person turns 18, that individual may not drive with more than one person in the vehicle who is under the age of 20. Exceptions include driving with siblings, stepsiblings, children, and stepchildren.

• New penalties for driving in the left lane when not passing on highways (House Bill 1574)
  This law prohibits excessive use of the left lane of a multi-lane highway.

• Updated penalties for not securing children under 8-years-old in child safety restraints (Senate Bill 54)
  This law says that whenever a person is transporting a child under the age of 8 (previously 4-years-old), the person is responsible for properly securing the child in a booster seat.

  It also says that every person, when transporting children from age 8 to 16, must properly secure that them in seat belts.

  Exceptions apply to children weighing more than 40 pounds traveling in vehicles that are only equipped with lap belts in the back seat. Those children must be transported in the back seat of a motor vehicle with the lap belts secured.

• Tougher penalties and mandatory minimum jail sentences for reckless homicide in a construction or maintenance zone (House Bill 3215) BEGINS JULY 2004

If a driver is found to have committed reckless homicide in a construction or maintenance zone, that person is guilty of a Class 2 felony (previously a Class 3 felony).

The new penalty means that if the person is sentenced to prison, that person would face a minimum of three to 14 years in prison.

If the driver kills two or more people in the construction or maintenance zone, the penalty would increase and the driver would face a minimum of six to 28 years in prison.

White also reminded drivers that the state's new primary safety belt law went into effect in July (Senate Bill 50). Individuals may be pulled over by law enforcement for failing to wear a seat belt. Previous to this legislation, law enforcement could not stop individuals solely for seat belt violations.