Seventy-four per cent of traffic violations resulting in convictions, according to a recent survey by the Secretary of State of Illinois,¹ would have been included in the pre-printed portion of the Uniform Traffic Ticket and Complaint. (See illustrations.) This, alone, would justify widespread use of the model form. Many hours of officers, judges, prosecutors and clerks will be saved by the combination form of complaint and ticket. Many other advantages commend its use by all municipalities in the State of Illinois.

The uniform ticket was first used in Illinois in 1948 by four municipalities on the north shore of Cook County. This example was followed by 41 additional municipalities in adopting the model. They were using it on January 1, 1956 when the present version of the Illinois Uniform Traffic Ticket and Complaint was placed into operation by the State Police. Within 90 days the number of municipalities using it more than doubled. At the last count 107 Illinois communities were operating under the same kind of traffic ticket and complaint. The Sheriff of Cook County has also adopted it for use by his officers and judges assigned to hear sheriff's cases. Chief Justice Raymond Drymalski of the Chicago Municipal Court has indicated that steps for its adoption are under way as soon as the present supply is exhausted.

In the not too distant future every enforcement officer in Illinois will be working with the same type of traffic ticket. Every motorist charged with a violation of the traffic laws will be informed of the nature of his violation with the same kind of summons irrespective of which part of the state he happens to receive this invitation to go to court.

The increased acceptance of this uniform enforcement tool requires an accurate review of the advantages to be derived from its use by municipalities not using the American Bar Association model at this time. To do this properly requires an inquiry into the development of the present Illinois form to make it suitable for use in this state.

Governor Stratton's Highway Safety Conference in 1955 recommended that the State Police and all other police use the ABA model. Through the splendid cooperation of the Department of Public Safety, the Attorney General, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Municipal League, the Secretary of State, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police,

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(1) Speeding ...................108,955
Improper turns —
     1.  To give turn or stop signal .................... 1,039
     2.  At intersection........... 12,901
     Disregarded traffic signals and Disobeyed stop sign ........137,244
     Improper lane usage and passing Wrong Lane ............... 10,941
     Improper passing .......... 7,537
     Reckless Driving ........... 23,359
                                     301,975 [total]

This represents 74% of 405,968 convictions reported to the Secretary of State of Illinois—Driver License Division

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the Illinois Traffic Safety Council and the newly created Division of Traffic Safety, an earnest effort was made to revise the American Bar Association model to conform to Illinois requirements.

In addition, a new and very important feature was incorporated. With the active support, guidance and assistance of the Secretary of State and his Driver License Division, one copy serves as the official report of conviction. A convenience which has already increased the number of reports of convictions received from judges, police magistrates and justices of the peace. This step alone saves much clerical work. It is a convenience which expedites the reporting of convictions. This permits the Secretary of State to use effectively his powers of discipline in appropriate cases. The State Police increased the width of the model ticket to the size which would accommodate the files presently used by the Driver License Division. All municipalities have been requested to increase the width of the ticket in order to assist the filing procedure. This again provides another advantage because it adds to the amount of space available for writing in the required information. It increased legibility.

The uniform ticket consists of four parts. The original is a complaint and on its reverse side it contains the docket entries usually required in traffic cases. The second part, an exact copy of the complaint, is the report of conviction and its reverse side is identical to the docket except for the certification to the Secretary of State. The third copy is the police record and its reverse side has provisions for the entry of dispositions for use in statistical needs of the police. The fourth copy is issued to the violator. It is identical to the other three except in two particulars. The commencement has been changed to read: "You are hereby directed to appear before this court to answer for the following offense." The conclusion has also been changed to state: "You are notified that the officer whose name appears below will file a sworn complaint in the court charging you with the offense set forth above." The reverse side of this copy contains a receipt for the driver license when used in lieu of bail and a form of "appearance, plea of guilty and waiver." Every part of the quadruplicate ticket has a purpose to fulfill and a function to perform.

The outstanding feature of this form is the selection of the six violations which contribute most to the cauaes of accidents. In some municipalities these will be present in as many as 80% to 85% of the total accident picture. By pre-printing these violations with descriptive words which are in common usage—everyone immediately understands the kind of unsafe act or maneuver which is illegal. The national accident experience indicates that the six important offenses are:

1.    Speeding
2.    Improper left turn
3.    Improper right turn
4.    Disobeyed traffic signal when light turned red
5.    Disobeyed stop sign
6.    Improper passage and lane usage

It is permissible to vary this list if the local experience indicates otherwise.

