Key Takeaways
- Do not remove your helmet or gear until you are checked. Both are also evidence.
- Call the police for injury, death, or damage over $1,500.
- Keep the motorcycle. Do not let it be repaired or scrapped before it is documented.
- Get examined the same day, because riders absorb impacts that do not show immediately.
- Watch for a shorter deadline. One year against a public body or the CTA.
At the scene
Most of the advice given to drivers applies to riders too. What follows concentrates on the parts that are genuinely different when you were on two wheels.
| Step | Why it matters for a rider |
|---|---|
| Do not move unnecessarily | Spinal and pelvic injuries are common and are worsened by moving |
| Leave your helmet on until assessed | Removing it can aggravate a neck injury |
| Call the police | Required by 625 ILCS 5/11-407 in the situations below |
| Photograph the bike where it lies | Final position and damage are central to reconstructing the impact |
| Get witness details | Independent accounts counter assumptions about riders |
When you must call the police
Under 625 ILCS 5/11-407(a), immediate notice is required where the crash causes:
- Injury or death;
- Property damage over $1,500; or
- Damage over $500 where a vehicle subject to Section 7-601 is not covered by liability insurance.
A motorcycle knocked down almost always clears $1,500 in damage, so in practice a reportable crash is the norm rather than the exception.
If the other driver leaves, 625 ILCS 5/11-401 and 11-403 required them to stop, remain and give their details. That is dealt with in hit-and-run motorcycle accidents.
The 10-day report that no longer exists
Advice telling Illinois riders to file their own written crash report within 10 days is out of date. The driver’s written report under 625 ILCS 5/11-406 was repealed by Public Act 102-560, effective 20 August 2021. The surviving 10-day period belongs to the investigating officer under 625 ILCS 5/11-408. Your duty is the immediate notice under 11-407.
Your gear is evidence
This is the step riders most often get wrong, usually by cleaning up.
- Keep the helmet, undamaged or not. Impact marks show what struck what, and a helmet in the rider’s possession settles any later argument about whether one was worn.
- Keep jacket, gloves and boots, including anything cut off by paramedics. Abrasion patterns show how the rider went down and how far they slid.
- Do not wash anything. Paint transfer on gear can identify a vehicle.
- Photograph it all before it goes anywhere.
Do not let the motorcycle go
Insurers move quickly to inspect, value and dispose of a damaged motorcycle, and a rider in hospital is rarely in a position to object. Once the bike is repaired or scrapped, the physical evidence of the impact goes with it, along with paint transfer that may be the only means of identifying an unknown vehicle.
Say clearly and in writing that the motorcycle is not to be repaired or disposed of until it has been examined and photographed on your behalf.
Get examined the same day
Riders take impacts without the protection of a vehicle, and adrenaline reliably masks the result. Internal injuries, fractures and head injuries can present hours later. Any impact to the head deserves assessment even if the helmet appears undamaged.
There is a claims reason as well, and it is worth stating plainly: a gap between the crash and the first medical record is one of the most effective arguments an insurer has for saying the injury was minor or was caused by something else. That is answered by records, and the records only exist if you attend.
What not to do
- Do not apologize or speculate about fault. Riders are already presumed to have been going too fast; do not supply the material.
- Be careful with recorded statements to the other driver’s insurer, which you are generally not obliged to give.
- Do not accept an early offer before treatment is complete.
- Do not post about the crash, including photographs of the bike or of riding generally.
How these choices feed into a fault percentage is covered in comparative negligence for motorcycle riders.
Deadlines to watch
- Two years for personal injury, under 735 ILCS 5/13-202.
- One year where a local public entity or its employee is a defendant, under 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a).
- One year for personal injury actions against the Chicago Transit Authority, under 70 ILCS 3605/41.
- Five years for damage to the motorcycle, under 735 ILCS 5/13-205.
A crash involving a bus, a municipal vehicle or the condition of the road can therefore carry a deadline half as long as riders expect. See the Illinois filing deadlines.
Preguntas frecuentes
What should I do right after a motorcycle crash in Illinois?
Avoid moving unnecessarily, leave your helmet on until you are assessed, call the police where the law requires it, photograph the motorcycle where it lies, collect witness details, keep all of your gear, and get medically examined the same day.
Should I take my helmet off after a crash?
Not until you have been assessed, unless there is an immediate danger. Removing a helmet can aggravate a neck injury. Keep the helmet afterwards as well, since impact marks are evidence and having it settles any later argument about whether one was worn.
When must I report a motorcycle crash to the police?
Immediately, under 625 ILCS 5/11-407(a), where there is injury or death, property damage over $1,500, or damage over $500 involving an uninsured vehicle subject to Section 7-601. A motorcycle knocked down usually exceeds $1,500, so most rider crashes are reportable.
Do I have to file my own crash report within 10 days?
No. The driver’s written report under 625 ILCS 5/11-406 was repealed by Public Act 102-560, effective 20 August 2021. The 10-day period that remains belongs to the investigating officer under 625 ILCS 5/11-408.
Can I let the insurer repair or dispose of my motorcycle?
Not before it has been examined and photographed on your behalf. The bike carries the physical evidence of the impact and may carry paint transfer that identifies an unknown vehicle. Once it is repaired or scrapped that evidence cannot be recreated, so say in writing that it is not to be moved on.
Is my deadline always two years?
No. It is two years for personal injury under 735 ILCS 5/13-202, but one year where a local public entity or its employee is a defendant under 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a), and one year for personal injury actions against the Chicago Transit Authority under 70 ILCS 3605/41. Damage to the motorcycle runs for five years under 735 ILCS 5/13-205.
Talk to an Elmwood Park motorcycle accident lawyer
The things that decide a rider’s case are mostly settled in the first day or two: whether the bike was preserved, whether the gear was kept, whether anyone found the footage, and whether there is a medical record from the day it happened.
If you were hurt riding in Elmwood Park, Oak Lawn, Skokie, Niles, Orland Park or anywhere in Cook County, Lawyer Furqan will move to preserve the motorcycle and the footage straight away, and will check early whether a public body shortens your deadline.
Call 847-800-8978 or contact us online. The consultation is free, there is nothing upfront, and you owe no attorney’s fee unless we win.
Sources and authorities cited
- 625 ILCS 5/11-407(a) · immediate notice to police and the $1,500 and $500 thresholds
- 625 ILCS 5/11-401 and 11-403 · duty to stop, remain, inform and assist
- 625 ILCS 5/11-408 · the officer’s 10-day report; 625 ILCS 5/11-406 · repealed by P.A. 102-560, eff. 20 August 2021
- 735 ILCS 5/13-202, 13-205, 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a), 70 ILCS 3605/41 · deadlines
This article is general legal information about Illinois law, not legal advice, and creates no attorney-client relationship. What you should do depends on your own circumstances, and nothing here predicts a result.
