Auto Insurance Claims: Appeal for SDIP surcharge points, illinois license, unforeseen circumstances

Question
I have a Massachusetts (MA) license. I recently had an accident in Illinois (IL). It was a 5 car accident. The weather conditions were worse (snow/ice on road). The road was so slippery which lead to the accident. 4 cars already hit each other due to slippery. I was the last person to hit the car in front of me. Even though I slammed the brakes, it was so slippery that it skid and hit the other car. I have been maintaining decent distance (brakes did not help to stop the car). My car is a very old car, it was totaled. You can understand how slippery the road is because of which the other 4 cars went into accident. It was a 30mph speed zone and I was traveling at 20-23mph. It was a busy traffic during morning office hours.
When the police arrived, I was issued a citation for  'following too closely' and was asked to appear in the court. I am going to fight the ticket. So my questions are:

1. My insurance company is saying that I am at more than 50%  fault because I hit the car in ahead of me. Am I at fault ? (even if the weather conditions are bad) .
What are the chances of winning the appeal to decrease the surcharge points?

2. Now I would like to move to Illinois and get a new Illinois license. How would this effect my insurance premium in Illinois and driving history?

3. Is there any safe driving course in MA or IL which would help me?

Do let me know.


Thanks.

Answer
Hi Din,
Every state has a law that states you must drive your car in such a manner as to be able to bring it under control irregardless of what unforeseen circumstances may happen on the roadway in front of you.
This also means that you must adjust your driving based on the weather conditions.  There is no way that the court or insurance company will accept weather conditions as being a factor.
You are considered over 50% at fault for following to close and not being able to stop in time.

Most states do have a program that allows you to go to driving school to keep the citation off your record.  When you appear before the judge in Illinois, you can make a request for traffic school.  If it's allowed, the citation will not appear on your record but the accident will.

Every state is reciprocal in exchanging drivers records.  Illinois will forward all the information regarding the citation (if you don't get traffic school) plus the info about the accident to MA.

If you later move to IL, MA will send them your entire driving record when you secure a drivers license.

If you are successful in getting approval for traffic school and there were no injuries in the accident, then it will only count as one point against your record.  Assuming that there are no other points on your record, it's entirely possible that an IL company will not add a penalty for one point.  Some states have strict guidelines as to whether one point causes a premium increase, other states allow each company to set their own guide lines.  You will simply need to shop around for the best price.

I hope that you find this information to be of help.

Your feedback by rating my response will be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area