Pre-printing the six charges without additional information would only serve to perpetuate the omission of the information presently lacking in complaints and traffic tickets. Consequently, each of these six charges is further analyzed by separating them into three degrees of seriousness. The first column on the left of the illustrated ticket corresponds to what most persons would refer to as a "technical violation." It would therefore be the least degree of seriousness. Logically we would then ascertain what act or maneuver was the most serious. This is represented by the column on the right. Anything beyond this degree of violation is an aggravation of the most serious circumstance according to the standards of the average motorist. To complete the analysis, a "middle serious" column is provided to cover situations in this in-between stage. By employing words descriptive of these different degrees which

are readily understandable by officers, prosecutors, judges, driver licensing authorities, driver training instructors, motorists and to representatives of the press, radio, television and other communications media—an awareness of some of the problems incidental to traffic law enforcement is created.

The twenty-four descriptions of illegal and unsafe maneuvers become a medium of continuing education of the motorist in violation. In municipalities it is recommended that the uniform traffic ticket be used for all parking offenses in order to extend this subtle educational feature to the large number of citizens who disregard the parking restrictions. It serves as advance notice of the kind of driving which will result in accidents and, perhaps, apprehension and prosecution before an accident takes place.

Many times a technical violation— such as one in the first column— would not be serious except for existing conditions which would add or increase the hazard of the driving maneuver. The three most imporant conditions present in accident summaries are visibility or darkness, slippery pavement and other traffic present. At least three separate circumstances under each of these conditions are dangerous and should be brought to the attention of the court if the judge is to know the kind of penalty to impose. Consequently, the conditions listed in the second large box on the illustrated ticket are designed to appear to the violator as representative words meaning "danger" or "hazard".

The other conditions in this square emphasize the premise that traffic laws are designed to prevent collisions. Any near miss is a threat to public safety and a serious condition which not only the motorist but the police and courts should consider in arriving at a proper evaluation of the offense and the resulting penalty. If the accident the law was designed to prevent actually occurred, that, too, is an important factor to be taken into consideration. Appropriate space for accident information has been provided.

Descriptive words as to the area through which the streets or highway traverse and the type of highway complete the conditions present at the time of the violation. It should be evident that every element required to prove any one of the six selected offenses appear on the face of the complaint and ticket. The police officer has no excuse for failing to note them before handing the violator his copy. He in turn has an opportunity to know the exact nature of the charge against him and conditions existing at that time and place. He has an early opportunity to prepare his defense because he knows what he must answer. He is better informed as to whether to plead not guilty or guilty.

This is the foundation of the Illinois Uniform Traffic Ticket and Complaint. The municipality which adopts it will be serving notice that there is a well thought out policy with respect to accident causing violations and that they know what conditions are dangerous; and that enforcement efforts of police are predicated on an easily recognizable set of standards which make sense.

However, no municipality should introduce the model forms into its court procedure without taking adequate steps to insure its use with complete agreement and understanding by the police, prosecutor, judge and the press, radio, television and other media. Schools of instruction should be given to all concerned. Adequate publicity should precede the inauguration of the policy. The ticket, in sample copies, should be made available to the public for discussion and study.

Before the Illinois State Police commenced use of the ticket and complaint, they attended 28 three-day schools. One was held in each of the 14 districts set up for administrative purposes. The entire instruction was given in a period of six hours. Two hours were devoted to the legal aspects of the complaint and violators copy; two hours to the police aspects, particularly with reference to marking the appropriate box, and two hours to the report of conviction, its purpose and use in control of drivers through the powers delegated to the Secretary of State.

More than 1,000 individuals participated in these meetings conducted by the Illinois State Bar Association, American Bar Association, Secretary of State and Department of Public Safety. The coordination of the entire project was undertaken and capably handled by the Coordinator of the Division of Traffic Safety, an office whose creation was recommended by Governor Stratton's Highway Safety Conference. Many municipal officials and police magistrates were numbered among those participating in these sessions. Similar instruction methods should be used by each municipality adopting the new form. A manual of instruction for police officers is available.²

Adoption of the Illinois Uniform Traffic Ticket and Complaint must be accompanied by measures designed to achieve strict accountability for all tickets issued and placing responsibility on the police magistrate and municipal judges for their proper use. Adequate provisions for this control may be found in the Model Traffic Ordinance. This step is one that may easily be undertaken when the now procedures for its use are set up at the time the newly adopted ticket goes into operation.

Finally, the uniform traffic ticket and complaint has these important advantages in that it: (1) permits uniform interpretation of traffic laws by all officers; (2) permits uniformity of instructions to all officers and administrative personnel within the police department; (3) permits prosecutors to secure more consistent and uniform case preparation; (4) acquaints the violator with the exact nature of the violation charged; and (5) acquaints the public with the kind of unsafe maneuvers which result in accidents.

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(2) Write to American Bar Association Traffic Court Program, 1155 East 60th Street, Chicago 37, Illinois.