According to Illinois law, reckless driving is not just a traffic offense. It is a serious crime that can include prison time. Therefore, it is important to know just what reckless driving is and how to defend against it if you are charged with it.

Unlike many traffic offenses such as speeding, which are defined by specific standards such as “a certain number of miles per hour over the limit,” the definition of reckless driving is more general. In the Illinois Vehicle Code, reckless driving is defined as driving “with a willful or wanton disregard” for others, or “knowingly” driving a vehicle up an incline to jump it. Without spelling out the specific actions that automatically establish reckless driving (save for taking your vehicle airborne), the law empowers the arresting officer and the judge to decide whether your specific behavior amounts to reckless driving.

For example, you could be charged with this offense if you are swerving when you drive, if you speed excessively, if you are texting and driving, or even if you just change lanes without signaling. The law’s keywords are whether you are driving “with a willful or wanton disregard,” or you “knowingly” take your vehicle airborne. In other words, if you knew that what you were doing was risky, but you intentionally did it anyway.

Even a brief inability to drive can interfere with your life significantly. Getting to school, work, doctor’s appointments, and even the grocery store can become quite a challenge when you are not able to drive yourself. Having a revoked or suspended driver’s license can be a nightmare for many Illinois residents, particularly those who live in more spread-out suburban areas. There are a number of reasons that the state of Illinois will suspend a person’s driving privileges - and not all of them have to do with the individual’s driving record. 

If you are facing a license suspension, there may be steps an attorney can help you take that could keep you on the road, or get you back to driving faster. It is very important that you refrain from driving while your license is suspended. 

What Are the Most Common Reasons for Driver’s License Suspensions in Illinois?

The steps you may need to take to regain your driving privileges will depend on the reason that your license was suspended in the first place. In some cases, there could be a waiting period before you are eligible to drive again. In others, you could be eligible for a special type of license that only allows you to drive for specific, necessary purposes. Reasons Illinois drivers may have their licenses suspended include: 

Several months ago, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered that the threshold for speed cameras placed around the city be dropped from 10 mph to 6 mph. Although it may seem like a small amount, that difference has resulted in a significant increase in the number of speeding tickets issued. This may be resulting in a nice financial windfall for the city, but for drivers, it has turned into quite an expensive headache, with some drivers receiving multiple speeding citations from the same camera, often within days of each other.

Chicago Speed Cameras

According to public records, there are 162 speed cameras located throughout the city. These cameras have been placed in 69 different safety zones that are within an eighth of a mile of a school or park. Fines for violations changed in March, when the city lowered the speed threshold. If a driver is speeding between 6 to 10 mph over the posted speed limit, they will be fined $35. If the driver is traveling over 10 mph, they will be fined $100.

In the first four months of the change, the city issued more than one million tickets. This was more than double the amount of tickets issued during the same time period in 2020.

In Illinois, speeding is a traffic violation that can have a variety of consequences depending on the extent to which a driver exceeds the posted speed limit. The majority of speeding tickets will result in fines of only a few hundred dollars at most, while aggravated speeding, defined as a situation in which a driver exceeds the posted limit by more than 25 miles per hour, is actually a criminal misdemeanor offense. However, speeding of any kind can also result in another consequence that you may not expect: the suspension or revocation of your driver’s license.

License Suspension Based on the Illinois Point System

In addition to any fines and other penalties assessed for a traffic violation, the Illinois Secretary of State’s office also operates a system in which each conviction for a traffic offense results in a certain number of points being added to the driver’s license. Many of these offenses involve speeding, and a more serious offense means a greater number of points assigned.

For example: