DUI, Crashes and Insurance, and Revocation, Suspension, Cancellation and Denial
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Illinois driver's license written exam. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: Illinois Rules of the Road, Illinois Secretary of State, 2025 edition, chapter 6 "Driving Under the Influence" (pp. 48–53), chapter 7 "Traffic Violations/Crashes" (pp. 54–57) and chapter 8 "Driver's License Revocation, Suspension, Denial and Cancellation" (pp. 58–63).
Alcohol, cannabis and other drugs
Alcohol is the number one killer on American roads; it dims vision and slows reaction, and even a small amount raises the crash risk below the legal limit. BAC is measured from breath, blood, urine or another bodily substance. It is illegal to drive at .08 percent or more, and you can still be convicted below .08 if your driving is impaired. Food, tolerance and drugs change alcohol's effect, but only time removes it; food, coffee and showers do not. It is illegal to drive with a THC concentration of 5 nanograms or more per milliliter of whole blood or 10 nanograms per milliliter of other bodily substance, or with any trace of a controlled substance or intoxicating compound in the blood.
Cannabis is legal for medical and recreational use at 21 and older (medical users hold a registry card noted on the driving record), but driving impaired by it is illegal either way. Cannabis may be carried only in a sealed, odor-proof, child-resistant container, and no driver or passenger may use it in a vehicle. An officer with reasonable suspicion of cannabis impairment can require field sobriety and roadside chemical tests; refusing or failing them suspends the license, and a medical cardholder can lose the card for two years. Antihistamines, cold remedies, pain relievers, mood-altering drugs and illegal drugs all impair driving, and mixing even a little alcohol with other drugs is very dangerous.
DUI law
DUI is classified as a violent crime, stays on the record permanently, and can cost the license, the registration, fines and jail. Under implied consent, driving in Illinois means you have agreed to breath, blood, urine or other tests; after a personal-injury or fatal crash with probable cause, officers must request a test. You may have extra tests by a qualified person at your own expense, and if you refuse a breath test or an officer orders a blood test for drugs, you can be billed up to $500 for the blood tests if convicted.
Statutory summary suspension: a test showing .08 or more, the THC thresholds, or any trace of an illegal drug suspends the license for six months; refusing the test suspends it for one year. A second offender (a prior summary suspension, an out-of-state refusal suspension, DUI court supervision or a DUI conviction within five years) gets three years for a refusal and one year for a failed test. A refusal can be used as evidence. At arrest the officer takes the license and issues a receipt valid for 45 days; the suspension starts on the 46th day and ends only after the reinstatement fee is paid. Refusing a test after a crash with serious injury or death revokes the license for at least one year.
DUI conviction revokes the license: one year minimum for a first, five years for a second within 20 years, 10 years for a third, and lifetime for a fourth. A BAC of .16 or more or a child under 16 aboard brings enhanced penalties. Reinstatement requires an alcohol/drug evaluation, a rehabilitation or education program, an administrative hearing, the fee, and financial responsibility insurance for three years. Out-of-state DUI convictions and refusals count as if they happened in Illinois.
A first-time offender may apply for a Monitoring Device Driving Permit (MDDP), which requires a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID) on every vehicle driven during the summary suspension, at the offender's cost; the device reports drinking attempts and tampering. An offender who declines the permit and is caught driving during the suspension commits a felony.
Aggravated DUI: a DUI crash causing death or injury; a third or later DUI; DUI while driving a school bus with children or a vehicle for hire; DUI without a valid license, permit or insurance; or a DUI after a prior reckless homicide or fatal aggravated DUI. Open container: no one may drink alcohol in a vehicle, and an opened container may not ride in the passenger area; both driver and passengers can be cited, except on chartered non-school buses, motor homes and limousines. Operating a motorboat impaired is illegal, and a crash with injuries plus a refusal or failed test costs driving privileges. Parents who allow under-21 drinking or fail to control access to alcohol on their property, including a vehicle or boat, face criminal penalties if death or injury follows. Driving while suspended or revoked for DUI, aggravated DUI, reckless homicide or leaving a fatal or injury crash brings jail, an extended sanction and vehicle seizure, and such a driver may not drive in any state. Lending your car to someone you know is impaired is illegal, and supplying alcohol to a minor brings fines, jail and suspension.
Under 21: a first DUI conviction revokes the license for at least two years; any trace of alcohol while driving suspends it for at least three months; any conviction or court supervision for illegal consumption, purchase, possession or receipt of alcohol costs the license whether or not you were driving; and a license suspended before 21 requires a remedial education course and possibly a full re-examination.
Crashes, court and insurance
At a crash: stop in a safe, well-lit place without blocking traffic, help the injured, call 911, warn others with flashers and flares, and collect names, addresses, phone numbers, license numbers and plate numbers. A minor ticket carries a court date; missing it sets a second date at least 30 days later, and missing that produces an ex parte conviction reported to the Secretary of State. Failure-to-appear suspensions from 2020 through 2024 have been cleared; older ones stand until the ticket is resolved and a fee paid. Under 18 you must appear with a parent or guardian. Ticketed in a Non-Resident Violator Compact state, you may stay and argue, pay, or promise to comply and handle it from home; breaking the promise suspends the Illinois license.
Crash reports: regardless of fault, report a crash with death, injury or property damage over $1,500 (over $500 if any vehicle is uninsured), any school bus crash with damage or injury, and any crash within 50 feet of a school bus that injures or kills someone boarding or leaving it. You have 30 minutes to report; notify police at once, or the nearest station, county sheriff or State Police in rural areas; a passenger reports if the driver cannot. Failing to report costs up to $2,500 and up to a year in jail. Leaving the scene of a death or injury crash brings criminal charges and mandatory revocation; leaving after damage over $1,000 brings suspension. After hitting an unattended vehicle or property, stop clear of traffic, leave your name, address, phone and plate number if the owner cannot be found, notify police and file the reports.
Safety Responsibility Law: an at-fault uninsured driver in a crash with death, injury or damage must post security set by IDOT or lose the license until the suit is settled; the owner's registration can be suspended too, and both stay suspended until proof of financial responsibility is filed and insurance kept for three years. A mandatory insurance conviction costs the license at least three months and a $100 reinstatement fee, with no permit. Proof of financial responsibility (an SR-22 filed by the insurer, a bond or a securities deposit) is required after an unsatisfied crash judgment, a Safety Responsibility suspension, court supervision for an insurance violation, or three or more insurance convictions; lapsed coverage suspends the license. Drivers 55 and older who complete an eight-hour defensive driving course may earn an insurance reduction.
Revocation
A revocation is the indefinite withdrawal of the privilege; you may reapply after at least one year unless stated otherwise, and the registration may be suspended meanwhile. The Secretary of State immediately revokes the license of anyone convicted of a moving violation that caused a fatal crash, and may revoke repeat offenders. Other grounds include aggravated DUI, aggravated fleeing, aggravated reckless driving (great bodily harm), auto theft, drag or street racing, DUI, a felony using a vehicle, fraudulent ID, gang-related use of a vehicle or license, leaving a death or injury crash, perjury to the Secretary of State, reckless conduct causing injury or danger, three reckless driving convictions in 12 months, reckless homicide, and passing a school bus in a crash that killed someone.
Suspension
A suspension is temporary; when it has a set length, privileges return after it ends and the reinstatement fee is paid. Grounds include: five or more unpaid automated red-light or speed violations; causing a crash in a construction zone by failing to slow or change lanes; child visitation abuse; failing or refusing a chemical test; a drug or sex offense in a vehicle; failure to appear before 2020; a second railroad signal violation; unpaid child support; failing to yield to a stationary emergency vehicle with resulting damage or injury; fraudulent license applications; under-21 alcohol offenses while an occupant of a vehicle; illegal transportation of alcohol twice in 12 months (21 and older) or once under 21; mandatory insurance violations and convictions; five or more unpaid railroad violations; failing to stop for a school bus or five or more camera-recorded school bus violations; a second construction-zone speeding violation with workers present within two years; failing to report a crash; three traffic convictions in 12 months (two in 24 months under 21); illegal parking in a disabled space; an at-fault uninsured crash with damages owed; and a Zero Tolerance reading above 0.00 but below .08 under 21.
Cancellation, denial and special permits
Cancellation terminates the privilege because of an error or defect in the license or because the holder is no longer entitled: medical or visual unfitness or missing reports, failing a required re-examination, a fraudulent application, or ineligibility; reapply once the terms are met. Denial temporarily refuses the right to apply, entered for drivers under 18: for a revocable offense, no license or permit until the 18th birthday; for driving without a valid license or permit, no license until 18 (a permit is still allowed and an existing license drops to a permit); for a serious moving violation, nine months or until 18, whichever is shorter; and the Secretary may deny a driver charged after a crash with serious injury or death, alcohol or not.
Special permits: a Restricted Driving Permit for set times and routes for work, school, a child's day care or school, or medical or drug treatment (not under 16); the MDDP for a first DUI offender with a BAIID, at any hour so long as no alcohol and no tampering (not under 18); an Occupational Driving Permit for a professional driver suspended for three moving violations (not for commercial drivers); a Probationary License for a driver 21 and over suspended for three moving violations in 12 months, tied to a driver improvement course; and a Family Financial Responsibility Driving Permit for a child-support or visitation suspension, by court or agency order.
Practise this with Illinois Driver License questions
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