If you have been cited with a following too closely ticket you could be looking at a moving violation on your driving record. This type of ticket is a moving violation offense in Illinois which means you cannot afford a conviction for this ticket as it counts toward points on your driver's record. Additionally, you may not be guilty of this ticket. The Prosecution needs to prove every element of this offense beyond a reasonable doubt to render a guilty verdict. Therefore, you could have defenses or evidence indicating that you are not guilty of this offense. At Shastri Law, you will be provided with a DuPage County Tailgating Ticket Defense Lawyer to put on an effective defense, seek a dismissal or keep this ticket off your record. Additionally, we represent those ticketed in Will County, Kane County and Cook County.
If you received a Following Too Closely ticket, turn to Shastri Law for the representation that you need. Shastri Law offers a free initial consultation and will work with you to avoid the consequences of a conviction for this offense. Let's develop a legal strategy that meets your needs and goals. Contact us today for a free consultation with an experienced traffic ticket lawyer.
Illinois Law states that a driver shall not follow another vehicle "more closely than is reasonable and prudent". Additionally, the driver must be cautious as to the "speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway". Therefore, drivers must take into account the speed of other vehicles and traffic conditions of the highway when making the determination as to how much space to leave between cars. If driving conditions indicate enough space being given between the driver's vehicle and the vehicle in front, then enough space must be given. A perfect example could be icy conditions on the road. It may not be reasonable and prudent to leave a larger than usual amount of space between the driver's vehicle and the vehicle in front with such icy conditions on the road. That is because slippery conditions can cause crashes more easily. Most commonly, police officers will issue these types of tickets when they witness a car being driven very closely to the car in front of it. Therefore, this is the Tailgating ticket. If you received such a ticket, that means the officer is alleging you were following another car too closely than reasonable.
There is no direct answer as to what is considered "reasonable and prudent". It will be either for a judge or jury to decide if a driver was driving too closely to another vehicle in a manner not "reasonable and prudent". If you left enough space between the vehicle in front and believe you were driving in a reasonable and prudent manner, then you may have a defense under Illinois law.
There are other scenarios that may lead to a driver being cited with this type of ticket. The other examples are as follows:
Motorcades or caravans on the road outside of a business or residence district driving in such a manner that there is not sufficient space between each vehicle or combination of vehicles so other cars cannot enter in that space and drive without danger. However, this example does not apply to funeral processions. So, vehicles following other vehicles outside of a business or residence district must leave enough room for other drivers to drive in between without danger posed.
It is not uncommon for a driver to be issued other traffic tickets accompanying the following too closely ticket. Police officers can in their discretion issue more than one ticket to a single driver based on one incident. If there was a car accident, the police officer may issue this type of ticket and a Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid an Accident ticket to the driver. In this situation, the officer could be alleging that the driver (Driver A) was following too closely than what is reasonable and prudent to another car (Driver B) in the front. It therefore led to an accident, and that same driver (Driver A) did not reduce speed to avoid the collision with the vehicle in the front (Driver B). Receiving both tickets such as these would mean serious consequences to a driver's driving record and insurance rates. That is why it is important not to just plead guilty for convictions in traffic court and instead to have an experienced, DuPage County Following Too Closely ticket lawyer on your side.
Just like any other ticket, a driver may have defenses for this type of ticket. One defense could be that the driver did follow the "reasonable and prudent" standard and was not unreasonably following too closely to another car. Or, that the driver may not have been "following" another vehicle to begin with. For instance, say Driver A was on the road driving within the speed limit and kept sufficient space between Driver A's vehicle and the vehicle in front (Driver B). All of a sudden, Driver B unreasonably slows down to make it seem that Driver A is now tailgating Driver B. If a police officer only see's the glimpse of Driver A right behind Driver B, the officer may believe that Driver A was tailgating Driver B when in reality this was not the case. A defense can be made in court for a dismissal. This can be done by providing the testimony of Driver A so the Judge can understand the situation as a mistaken case of tailgating.
Additionally, some of these types of tickets are issued when the police officer has not observed the actual incident. In these situations, the officer has responded to the scene upon a call involving an accident. Upon interviewing all driver's and observing the scene, the officer may make the determination based on the investigation that Driver A was following too closely to Driver B. It may be the case that Driver B provided a statement to the police that Driver A was tailgating Driver B which led to an accident. However, this statement may be false. If false, it is crucial for Driver A to take the ticket to trial to cross examine Driver B's statements as false. At Shastri Law, we have tried numerous traffic tickets in both the bench and jury trial setting. As an experienced Tailgating Ticket Defense Lawyer, Shastri Law will put on your defense for this offense.
This citation is a moving violation with a maximum fine of up to $1,000.00. It is not a misdemeanor offense and is considered a petty, traffic violation. However, a conviction for this offense would result in 25 points against a driver's driving record. An adult driver who has accrued three or more moving violation in a 12-month span will be looking at a driver's license suspension. The Illinois Secretary of State will look at how many points a driver has accumulated when considering the length of a driver's license suspension. For adults, 15-44 points will be a 2-month suspension while 45-74 points will be a 3-month suspension and so on. For those under 21 years old, 10-34 points will be a 1-month suspension while 35-49 points will be a 3-month suspension. Therefore, if a driver has received this type of ticket with other accompanying moving violation offenses such as a Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid an Accident ticket, then the points will add up. Additionally, like other moving violations, a following too closely ticket conviction can lead to increased insurance rates and more money being paid by the driver to their insurance carriers. Therefore, it is key to contact an experienced traffic ticket lawyer. At Shastri Law, we have dealt with numerous traffic tickets and we use our experience to attempt to keeping any moving violation convictions off your driver's record.
Our firm specializes in traffic ticket defense and with our representation, you will have an affordable, knowledgeable, skillful and experienced traffic ticket lawyer providing an aggressive defense for your following too closely ticket. Give us a call today to speak with a DuPage County Following Too Closely ticket lawyer to discuss your ticket.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.