Snow or Ice Car Accident in Illinois: Who Is at Fault?

The short answer

When a car slides on snow or ice and hits you in Illinois, the driver who lost control is usually at fault. Illinois law expects drivers to adjust to winter roads, so “the roads were icy” explains the crash but rarely excuses it.

The real question is whether the driver did what a reasonably careful person would have done in that weather: slowed down, left extra room and kept the windows clear. Often fault is shared, and a snowplow or other government vehicle changes the deadlines. For fault in ordinary conditions, see how fault is decided in an Illinois car accident.

Why “the roads were icy” is not a defense

Illinois judges tell juries that every driver has a duty “to exercise ordinary care at all times to avoid placing others in danger and to exercise ordinary care at all times to avoid a collision.” That is Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction 70.01, the instruction for drivers on public roads. Ordinary care means the care “a reasonably careful person would use under circumstances similar to those shown by the evidence” (IPI 10.02).

The circumstances include the weather. The weather does not lower the standard; it changes what the standard requires.

The Illinois Vehicle Code says the same thing. Under 625 ILCS 5/11-601(a), no one may drive faster than is “reasonable and proper” for traffic and road conditions, and staying under the speed limit “does not relieve the driver from the duty to decrease speed” when a special hazard exists “by reason of weather or highway conditions.” A driver doing 30 in a 30 zone on glare ice can still be breaking the law.

The traffic rules that decide most winter crashes

Besides speed for conditions, three more sections of the Vehicle Code come up again and again after a snow or ice crash:

• Following distance. A driver may not follow “more closely than is reasonable and prudent,” with regard for speed, traffic “and the condition of the highway” (625 ILCS 5/11-710). The safe gap on ice is longer than the safe gap on dry pavement.
• Clear windows. No one may drive with “snow, ice, moisture, or other material on any of the windows or mirrors” that materially blocks the driver’s clear view of the road (625 ILCS 5/12-503(d)). Driving off with a peephole scraped in the windshield breaks this rule.
• Headlights. Headlights must be on when rain, snow or fog requires windshield wipers, and whenever people and vehicles are not clearly visible at 1,000 feet (625 ILCS 5/12-201(b)).

A broken rule does not decide the case on its own, but it carries weight. Violating a safety statute is prima facie evidence of negligence, which the driver can rebut by showing they acted reasonably anyway, and the violation must still have caused the crash (IPI 60.01 and the chapter introduction).

Who is usually at fault in common winter crashes

Every case turns on its facts, but the same patterns repeat each winter. Here is where fault usually starts.

What happened	Who is usually at fault	The rule that usually decides it
A car slid into the back of yours at a light	The following driver, in most cases	Following distance must account for the condition of the road (11-710)
A car slid through a stop sign or red light	The driver who could not stop	Speed must be reduced for weather and when approaching an intersection (11-601)
A car lost control and crossed the center line	The driver who lost control	Ordinary care for the conditions (IPI 70.01) and speed for conditions (11-601)
A chain-reaction pileup on the expressway	Often several drivers, each for their own share	Each driver’s speed and following distance; fault is divided (2-1116)
The other driver could not see through snow-covered windows	The driver with the blocked view	No driving with snow or ice blocking the view (12-503(d))
Your car was stuck or spun out and another car hit it	Usually the approaching driver, though your own driving is examined too	Ordinary care to avoid a collision (IPI 70.01); shared fault (2-1116)

General patterns only, drawn from 625 ILCS 5/11-601, 11-710, 12-503, 735 ILCS 5/2-1116 and IPI 70.01. A jury decides fault on the evidence in each case.

In a whiteout pileup, each impact can have a different cause and every insurer points at someone else. Our guide to multi-vehicle crash claims explains how fault is divided. If a semi was involved, see our truck accident page.

“It was black ice”: the sudden emergency argument

The most common defense after a winter crash is that the ice was invisible, so no one could have avoided it. Illinois law is skeptical.

The committee that writes the Illinois pattern jury instructions recommends that no instruction on “unavoidable accident” be given at all. Its comment explains that when there is any evidence the injury was caused by negligence, giving that instruction is reversible error (IPI 4.14). The committee also recommends against an instruction excusing a driver who faced a sudden, unexpected danger, calling it argumentative and likely to lead to reversal (IPI 4.13).

The other driver’s lawyer can still argue the ice could not be seen, but the jury decides it under the ordinary care standard. Was it below freezing after snow, rain or a thaw? Were other cars sliding? Was the driver going slower than usual? Was it a bridge or shaded curve where ice is predictable? A driver crawling along a road that looked dry may have a real argument. A driver doing the speed limit the morning after an ice storm usually does not.

