Key Takeaways
- Drivers must stop and yield at crosswalks, not merely slow down.
- A driver’s duty of due care applies “notwithstanding” every other rule of the road.
- Passing a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk is prohibited, which is the classic way pedestrians are struck.
- Your own fault reduces rather than bars, unless it exceeds 50%.
- Village sidewalks and signals mean a one-year deadline, not two.
What the law requires of drivers
Illinois places specific, concrete obligations on drivers around people on foot. They are worth knowing precisely, because insurers rarely volunteer them.
| Duty | Authority |
|---|---|
| Stop and yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk on the driver’s half of the road, or approaching closely enough from the other half to be in danger | 11-1002(a) |
| Do not overtake a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk to let someone cross | 11-1002(d) |
| Exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian, whatever else the Code says | 11-1003.1 |
| Sound the horn when necessary | 11-1003.1 |
| Take proper precaution on seeing a child, or an obviously confused, incapacitated or intoxicated person | 11-1003.1 |
The provision that survives everything else
625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1 opens with words that decide a great many claims:
“Notwithstanding other provisions of this Code or the provisions of any local ordinance, every driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian…”
Because the duty applies notwithstanding the rest of the Code, a pedestrian’s own breach of a rule does not switch it off. That is why crossing outside a crosswalk, or against a signal, does not end a claim. It is treated as comparative fault instead, which is covered in can pedestrians recover if partly at fault.
What pedestrians must do
The obligations run both ways, and it is better to know them than to be surprised by them:
- Yield outside a crosswalk. A pedestrian crossing other than at a marked or unmarked crosswalk shall yield to vehicles on the roadway, under 625 ILCS 5/11-1003(a).
- Do not step suddenly into traffic. Under 11-1002(b), no pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety into the path of a vehicle so close as to be an immediate hazard.
- Between signalled intersections, use the marked crosswalk. 11-1003(c).
- No diagonal crossing unless traffic-control devices authorize it, under 11-1003(d).
11-1003(e) makes express provision for pedestrians with disabilities, who may cross outside a crosswalk where the intersection is physically inaccessible to them, yielding to vehicles.
The multiple-threat collision
One pattern deserves separating out because it produces severe injuries and clear liability.
A vehicle stops at a crosswalk to let someone cross. A second vehicle in the adjacent lane, whose view of the pedestrian is blocked by the stopped car, continues and strikes them. 625 ILCS 5/11-1002(d) prohibits exactly this: a driver approaching from the rear “shall not overtake and pass such stopped vehicle.”
Pedestrians hit this way often assume they were at fault for stepping out. The statute says otherwise.
If you were partly to blame
Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, your damages are reduced by your share of the fault and barred only where that share is more than 50%. At exactly 50% you still recover half.
That is worth stating carefully, because it is often described loosely as needing to be “less than 50% at fault.” The statute bars recovery only above half, so being equally responsible does not defeat a claim.
What a claim can cover
- Medical expenses, past and future.
- Lost earnings and reduced earning capacity.
- Pain and suffering, and loss of a normal life.
- Care and adaptation costs in serious cases.
Where several parties are at fault, 735 ILCS 5/2-1117 makes every liable defendant jointly and severally liable for medical expenses, with a 25% line for other damages. See multi-vehicle crash claims.
Deadlines, and the one that catches people
- 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 against the Chicago Transit Authority, under 70 ILCS 3605/41.
Pedestrian cases involve village sidewalks, crossings, signals and transit vehicles more often than any other kind of claim, so the shorter period is a live risk rather than a footnote. See the Illinois filing deadlines.
پوښتل شوې پوښتنې
What are my rights as a pedestrian hit by a car in Illinois?
Drivers must stop and yield to pedestrians in crosswalks under 625 ILCS 5/11-1002(a), must not overtake a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk under 11-1002(d), and must exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian under 11-1003.1. You can claim medical expenses, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and future care.
Does a driver have to stop, or just slow down, at a crosswalk?
Stop. 625 ILCS 5/11-1002(a) requires the driver to stop and yield the right of way to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is on the half of the roadway the vehicle is traveling on, or is approaching so closely from the opposite half as to be in danger.
A car stopped for me and another car went around it and hit me. Whose fault is that?
The overtaking driver’s, in most cases. 625 ILCS 5/11-1002(d) provides that whenever a vehicle is stopped at a marked or unmarked crosswalk to permit a pedestrian to cross, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass that stopped vehicle.
Can I still claim if I was partly at fault?
Yes, unless your share exceeds 50%. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116 damages are reduced in proportion to your share and barred only where it is more than 50%. At exactly 50% you still recover half, so being equally responsible does not defeat the claim.
Do drivers owe more care to children?
Yes. 625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1 requires every driver to exercise proper precaution upon observing any child, or any obviously confused, incapacitated or intoxicated person, and to sound the horn when necessary.
How long do I have to bring a claim?
Two years for personal injury under 735 ILCS 5/13-202, reduced to one year where a local public entity or its employee is a defendant under 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a), and one year against the Chicago Transit Authority under 70 ILCS 3605/41. Pedestrian cases involve public bodies more often than most, so the shorter period arises frequently.
Talk to an Elmwood Park pedestrian accident lawyer
Pedestrian injuries are severe because there is nothing between the person and the vehicle. The claims are often stronger than the injured person assumes, because the Code places duties on drivers that survive a pedestrian’s own mistakes.
If you or a family member were struck in Elmwood Park, Oak Lawn, Skokie, Niles, Orland Park or anywhere in Cook County, Lawyer Furqan will establish early whether a public body is involved, because that halves the time available.
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 5/11-1002 · stop and yield at crosswalks; no overtaking a stopped vehicle; pedestrians not to step suddenly into traffic
- 625 ILCS 5/11-1003 · crossing other than at crosswalks, including provision for pedestrians with disabilities
- 625 ILCS 5/11-1003.1 · drivers to exercise due care notwithstanding other provisions
- 735 ILCS 5/2-1116 and 2-1117 · comparative negligence and apportionment
- 735 ILCS 5/13-202, 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. Nothing here predicts a result in any particular case.
