Consolidated Freightways v. State

In Consolidated Freightways v. State (1985), 37 Ill. Ct. Cl. 32, three of Claimant's trucks had, on three different occasions between April 21, 1974, and November 3, 1974, lost control and crashed on the same road at the same place where they encountered a section of highway which was slippery. On each occurrence, each driver was unable to control his truck. Each truck slid from Route 36 and crashed along an area north of the highway. It was shown that the section of highway in question had a strip of tar which, on becoming wet, became extremely slippery. The State had posted no warning signs alerting the motoring public of this condition. The testimony of police officers who investigated the accidents confirmed that the road became very slippery when wet, and that there had been other accidents from the same condition at the same location. Although the State had considerable notice of this hazard, the State had failed to warn the motoring public. An award was allowed.