New Illinois young driver laws, Jon Wilcox Farmers Insurance

There are many new rules for young drivers in Illinois.
I have tried to get them all for you.

All occupants under age 19 must wear safety belts.
A loose occupant can KILL YOU! A good family rule is that all, including the dog, must be belted. A lose dog can be a lethal weapon in a crash!

Until age 21, two ( 2 ) moving traffic ticket convictions in a 24-month sliding scale period = at least one-month driver's license suspension. Suspension length determined by the seriousness of the offenses and the driver's prior driving history. An additional suspension results for each subsequent moving violation. Suspended drivers must attend a remedial education course, be retested and pay a $70.

Suspensions hurt for insurance reasons for FIVE full years.

Until age 19, cell phone use while driving is strictly prohibited except in an emergency to contact a law enforcement agency, health care provider or emergency services agency. Do not be behind the wheel when using the cell phone if possible. In Chicago (including both airports) cell phone use is only permitted over age 18 if hands free.

Texting while driving (making or receiving)is always outlawed for everyone regardless of age. It is the most dangerous thing you can do while attempting to drive. Just do not drive distracted by anything. Keep your eyes and mind on the road and your hands on the wheel at all times when not parked.

Until age 18 night time driving restrictions are in place 10 p.m-6 a.m.Sunday through Thursday, and 11 p.m.-6 a.m. Friday and Saturday, (local curfews may be stricter). If a young driver must be out during curfew hours they need a letter from their employer or coach stating they are required to be out at that time. Violators will lose their license.

Driver's License Suspension for Alcohol. A person under age 21 will receive a three-month driver's license suspension for any court supervision for possession, consumption, purchase or receipt of any amount of alcohol. Medications like NyQuil are risky as they contain alcohol. An open liquor container in the car will result in a 12 month suspension for the driver. All passengers will be cited. An open case of beer with one bottle or can missing is open liquor! A bag of cans including one empty beer can, going to the recycle center, belongs in the trunk with an adult driver.

Parental Access to Teen Driving Records - Parents may view their teen's (under age 18) driving record free through the Secretary of State Web site. Several security features will protect the teen's privacy and ensure that only the parents/legal guardians are granted access to the teen's driving record.

Street Racing - Driving privileges will be revoked for any person convicted of street racing, and law enforcement may impound the vehicle for up to five days. The village of Plainfield now owns a beautiful Viper clocked at over 100 mph in a 30 mph zone. 40 miles over the speed limit is a “class A misdemeanor” with fines of up to up to $2,500.00 and/or 1 yr in jail. Jail is not a nice place to be.

School zone and work zone speed limits are strictly enforced.

Permit Phase Drivers Age 15: Permit is valid for up to two years. Drivers must not acquire any driving convictions during the nine-month permit phase. Any moving violation will result in a 9 month waiting period before applying for a driver’s license.

Initial Licensing Phase - Drivers Age 16-17
Parent/guardian must certify that a minimum of 50 hours of practice driving, including 10 hours of nighttime driving, has been completed. Drivers must maintain a conviction-free driving record for six months prior to turning age 18 before moving to the Full Licensing Phase. Conviction of any moving violation before age 18 generates a Secretary of State warning letter to the parent and teenager. Any citation for a driver under age 18 will extend younger driver restrictions. For the first year of licensing, or until the driver is age 18, whichever occurs first, the number of passengers is limited to one person under age 20, unless the additional passenger(s) is a sibling, step-sibling, child, or step-child of the driver. After this period, the number of passengers is limited to one in the front seat and the number of safety belts in the back seat. Any moving violation conviction that occurs within the first year of licensing will result in a six-month extension of the passenger age limitation.

Sanctions: Limit one court supervision for serious offenses. To obtain court supervision, a driver must appear in person before the presiding court with a parent or legal guardian and must also attend traffic safety school.

Full Licensing Phase - Drivers 18-20. No age-related restrictions apply except in cases where a driver fails to move from the Initial Licensing Phase to the Full Licensing Phase.

Mandatory insurance: Minimum $500 fine for driving uninsured plus proof of insurance and a $100 reinstatement fee. I have seen fines up to $2,500. Your car may be towed and impounded (hefty charges) and your registration will be suspended until proof of insurance and the reinstatement fee are submitted for a first offense. Repeat offenders face a four-month suspension. A vehicle may not be driven by anyone while its license plates are suspended. The minimum fine for driving with suspended plates is $1,000.