What if you were partly at fault?

Winter crashes often involve two drivers who could each have done better. Illinois handles that with modified comparative fault. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, you can recover damages as long as your share of the fault is not more than 50%, and your award is reduced by your percentage. If a jury finds you 20% at fault for $100,000 in damages, you recover $80,000. At 51%, you recover nothing.

Expect the insurer to argue bald tires, a late brake or a lane change in slush. See the Illinois 51% fault rule.

How often snow and ice cause crashes

Winter roads are a large and serious category of crashes, not a rare event. The Federal Highway Administration’s Road Weather Management Program reports five-year national averages from 2019 to 2023, based on NHTSA data.

National figures, not Illinois-only. Source: Federal Highway Administration, How Do Weather Events Impact Roads?, five-year annual averages 2019 to 2023 based on NHTSA data. Each panel uses its own scale.

Together that is roughly 340,000 crashes, 84,000 people injured and 1,000 people killed each year on snowy, slushy or icy pavement nationwide. Even a slow slide can cause a concussion or a neck or back injury.

When a snowplow or the government is involved

Government vehicles and roads add rules that can end a claim early.

A village, township or county plow truck hits you. These bodies are “local public entities” under the Tort Immunity Act (745 ILCS 10/1-206), and a lawsuit against them or their employees must be filed within one year of the injury, not two (745 ILCS 10/8-101(a)). Also, most Chapter 11 rules of the road do not apply to vehicles “actually engaged in work upon a highway,” though they do apply on the way to and from the work (625 ILCS 5/11-205(f)).

A state truck hits you. A claim against the State of Illinois, such as an Illinois Department of Transportation plow, goes to the Illinois Court of Claims (705 ILCS 505/8(d)). Unless you file the claim itself within one year, a written notice must reach the Attorney General and the Clerk of the Court of Claims within one year of the injury (705 ILCS 505/22-1), or the claim is dismissed (22-2). The claim is generally due within two years (505/22(h)).

You want to blame the town for icy roads. That claim is usually blocked. A local public entity is not liable for injury caused by “the effect of weather conditions as such” on streets, which expressly includes ice and snow (745 ILCS 10/3-105(a)). Physical damage to the road, such as a pothole, still falls under the duty to maintain public property (745 ILCS 10/3-102). Falls on icy sidewalks follow other rules, covered in who is liable when you slip on ice in Illinois.

Evidence that wins winter crash claims

Winter evidence melts by the afternoon. Start in the first days:

1. Photograph the road, not just the cars. Ice, slush, salt or no salt, and the other car’s windows and tires before they are cleared.
2. Write down the time and the weather. Timing matters for whether ice was foreseeable.
3. Get the police report. Officers often note road conditions and any citation for speed too fast for conditions.
4. Find cameras. Doorbell, business and dashboard cameras can show speed, and many record over footage within days.
5. Get medical care and keep every record. See who pays your medical bills after a car accident while the claim is open.
6. Be careful with the adjuster. Describe what happened; do not guess at speeds or apologize for the weather. Our guide on what to do after a car accident in Illinois covers the rest.

How long you have to file

Most injury lawsuits in Illinois must be filed within two years of the crash (735 ILCS 5/13-202), and claims for damage to your car within five years (735 ILCS 5/13-205). Against a village, township or county the limit is one year, and against the State a one-year notice applies. The Illinois car accident statute of limitations guide covers the exceptions. If the driver who slid into you had no insurance or drove off, your own uninsured motorist coverage may pay instead.

പതിവ് ചോദ്യങ്ങൾ

Talk to an Illinois car accident lawyer

Winter crash claims are won on evidence that melts and deadlines that can be half as long as people expect.

Lawyer Furqan represents people hurt in car accidents, including crashes on snow and ice, across Cook County and the suburbs, including Oak Lawn, Orland Park and our other locations.

Sources and authorities cited

• Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions, Civil: 70.00, Motor Vehicles (IPI 70.01); 10.00, Negligence and Ordinary Care (IPI 10.01, 10.02); 60.00, Statutory Violations (IPI 60.01); Instructions Recommended Not to Be Given (IPI 4.13, 4.14)
• Illinois Vehicle Code: 625 ILCS 5/11-205, 11-601, 11-710, 12-201, 12-503
• Code of Civil Procedure: 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, 13-202, 13-205
• Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act: 745 ILCS 10/1-206, 3-102, 3-105, 8-101
• Court of Claims Act: 705 ILCS 505/8, 22, 22-1, 22-2
• Federal Highway Administration, Road Weather Management Program: How Do Weather Events Impact Roads?

This article is general legal information about Illinois law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every claim turns on its own facts. Talk to a lawyer about yours.