Illinois law presumes that a driver who crashes into the rear of the vehicle in front of him or her is at fault for the crash. The rule complies with simple logic: the driver following behind another car is in a position to avoid a crash whereas the person driving in front is in no position to avoid getting hit from behind, in most cases.
Rear-end crashes happen in many ways. Drivers can cause a rear-end crash by falling asleep behind the wheel, while drunk, high, or both, texting, looking away from the road, tailgating, driving at a speed greater than the posted speed limit, or driving at a speed that is too fast for the weather or driving conditions.
Anyone driving in the Chicago area, and the higher populated areas of Illinois, knows that stop and go traffic is annoying and dangerous. People follow too closely and crash into the vehicles in front often. However, when there is a high volume of traffic on the highway, a rear-end crash can result in a pileup or multi-vehicle accident. The vehicle hit from behind could be propelled by the force of the crash into the vehicle in front, while cars following from the rear might not stop in time to avoid plowing into the wreck ahead.
The driver of the lead car can be responsible for a rear-end collision in some instances. As Chicago and other metropolitan areas install red-light cameras with greater frequency, more and more accidents are occurring at these intersections. Motorists who are going too fast will jam on their brakes to avoid running a red light. Even though the driver following has the responsibility to avoid a collision, the driver in front has a duty not to make sudden erratic maneuvers like stopping quickly or unexpectedly.
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