Jon Wilcox Farmers Agent 630-515-0040

Motorcycle Safety

Drivers are switching to motor cycles(scooters) to save $$$. Even as the overall rate of auto deaths is declining, more cyclists are dying or becoming disabled. The best motorcycle driver can be a victim!

In most cycle death crashes the car or truck pulls from a side street or parking lot or makes a left turn into the path of the cycle. WHY? Because the car driver is not looking for anything smaller than a 2 door car and just does not see the bike. Daytime running lights on cars obscure the motorcycles, so that cycle lights-on is just not enough! Loud mufflers can not save you either.

Many years ago I put out a man on fire from a cycle/van crash. The van turned in front of him! He did not have a chance. The cycle driver was coated with gas from head to toe. He died! The van driver said: "I'm sorry, I did not see him." Well I'm sorry does not kick it! But I am sure sorry I put out the fire and kept him in misery for so long!

If a motorcycle has only has one headlight, you can improve safety by adding more headlights and/or a headlight mondulator. What does the modulator do? In the daylight hours, when you are most at risk, it causes your headlight to rapidly modulate from dim to bright and back to dim. Drivers notice the flashing light and give you your space. A federal study indicates it is best to have 3 headlights on a motorcycle. This increases the auto driver awareness of the cycle's presence on the highway. In my estimation a combination of the extra headlights plus a headlight modulator would be best.

A proper moudulator is legal in all 50 states and Canada. One legal model is Kisan PathBlazer found at URL: http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/product.asp?item=PB.

It costs less than $200 for most motorcycles, plus installation. It saved one cycle driver from me. I was crossing a road in with the sun in my eyes. At the last moment I noticed the flashing headlight and I stopped. This was 20 years ago. Since then I have only seen 3 modulators. One was mine and one was the lead police motorcycle in the funeral service moving President Regan's body to his library.

Is your life worth $200?

PS. Without a helmet, you are always at a much higher risk for severe injury or death, even when stopped. We had a cyclist killed when his cycle tipped over and he was not even moving! I have only had one person die in an auto incident in 41 years. There have been 6 motorcycle drivers or passengers!

Biggest mistake in chosing insurance limits.

The largest cost per thousand in your auto and home liability insurance is the first level of protection. Each added level is usually less expensive than the last and gives you more protection for the money you spend. Almost everyone I have insured was underinsured before insuring with me and Farmers. For most customers, the least expensive is the $1,000,000.00 Personal Liability Umbrella Policy.

The biggest mistake people make is not taking enough liability protection and carrying low deductibles for damage to their vehicles. This is especially true for homeowners or those with substantial assets. If you lose a few hundred dollars more in deductibles you can recover fast. If you lose a few hundred thousand dollars, due to injury to others, with low liability limits, it may take forever. You may be forced to pay 20% of your gross income until a judgement is paid off. And you cannot declare bankruptcy to get out of it. In most cases $100,000 per person, $300,000 per occurrence with $50,000 property damage and no deductible comprehensive, $200 deductible collision is MORE expensive than $500,000 per person/occurrence bodily injury with $500,000 property damage and $250D comprehensive, $750D Collision. Many insurers discourage you from carrying adequate protection. Less risk to the insurer.

Can an Umbrella policy make a really make a difference? Well, imagine the attorney for the widow of the deceased: There is a cash offer on the table for $1,500,000.00, because the at fault person had one million dollars in their Umbrella policy plus $500,000 in their Auto. If he convinces the client to settle, he gets $500,000 cash! If they go to trial it could last 3-6 years, and the witness or plaintiff could die. What would you advise your client to do if you were the attorney?

If there was $100,000 liability and the medical insurance for the injured took the first $63,000 under their "subrogation rights" this would leave just $37,000 for the widow. Wouldn't you be advising her to go after the assets of the other person? This could put the driver of the other car in financial disaster.
Which driver would you rather be? The one with $100,000 insurance or the one with$500,000?

Don't let a greedy insurance cmpany or an uneducated insurance agent convince you to underinsure.

Chicago area residents may contact Jon Wilcox, Farmers Insurance, in Downers Grove. 630-515-0040