Illinois Lawyer Referrals and Legal Guidance
Summary of Scott’s Law
Findgreatlawyers.com is the leading resource for Illinois lawyer referrals and legal guidance. We help in almost every area of Illinois law including traffic law. While we don’t help people find free lawyers, we are attorneys who will speak to anyone for free and offer our opinion and if needed, recommend an attorney we know and trust that fits your needs. We are based in Chicago, but recommend attorneys in every county in Illinois. If you would like our help please complete our contact form or call us at (312) 346-5320. All calls are free and confidential.
Part of our service is providing free information about various areas of Illinois law. We try to do so in plain English. This page discusses Scott’s Law.
Scott’s Law, also known as the “Move Over Law” was enacted in 2002 to protect police, emergency response personnel, and highway workers from reckless drivers. The legislation stemmed from a 2000 fatality involving Lieutenant Scott Gillen of the Chicago Fire Department, who was struck and killed by a drunk driver while assisting at a crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway.
Scott’s law requires that motorists yield to any vehicle equipped with flashing, rotating, or oscillating lights. The law further mandates that vehicles reduce their speeds, change lanes if possible, and proceed with due caution when they approach any police or emergency vehicle with their lights on. The most obvious example would be if an ambulance is coming up behind you and you don’t pull over, a Scott’s law violation can occur.
Violators could face up to $10,000 in fines which is substantially more than a normal traffic ticket. Violators under the influence of drugs or alcohol may also have their driving privileges suspended for up to two years.
In not so plain English, the law itself is below:
Scott's Law, 625 ILCS 5/11-907(c), mandates that upon approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle, when the authorized emergency vehicle is giving a signal by displaying alternately flashing red, red and white, blue, or red and blue lights or amber or yellow warning lights, a person who drives an approaching vehicle shall:
- proceed with due caution, yield the right-of-way by making a lane change into a lane not adjacent to that of the authorized emergency vehicle, if possible with due regard to safety and traffic conditions, if on a highway having at least 4 lanes with not less than 2 lanes proceeding in the same direction as the approaching vehicle.
- proceed with due caution, reduce the speed of the vehicle, maintain a safe speed for road conditions, if changing lanes would be impossible or unsafe.
Does any of this sound confusing? Do you have any questions? Have you been charged and need a lawyer? If yes, contact us and we will do whatever we can to help you out.
Since 2001 findgreatlawyers.com has been the leading resource for referrals to traffic attorneys in Illinois. See for yourself why access to our service is like having a lawyer in the family.