PRINTER'S NO. 774
No. 692 Session of 1983
INTRODUCED BY CORNELL, NOYE, PETRONE, R. C. WRIGHT, NAHILL,
HALUSKA, J. L. WRIGHT, GALLAGHER, BLAUM, MICOZZIE, PERZEL,
GRUPPO, SAURMAN, ALDERETTE, McINTYRE, OLASZ, TELEK, FISCHER
AND ITKIN, APRIL 11, 1983
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, APRIL 11, 1983
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
2 Statutes, further providing that certain vehicles carrying
3 hazardous materials stop at all railroad crossings.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Section 3342 of Title 75 of the Pennsylvania
7 Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
8 § 3342. Vehicles required to stop at railroad crossings.
9 (a) General rule.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the
10 driver of any vehicle described in regulations issued pursuant
11 to subsection (c) or described in subsection (d), before
12 crossing at grade any track or tracks of a railroad, shall stop
13 the vehicle within 50 feet but not less than 15 feet from the
14 nearest rail of the railroad and while so stopped shall listen
15 and look in both directions along the track for any approaching
16 train, and for signals indicating the approach of a train, and
17 shall not proceed until it can be done safely. After stopping
1 and upon proceeding when it is safe to do so the driver of the
2 vehicle shall cross only in such gear of the vehicle that there
3 will be no necessity for manually changing gears while
4 traversing the crossing and the driver shall not manually shift
5 gears while crossing the track or tracks.
6 (b) Exceptions.--[This] Except for the vehicles set forth in
7 subsection (d), this section does not apply to any of the
8 following:
9 (1) Any railroad grade crossing at which traffic is
10 controlled by a police officer or flagman.
11 (2) Any railroad grade crossing at which traffic is
12 regulated by a traffic-control signal.
13 (3) Any railroad grade crossing protected by crossing
14 gates or an alternately flashing light signal intended to
15 give warning of the approach of a railroad train.
16 (4) Any railroad grade crossing at which an official
17 traffic-control device gives notice that the stopping
18 requirement imposed by this section does not apply.
19 (c) Regulations defining vehicles subject to section.--The
20 department shall adopt such regulations as may be necessary
21 describing the vehicles which must comply with the stopping
22 requirements of this section. In formulating the regulations,
23 the department shall give consideration to the hazardous nature
24 of any substance carried by the vehicle as determined by the
25 Hazardous Substances Transportation Board and to the number of
26 passengers carried by the vehicle in determining whether the
27 vehicle shall be required to stop. These regulations shall be
28 developed in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Public Utility
29 Commission and the Urban Mass Transportation Authority and shall
30 correlate with and so far as possible conform to the current
19830H0692B0774 - 2 -
1 regulations of the United States Department of Transportation.
2 (d) Mandatory requirement to stop.--Every truck and truck
3 tractor combination which carries gasoline, fuel oil, explosives
4 or other hazardous materials shall stop at every railroad
5 crossing. The driver of the truck and truck tractor combination
6 shall activate the vehicle hazard lights when stopping at the
7 railroad crossing. In addition, each truck and truck tractor
8 combination described in this subsection shall carry a written
9 warning as follows: "This vehicle stops at all railroad
10 crossings."
11 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
A20L75RW/19830H0692B0774 - 3 -