Senate File 68 - Introduced





                                       SENATE FILE       
                                       BY  HECKROTH


    Passed Senate, Date               Passed House,  Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act prohibiting the use of certain motor vehicle lights under
  2    fair weather conditions during daylight hours and providing a
  3    penalty.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  5 TLSB 1470SS 83
  6 dea/nh/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  321.416  LIGHTING RESTRICTIONS
  1  2 DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS AND FAIR WEATHER CONDITIONS.
  1  3    1.  Except during the times specified in section 321.384,
  1  4 subsection 1, a person operating a motor vehicle on a highway
  1  5 shall not use the uppermost distribution of light, or
  1  6 composite beam specified in section 321.409, subsection 1, an
  1  7 auxiliary lamp, spot lamp, or any other lamp on the front of
  1  8 the vehicle other than a lamp projecting the lowermost
  1  9 distribution of light, or composite beam, specified in section
  1 10 321.409, subsection 2, or a directional signal device
  1 11 specified in section 321.317.
  1 12    2.  A person convicted of a violation of this section is
  1 13 guilty of a simple misdemeanor punishable as a scheduled
  1 14 violation under section 805.8A, subsection 3, paragraph "d".
  1 15    Sec. 2.  Section 805.8A, subsection 3, paragraph d, Code
  1 16 2009, is amended to read as follows:
  1 17    d.  For violations of sections 321.383, 321.384, 321.385,
  1 18 321.398, 321.402, 321.403, 321.404, 321.409, 321.415, 321.416,
  1 19 321.419, 321.420, 321.421, 321.423, and 321.433, the scheduled
  1 20 fine is twenty dollars.
  1 21                           EXPLANATION
  1 22    This bill limits the use of certain front=mounted lights on
  1 23 motor vehicles to those times of day when the use of head
  1 24 lamps is required.  Currently, a driver must use head lamps
  1 25 during the period from sunset to sunrise and at other times
  1 26 when conditions such as fog, snow, sleet, or rain provide
  1 27 insufficient lighting to render clearly discernable persons
  1 28 and vehicles on the highway at a distance of 500 feet ahead.
  1 29 Under the bill, the use of high=beam headlamps, auxiliary
  1 30 lamps, spot lamps, or any lamp of greater intensity than the
  1 31 vehicle's low=beam headlamps is prohibited from sunrise to
  1 32 sunset under fair weather conditions.
  1 33    A violation is a simple misdemeanor punishable by a
  1 34 scheduled fine of $20.  This is the same penalty that
  1 35 currently applies for similar vehicle lighting violations.
  2  1 LSB 1470SS 83
  2  2 dea/nh/5