Illinois Cell Phone Laws

 Posted on July 26, 2013 in Personal Injury

It is important to know the laws of the road in your home state, but also the laws of any other state that you may travel to as well. Sometimes, however, it is hard to keep up on laws that are created after you have learned them a different way. That is most often the case for older drivers who took drivers’ education classes before cell phones were common or before cell phone had the capabilities that they now have.

Illinois’s cell phone laws for drivers include:

1. Bus drivers cannot use cell phones at all, handheld or hands-free (Primary law)
2. Novice drivers cannot use cell phones at all, handheld and hands-free (Primary law)
3. NO driver is allowed to text (Primary law)
4. NO driver can use a cell phone while in a school zone or in a highway construction zone

These laws were created to minimize the amount of crashes caused by distracted driving, which is a fairly recent phenomenon. The government of Illinois explained distracted driving and the dangers of it for all citizens to be aware and keep safe.

Distracted driving includes any activity in which the driver is engaged in that distracts him or her from driving, takes his or her eyes off the road or takes his or her hands off the wheel.

What many people do not realize or are not aware of is that even using a hands-free device is still very dangerous. By having a conversation with someone on the phone, even with your hands on the wheel, the driver will more easily miss visual and audio clues to help them avoid a crash.

Although many people assume that young drivers are the most at risk for being distracted on the roads, they are not the only ones. People under 20 are responsible for 16% of crashes, but that means the other 84% of crashes are caused by people over 20. The Illinois government website reported that over 800,000 vehicles are being driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone at any given time in daylight hours.

If you were unaware of the dangers of distracted driving or if you have been injured in a crash, contact a personal injury attorney for help now. Martoccio & Martoccio attorneys will help you fight for your injury in DuPage, Cook, Kane and Will County courts today.