Weather Pileups & Chain-Reaction Crashes Illinois

Last Updated: October 25, 2026

625 ILCS 5/11-601(a) requires a speed that is reasonable and proper for the traffic and the highway. A speed within the maximum does not relieve the duty to decrease speed when a special hazard exists by reason of weather or highway conditions. 735 ILCS 5/2-1117 does not make the first driver liable for every later impact.

Speed in Weather

Section 11-601(a) provides that no vehicle may be driven on a highway of this State at a speed greater than is reasonable and proper with regard to traffic conditions and the use of the highway, or that endangers any person or property. The fact that the speed does not exceed the applicable maximum does not relieve the driver from the duty to decrease speed when a special hazard exists with respect to pedestrians, bicyclists, or other traffic, or by reason of weather or highway conditions. 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 source is P.A. 104-787, effective August 7, 2026. The section does not name a substitute number for the posted limit.

Several Impacts

735 ILCS 5/2-1116 bars recovery when the plaintiff’s contributory fault is more than 50 percent of the proximate cause, and it diminishes damages when that fault is not more than 50 percent. The source is P.A. 103-1053, effective December 20, 2024. Section 2-1117 makes defendants found liable jointly and severally liable for past and future medical and medically related expenses, except as provided in section 2-1118. A defendant under 25 percent of the stated total fault is severally liable for the other damages. A defendant at 25 percent or more is jointly and severally liable for the other damages. The section does not assign every later impact to the driver who struck first, and it does not say that each insurer pays only its driver’s percentage of the medical expenses.

Weather and a Government Defendant

745 ILCS 10/3-105(a) provides that neither a local public entity nor a public employee is liable for an injury caused by the effect of weather conditions as such. The listed conditions include wind, rain, flood, hail, ice, and snow. That phrase does not include physical damage or deterioration resulting from weather. Subsection (c) provides that nothing in section 3-105 relieves the ordinary-care maintenance duty in section 3-102. The section does not say that a missed salt run creates liability. The source is P.A. 84-1431.

745 ILCS 10/8-101(a) requires an action against a local public entity or its employees, other than an action described in subsection (b), to be commenced within one year from the date the injury was received or the cause of action accrued. The State is not a local public entity under section 1-206. A Court of Claims action covered by 705 ILCS 505/22(h) shall be filed within two years after it first accrues. Section 22-1 requires notice within one year to the Attorney General and the Clerk, and that notice is excused if the claim is filed within one year of accrual. Those periods are not one Tort Immunity Act deadline.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does a speed within the posted limit satisfy section 11-601(a) in bad weather?

No. Section 11-601(a) says that a speed within the applicable maximum does not relieve the duty to decrease speed when a special hazard exists by reason of weather or highway conditions.

Is the first driver liable for every later impact in the pileup?

Section 2-1116 measures the injured person’s own share. Section 2-1117 allocates the medical expenses and the other damages among defendants who are found liable. It does not assign every later impact to the first driver.

Does section 3-105 make weather a complete defense for a local public entity?

Subsection (a) bars liability for an injury caused by the effect of weather conditions as such. That phrase does not include physical damage or deterioration resulting from weather. Subsection (c) leaves the section 3-102 maintenance duty in place. The section does not say that a missed salt run creates liability.

Is there one government filing deadline for a weather pileup?

Section 8-101(a) is one year against a local public entity or its employees, other than an action described in subsection (b). A Court of Claims action covered by section 22(h) is two years after accrual, and section 22-1 adds a one-year notice that is excused if the claim itself is filed within one year.

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