Senate Study Bill 1117 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON RIELLY) A BILL FOR An Act relating to railroads including hit-and-run motor 1 vehicle accidents involving a train and investigations of 2 railroad crossing violations, and providing penalties. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1963SC (3) 84 dea/nh

S.F. _____ Section 1. Section 321.262, Code 2011, is amended to read 1 as follows: 2 321.262 Leaving scene of traffic accident —— vehicle damage 3 only. 4 The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting 5 only in damage to a vehicle which is driven or attended by any 6 person or to a railroad train or locomotive shall immediately 7 stop such vehicle at the scene of such accident or as close 8 thereto as possible but shall forthwith return to and in every 9 event shall remain at the scene of such accident until the 10 driver has fulfilled the requirements of section 321.263 . 11 Every such stop shall be made without obstructing traffic more 12 than is necessary. Any person failing to stop or comply with 13 said requirements under such circumstances shall be guilty of a 14 misdemeanor and punished as provided in section 321.482 . 15 Sec. 2. Section 321.263, subsection 1, Code 2011, is amended 16 to read as follows: 17 1. The driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting 18 in injury to or death of a person or damage to a vehicle 19 which is driven or attended by a person or to a railroad 20 train or locomotive shall give the driver’s name, address, 21 and the registration number of the vehicle the driver is 22 driving and shall upon request and if available exhibit the 23 driver’s driver’s license to the person struck, the driver or 24 occupant of, or the person attending the vehicle , railroad 25 train, or locomotive involved in the accident and shall render 26 to a person injured in the accident reasonable assistance, 27 including the transporting or arranging for the transporting 28 of the person for medical treatment if it is apparent that 29 medical treatment is necessary or if transportation for medical 30 treatment is requested by the injured person. 31 Sec. 3. Section 321.344A, subsection 2, unnumbered 32 paragraph 1, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows: 33 A peace officer may shall initiate an investigation not 34 more than seven calendar days after receiving a report of a 35 -1- LSB 1963SC (3) 84 dea/nh 1/ 3

S.F. _____ violation pursuant to this section . The peace officer may 1 request that the owner of the vehicle supply information 2 identifying the driver of the vehicle in accordance with 3 section 321.484 , or in the case of a commercial motor vehicle, 4 the peace officer may request that the employer of the driver 5 provide information identifying the driver of the vehicle. 6 Sec. 4. Section 805.8A, subsection 14, paragraph h, Code 7 2011, is amended to read as follows: 8 h. Railroad crossing violations. 9 (1) For violations under sections 321.341 , 321.342 , 10 321.343 , and 321.344 , and 321.344B , the scheduled fine is two 11 hundred dollars. 12 (2) For a violation under section 321.344B, the scheduled 13 fine is three hundred dollars. 14 EXPLANATION 15 This bill addresses several issues relating to the 16 interaction of motor vehicles and railroads. 17 The bill amends Code sections 321.262 and 321.263 to require 18 that the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting 19 only in damage to a railroad train or locomotive must remain 20 at the scene and give the driver’s name, address, and vehicle 21 registration number and exhibit the driver’s driver’s license 22 upon request to the person attending the railroad train or 23 locomotive. This is similar to requirements for a driver 24 involved in a collision with another motor vehicle, a violation 25 of which is commonly referred to as “hit-and-run”. A person 26 convicted of a hit-and-run is guilty of a simple misdemeanor, 27 which is punishable by confinement for no more than 30 days or 28 a fine of at least $65 but not more than $625 or by both. 29 The bill amends Code section 321.344A to require a peace 30 officer’s investigation of every reported railroad crossing 31 violation by a vehicle operator. Currently, the initiation of 32 an investigation is optional. 33 The bill amends Code section 805.8A to increase the 34 scheduled fine for a railroad crossing violation by a vehicle 35 -2- LSB 1963SC (3) 84 dea/nh 2/ 3

S.F. _____ operator which creates an immediate threat to the safety of 1 a person or property from $200 to $300. All other railroad 2 crossing violations remain punishable by a scheduled fine of 3 $200. 4 -3- LSB 1963SC (3) 84 dea/nh 3/ 3