625 ILCS 5/11-907 – Scott’s Law (Failure To Yield To Stationary Emergency Vehicle)
This law explains how drivers must move over, slow down, and stop for emergency vehicles so everyone stays safe.
This law says drivers must pull over or change lanes and slow down when they see or hear emergency vehicles, especially when those vehicles are stopped with their lights on. It also sets fines, license suspensions, and other penalties if someone does not follow these rules and hurts people or damages property.
(a) When an authorized emergency vehicle using a siren, flashing lights, or both, or a police vehicle using a siren or flashing lights, comes up behind or near you:
- If you are driving any other vehicle, you must give the right-of-way, quickly and safely move your vehicle to a spot next to and as close as you can to the right-hand edge or curb of the road, away from any intersection, and stop if needed so the emergency vehicle can pass. You must stay there until the emergency vehicle passes, unless a police officer tells you to do something different.
- If you are operating a streetcar, you must stop the streetcar away from any intersection and keep it stopped until the emergency vehicle passes, unless a police officer tells you to do something different.
(b) This section does not let the driver of an emergency vehicle ignore safety. The emergency driver still must drive carefully and think about the safety of everyone using the road.
(c) When you are getting close to a stopped authorized emergency vehicle or an emergency scene, and that emergency vehicle is showing a warning by using oscillating, rotating, or flashing lights, you must do one of the following:
- Move over with care by changing lanes, if it is safe to do so, into a lane that is not right next to the emergency vehicle. This applies when you are on a road with at least 4 lanes and at least 2 lanes going in your direction. You must also slow down to a safe speed for the traffic and road so you do not crash and so you leave a safe space until you have safely passed the stopped emergency vehicle.
- If it is not safe or not possible to change lanes, you must still use care and slow down to a speed that is safe for the traffic and road conditions so you avoid a crash, keep a safe speed for the road, and leave a safe distance until you have safely passed the stopped emergency vehicles.
The flashing, rotating, or oscillating lights on a stopped authorized emergency vehicle warn drivers that there is a dangerous situation nearby, even if it is not obvious. When you see these lights, no matter which lane you are in, you must pay attention to the warning, slow down, be careful, be ready to stop, keep a safe speed for the road conditions, and leave a safe distance until you have safely gone past the stopped emergency vehicle.
In this subsection (c), “authorized emergency vehicle” means any vehicle that is allowed by law to have oscillating, rotating, or flashing lights, while the owner or driver is doing his or her official job. “Emergency scene” means a place where a stopped authorized emergency vehicle, as just described, is present and has turned on its oscillating, rotating, or flashing lights.
(d) A person who breaks subsection (c) commits a business offense. For the first time, the fine is at least $250 and up to $10,000. For a second or later time, the fine is at least $750 and up to $10,000. It is more serious if the person also broke other important driving laws at the same time. If breaking subsection (c) causes someone to die, the fines and penalties in this subsection do not stop the court from adding more civil or criminal penalties. If someone breaks subsection (c) and another vehicle is damaged, that person commits a Class A misdemeanor. If someone breaks subsection (c) and another person is hurt or killed, that person commits a Class 4 felony.
(e) If breaking subsection (c) causes damage to another person’s property, then, besides any other penalty, the person’s driver’s license will be suspended for a set time between 90 days and 1 year.
(f) If breaking subsection (c) causes injury to another person, then, besides any other penalty, the person’s driver’s license will be suspended for a set time between 180 days and 2 years.
(g) If breaking subsection (c) causes the death of another person, then, besides any other penalty, the person’s driver’s license will be suspended for 2 years.
(h) When the Secretary of State gets a record showing that a person has been found guilty under subsection (c), the Secretary of State must:
- Suspend that person’s driving privileges for the required time; or
- Add the required suspension time onto any suspension that is already in place.
(i) The Scott’s Law Fund is a special fund in the State treasury. Money in this fund, as allowed, may be used by the State Police to make materials that teach drivers how to safely approach stopped emergency vehicles, to pay off-duty State Police to help enforce this law, and for other law enforcement needs related to these efforts.
(j) When a county or city police officer issues a ticket for breaking this section, the related assessment goes into that county’s or city’s Transportation Safety Highway Hire-back Fund. The county uses this money to hire off-duty county police officers to watch over construction or maintenance zones on highways in that county other than interstate highways. The county may also use some of this money to buy equipment for county law enforcement and to pay for materials that teach drivers how to drive safely in construction zones and how to safely approach stopped authorized emergency vehicles.
(k) Besides other penalties in this section, a court may order a person who is found guilty of breaking subsection (c) to do community service, in an amount of time the court decides is appropriate.
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