Vehicle Compliance

IDOT is responsible for regulating prescribed inspection criteria of vehicles that are conducted at approximately 200 Official Testing Stations located throughout Illinois. 

2nd division vehicles operated on Illinois highways are required by law to be inspected in accordance with established inspection criteria on a periodic basis. 

The following vehicles are subject to the Illinois Diesel Emission Inspection Program:

Intrastate diesel-powered vehicles that are: 

1. registered for a gross weight of more than 16,000 pounds, and
2. Registered within the affected area, and
3. Two year or older model year

The affected areas are the counties of: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Madison, McHenry, Monroe, Will, St. Clair, the townships of Aux Sable and Goose Lake in Grundy County, and Oswego in Kendall County.

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Automated enforcement uses cameras to capture images of vehicles and potentially the motorist committing a traffic law violation. The Illinois Vehicle Code allows for the following types of automated enforcement: Speed Enforcement by IDOT and ISP in work zones; speed enforcement in safety zones by Chicago DOT; Red Light Running (RLR) enforcement on state and local roads in 8 counties in the Metro East and Chicago area; railroad grade crossing gate violations; and school bus arm violations. Automated enforcement is intended to supplement traditional enforcement efforts and to assist in eliminating fatal and severe injury crashes and is part of the implementation of several emphasis areas within the Illinois SHSP.

Photo Speed Enforcement

Speed and distracted driving continue to be the leading causes of crashes in work zones. Photo speed enforcement in work zones was enacted into law to assist IDOT and Illinois State Police in its efforts to reduce the number and severity of crashes related to speeding in work zones. While work zone speeds and fines apply regardless of the presence of workers, photo speed enforcement can only be utilized when workers are present.

Red Light Running

Angle and turning crashes at intersections are the most severe. Running red lights contributes to these types of crashes. The Illinois Vehicle Code allows the following 8 counties to implement Red Light Running (RLR) Enforcement Systems: Cook, Lake, Kane, DuPage, McHenry, Will, Madison, and St. Clair. IDOT established a policy for local agencies to use when considering RLR cameras on state maintained routes.

School Bus Arm Law

Pedestrians are considered vulnerable users. Children can be more at risk especially in school zones and areas where children are being picked up and dropped off by a school bus. The Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/11-1414) (from Ch. 95 ½, Par. 11-1414) enacts law, commonly referred to the “school bus arm law”, on how motorists shall approach, overtake, and pass school bus. Illinois law was recently passed that allows for local agencies to use automated enforcement for the violation of the school bus arm law.

IDOT is responsible for regulating prescribed inspection criteria of school buses that are conducted at approximately 200 Official Testing Stations located throughout Illinois. School buses are required to be inspected at an Official Testing Station at least every 6 months or 10,000 miles, which occurs first. It is the responsibility of the owner/operator to have an inspection completed at an Official Testing Station when required. In addition to these inspections, over 5,500 non-scheduled “unannounced” school bus inspections are conducted by IDOT annually. Non-scheduled inspections are performed wherever buses may be maintained or stored.

The motor carrier program is a compliance program encompassing segments of an industry engaged in commercial vehicle operations in Illinois. This program conducts compliance reviews, safety audits and commercial motor vehicle inspections to attain an acceptable level of compliance with both state and federal motor carrier regulations. IDOT partners with the Illinois State Police to conduct the commercial motor vehicle inspections and public information and education outreach. To learn more information, please visit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website.

The hazardous materials program is a compliance program encompassing segments of industry engaged in the shipment and highway transport of hazardous materials in Illinois to attain an acceptable level of compliance with hazardous materials transportation regulations. To learn more, please visit Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration website.

IDOT administers the vehicle inspection program to ensure that second division vehicles are in safe operating condition and that vehicle inspection stations and personnel comply with program regulations. Approximately 260 Illinois Official Testing Stations perform interstate and intrastate truck, trailer and rebuilt inspections. Annually there are approximately 400,000 conducted vehicle inspections in Illinois.