A car accident is a frightening and traumatic experience, especially when it causes injuries as well as property damage to a vehicle. Once a car accident victim has recovered from their injuries, they usually want to put the accident behind them as soon as possible and move forward.
Unfortunately, car accidents have legal consequences as well as physical and emotional ones, and these may cause additional, ongoing distress. One repercussion is having an accident on your driving record, but how long does this consequence last?
An accident stays on a driver’s record in more than one way. First, it’s essential to understand that Illinois is a fault-based car accident state with a modified comparative negligence system.
If you were responsible for the accident due to a traffic violation, it could remain on your record at the DMV for 3 to 5 years, depending on the severity of the accident, your contribution to the cause, and the number of points the violation placed against your driver’s license.
Consider the following:
If the accident involved driving under the influence (DUI), your license will be suspended or revoked immediately. This remains on your driving record permanently. A conviction for DUI also generates a permanent criminal record.
In addition to points on your license and other implications of an accident on your Illinois driving record, insurance companies also keep records that have significant impacts.
Policies and procedures differ between insurance companies, but most companies keep a driver’s accident on their record for three to five years. This typically results in higher premium rates.
Worse, insurance companies share this information, so if you seek to remedy the situation by changing insurance companies, it’s important to know that a new company will check your history with previous insurers.
Insurance rates may increase by up to 45% depending on the policyholder’s percentage of fault for the accident and the total cost of the damages.
An at-fault driver cannot erase their accident record from the insurance system, but sometimes attending a driver’s safety course can help lower your premiums by showing that you are serious about improving your safety as a driver. In addition, some insurance companies offer accident forgiveness programs that do not hold a driver’s first accident against them.
A driver with a history of multiple car accidents may face much higher insurance premiums and higher deductibles, or may find it difficult to obtain coverage.
After a car accident, what you do and how you drive during the next several years has a substantial long-term impact on your Illinois driving record. Avoiding traffic citations and accumulating no further accidents on your record helps mitigate the harm caused by an accident. Reach out to our injury attorneys in Chicago for assistance.
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