SENATE AMENDED
PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 364 PRINTER'S NO. 1829
No. 334 Session of 1985
INTRODUCED BY J. L. WRIGHT, AFFLERBACH, KASUNIC, LASHINGER,
E. Z. TAYLOR, HERMAN, BOOK, PERZEL, GEIST, ARTY, PETRARCA,
MICOZZIE, DAWIDA, CIMINI, GREENWOOD, BOWSER, JOHNSON, TRELLO,
SIRIANNI, COHEN, GRUPPO AND COLAFELLA, FEBRUARY 12, 1985
SENATOR CORMAN, TRANSPORTATION, IN SENATE, AS AMENDED,
JUNE 24, 1985
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated <--
2 Statutes, requiring school buses to stop at all railroad
3 crossings.
4 CONCERNING TOLLS ON CERTAIN BRIDGES OPERATED BY THE DELAWARE <--
5 RIVER JOINT TOLL BRIDGE COMMISSION.
6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8 Section 1. Section 3342 of Title 75 of the Pennsylvania <--
9 Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
10 § 3342. Vehicles required to stop at railroad crossings.
11 (a) General rule.--Except as provided in subsection [(b)]
12 (c), the driver of any vehicle described in regulations issued
13 pursuant to subsection [(c)] (d), before crossing at grade any
14 track or tracks of a railroad, shall stop the vehicle within 50
15 feet but not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail of the
16 railroad and while so stopped shall listen and look in both
17 directions along the track for any approaching train, and for
1 signals indicating the approach of a train, and shall not
2 proceed until it can be done safely. After stopping and upon
3 proceeding when it is safe to do so the driver of the vehicle
4 shall cross only in such gear of the vehicle that there will be
5 no necessity for manually changing gears while traversing the
6 crossing and the driver shall not manually shift gears while
7 crossing the track or tracks.
8 (b) School buses.--Notwithstanding subsection (c), the
9 drivers of school buses shall stop before crossing any railroad
10 grade crossing or track or tracks of a railroad.
11 [(b)] (c) Exceptions.--[This section] Subsection (a) does
12 not apply at any of the following:
13 (1) Any railroad grade crossing at which traffic is
14 controlled by a police officer or flagman.
15 (2) Any railroad grade crossing at which traffic is
16 regulated by a traffic-control signal.
17 (3) Any railroad grade crossing protected by crossing
18 gates or an alternately flashing light signal intended to
19 give warning of the approach of a railroad train.
20 (4) Any railroad grade crossing at which an official
21 traffic-control device gives notice that the stopping
22 requirement imposed by this section does not apply.
23 [(c)] (d) Regulations defining vehicles subject to
24 section.--The department shall adopt such regulations as may be
25 necessary describing the vehicles which must comply with the
26 stopping requirements of this section. In formulating the
27 regulations, the department shall give consideration to the
28 hazardous nature of any substance carried by the vehicle as
29 determined by the Hazardous Substances Transportation Board and
30 to the number of passengers carried by the vehicle in
19850H0334B1829 - 2 -
1 determining whether the vehicle shall be required to stop. These
2 regulations shall be developed in conjunction with the
3 Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the Urban Mass
4 Transportation Authority and shall correlate with and so far as
5 possible conform to the current regulations of the United States
6 Department of Transportation.
7 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
8 SECTION 1. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER LAW TO THE CONTRARY, <--
9 WITH REGARD TO ANY EXISTING BRIDGE WITHIN THE DELAWARE RIVER
10 JOINT TOLL BRIDGE COMMISSION'S JURISDICTION AND CONTROL ON WHICH
11 TOLLS WERE NOT CHARGED OR COLLECTED IN 1984 AND WHICH WAS
12 FINANCED IN PART WITH FEDERAL FUNDS, THE COMMISSION MAY, IN THE
13 SAME MANNER AND TO THE SAME EXTENT THAT IT CAN DO SO FOR ALL
14 TOLL BRIDGES UNDER ITS JURISDICTION AND CONTROL, FIX, CHARGE AND
15 COLLECT FEES, RENTALS, TOLLS OR ANY OTHER CHARGES ON SUCH
16 EXISTING BRIDGE ONLY IF AUTHORIZED TO DO SO BY SUBSTANTIALLY
17 SIMILAR LAWS ENACTED BY THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA AND THE
18 STATE OF NEW JERSEY.
19 SECTION 2. THIS ACT SHALL TAKE EFFECT UPON THE ENACTMENT
20 INTO LAW BY THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY OF LEGISLATION HAVING AN
21 IDENTICAL EFFECT WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT, BUT, IF THE
22 STATE OF NEW JERSEY SHALL HAVE ALREADY ENACTED SUCH LEGISLATION,
23 THEN THIS ACT SHALL TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY.
A18L75VDL/19850H0334B1829 - 3 -