The Illinois Trili M 



Some Things Farmers Should Know About This New Legislation 



By Paul E. Mathias 



\^S^HE Illinois Truck Act passed 

 ^""Y^ t)y the last session of the 

 V_/ Legislature is a comprehen- 

 sive law covering all intrastate truck 

 operations. It affects every Illinois 

 truck operator. This law was spon- 

 sored by the Uniform Motor Vehicle 

 Laws Commission. Its provisions must 

 be complied with by March 1, 1940. 

 It applies not merely to trucks oper- 

 ated for hire but to all trucks, includ- 

 ing pick-up trucks and trailers of a 

 gross weight when loaded of more than 

 two thousand pounds, regardless of 

 the nature of the use. It has only 

 very limited exemptions such as gov- 

 ernment-owned trucks. In this article 

 we shall outline first, the provisions 

 affecting all trucks and then shall refer 

 to some of the provisions affecting 

 only trucks operated for hire. 



Effective March 1, 1940, all trucks 

 must comply with the five following 

 requirements : 



1. Certificate of Safety. The oper- 

 ator must submit his truck to a safety 

 test and secure an official certificate 

 of safety. The test will include the 

 testing and inspection of brakes, 

 lights, horns, reflectors, rear vision mir- 

 rors, safety chains, frame, axles, cab 

 and body, wheels, steering apparatus 

 and other safety devices and appliances 

 required by law for trucks. The law 

 contemplates that garages, service sta- 

 tions and others will qualify as official 

 testing stations and be in a position to 

 make these tests and issue the cer- 

 tificates. 



After March 1, 1940 the certificate, 

 which probably will take the form of 

 a sticker, must be affixed to the truck 

 whenever it is operated upon the high- 

 ways of the State. These tests are to 

 be made twice each year and effective 

 in 1941, the state motor vehicle license 

 cannot be secured without proof that a 

 valid and unrevoked certificate of safe- 

 ty has been issued for the truck. 



2. Public Liability and Property 

 Damage Insurance. Each truck is re- 

 quired to be covered by a public liabil- 

 ity insurance policy or indemnity bond 

 providing insurance or indemnity of 

 not less than $5,000 for any one f>er- 

 son injured and not less than $10,000 

 in the aggregate for all persons in- 

 jured, in any one accident. In addi- 

 tion, each truck must also be covered 



EFFECTIVE MARCH 1 A CERXmCATE FOR EVERY TRUCK 

 A safety teat, fiiiancial responsibility, name and address of owner painted on truck, 

 obedience to hours of labor, and observance of routing around cities will be required. 



by insurance or indemnity bond pro- 

 viding against property damage in 

 an amount not less than $5,000. 



Insurance policies or certificates of in- 

 surance are required to be filed with 

 the State Department of Public Works 

 and Buildings, which administers the 

 Act, by March 1, 1940. It is illegal 

 to operate the truck on the highways 

 of the State after that date without 

 having such insurance coverage in 

 force. 



3. Identification. Each truck must 

 have painted or otherwise affixed 

 thereto in a color contrasting to the 

 color of the truck the name and ad- 

 dress of the owner of the truck and 

 the maximum empty weight of the 

 truck. In addition, operators for hire 

 must carry the number of the certifi- 

 cate or permit number issued to them 

 under the Act. It is illegal to operate 

 the truck upon the highways after 

 March 1, 1940 without this identifica- 

 tion. 



4. Hours of Labor. It is unlawful 

 for any truck operator to require or 

 permit any driver or helper to operate 

 any truck for more than twelve hours 

 in the aggregate in any 24 hour period 

 or to be or remain on duty for more 

 than 15 hours in the aggregate in any 

 24 hour period. Whenever a driver 



or helper has operated the truck for 

 12 hours, or been on duty for 15 hours, 

 during a 24 hour period, he is required 

 to be given at least eight consecutive 

 hours off duty before again operating 

 the truck. The law authorizes the 

 EXepartment by general rules to fix 

 conditions under which trucks may be 

 ojjerated in excess of these hours in 

 case of emergency or unusual tempo- 

 rary demands for transportation. 



5. Routing. The law authorizes the 

 Department to designate routes around 

 or through cities and all truck trans- 

 portation originating outside the cor- 

 porate limits of the city and extending 

 without interruption to a point be- 

 yond the corporate limits of the city 

 must ofjerate over the route or routes 

 designated by the Department. The 

 provision does not apply to truck 

 transportation to or from points with- 

 in the city. 



Only Limited Exemptions 



As indicated above, the foregoing 

 requirements apply to all trucks re- 

 gardless of whether they are operated 

 for hire or are used only in the busi- 

 ness of the owner. The only exemp- 

 tions are motor vehicles used exclu- 

 ively for carrying United States mail 

 or used or operated for or under the 

 control of the U. S. Government; 

 (Continued on page 26) 



L A. A. RECORD 



