Illinois roads are relatively safe by national standards, at least with respect to overall traffic fatalities. Like other states, however, Illinois has experienced a marked increase in distracted driving deaths over the last 10 years due to the increase in the use of electronic devices such as smart phones. In response, Illinois has enacted traffic laws that prohibit certain uses of electronic devices while driving. The civil lawsuit consequences of distracted driving could be even more serious in the event of an accident.
Illinois Distracted Driving Restrictions
In Illinois, school bus drivers and drivers under 19 are prohibited from using any kind of cell phone, even hands-free versions such as Bluetooth, speaker phones and headsets. Hands-free versions are also prohibited in school zones and highway construction zones. All drivers are prohibited from texting and using hand-held cell phones, except to report emergencies and a few other narrow restrictions. The fines are $75 for a first offense, $100 for a second offense, $125 for a third offense and $150 for fourth and further offenses.
The shoulder of the road is an acceptable place to use cell phones or text, and these activities are also OK if you are stuck in traffic, as long as your transmission is in neutral or park.
Keep in mind that you can be fined even if you aren’t using an electronic device if you engage in distracting activity such as eating while driving.
In the Event of a Distracted Driving Accident in Illinois
If you cause an accident through distracted driving the civil liability against you could be immense, depending on the severity of the accident and your degree of fault. If you are sued for personal injury or wrongful death and the other side can prove that
- you violated the distracted driving statute and that
- your violation was a substantial cause of the accident, you will be lose the lawsuit unless you can prove that either
- you acted reasonably under the circumstances or
- the other driver was at least 51 percent at fault for the accident.
If you can prove that the other driver was less than 51 percent at fault, the amount of damages you will have to pay will be reduced proportionate to the other driver’s degree of fault. Likewise, if you are the one who files the lawsuit, the other driver can defeat your claim or reduce the amount of damages he has to pay by proving that your distracted driving partially caused the accident.
Criminal Penalties
Criminal penalties are relatively uncommon in distracted driving accident cases. Nevertheless, since distracted driving is usually considered at least “ordinary negligence”, if your negligence was serious enough to rise to the level of “criminal negligence”, you could face criminal charges, especially if a death or serious injury resulted. The difference between ordinary negligence (justifying money damages) and criminal negligence (justifying a criminal conviction and perhaps even incarceration) is inherently subjective – in fact, in borderline cases the outcome might even depend on the persuasive abilities of your lawyer.
– Updated through September 1, 2016