What is the law on failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident in Illinois?

by Sami Azhari on March 28, 2010

Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid an Accident

After a traffic accident, the person who the police officer believes is at fault will get a ticket for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident is a petty offense. A petty offense in Illinois is punishable by fine only, with a maximum fine of $1,000.

This ticket is a moving violation and will appear on a person’s driving record if there is a finding of guilt. Three moving violations in one year can result in a suspended driver’s license. For driver’s younger than 21 years of age, two moving violation in two years can result in a suspension.

The offense is based on the statute governing speed limits, 625 ILCS 5/11-601. The statute sets forth the speed limits applicable for highways and city streets (e.g., 65 mph on a highway and 30 mph for an urban road).

Failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident is defined as the following:

Speed must be decreased as may be necessary to avoid colliding with any person or vehicle on or entering the highway in compliance with legal requirements and the duty of all persons to use due care.

The issue is not whether the driver was exceeding the speed limit. A person could be going the speed limit and still be guilty of failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. The issue is whether the driver slowed down as necessary to avoid an accident.

A plea of guilty to this offense can be used to show fault if there is a lawsuit for personal injury or property damage.

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