Chicago Car Accident Lawyer Blog

A bill signed by Gov. Pat Quinn this month will seek to cut down on the abuse of red-light cameras by reforming oversight of the programs in Illinois. Supporters hope the new rules will increase the effectiveness of the cameras, while reducing the risk of Chicago car accidents at intersections.

Several police chiefs applauded the move in a letter published in the Daily Herald. The chiefs noted that nearly 900 people were killed and more than 100,000 were injured in crashes involving red-light runners in 2007, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

"We need stronger enforcement of traffic safety laws to prevent deadly crashes at our intersections, and red-light cameras make that possible," the chiefs wrote. The chiefs claim a 35 percent reduction in crashes has been realized at 10 Chicago intersections where the cameras are installed and that the number of t-bone accidents has dropped in half.

Detractors of the program question those findings and even suggest an increase in rear-end crashes at cameras equipped with the cameras as cars hit the brakes to avoid getting ticketed. And they claim cities are using them to generate millions in revenue without concern for accident reduction.

The new law will require independent verification of a violation before a citation is issued; meaning a technician will review the video of the alleged infraction. Cities must also post the location of the cameras on their websites and will not be allowed to charge an extra fee to motorists who challenge the tickets. It will also require municipalities to conduct a study of each camera's impact on safety and to post the results on the Internet.

The new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2011, also does not allow a motorist to be ticketed for crossing the white "stop" line as long as the vehicle does not enter the intersection.

Continue reading " Chiefs credit red-light cameras with reduction in Chicago car accidents -- new rules afford better legal protection to motorists " »

The Illinois Department of Transportation has announced that passenger seat-belt use has reached a record high of 92.6 percent as authorities push safety programs in an effort to reduce serious and fatal injuries in Illinois car accidents.

State officials credit the increase in seat-belt use for part of the reduction in the overall number of traffic fatalities, which declined by 16.8 percent during the first six months of 2010. A total of 361 fatal Illinois traffic accidents were reported through June 30, compared to the 434 traffic fatalities that were reported a year ago.

“We are extremely proud of the dedication, hard work and diligence shown by IDOT’s Division of Traffic Safety, our partners, and Illinois motorists whose positive efforts have made this historic achievement possible,” said IDOT Secretary Gary Hannig. “Since the primary safety belt law took effect in 2004, the compliance rate has climbed from 83 percent to the most recent 92.6 percent. We continue to celebrate incremental improvements to the statewide compliance rate; simply put, when more motorists buckle up, more lives can potentially be saved.”

Seat belt use has increased from just 76.2 percent reported in 2003 to 92.6 percent in the survey just conducted. The primary enforcement law allows officers to pull drivers over for not wearing a seat belt. Prior to enactment of the law, a driver could only be ticketed for a seat belt violation during a traffic stop for some other violation, such as speeding.

Illinois joins 16 other states that have compliance rates of more than 90 percent.

How much it has contributed to the decrease in traffic fatalities is debatable. What is not debatable is the substantial reduction in fatal traffic accidents in recent years:

-2003: 1,454

-2004: 1,355

-2005: 1,363

-2006: 1,254

-2007: 1,248

-2008: 1,043

-2009: 887

Many believe a primary reason for the substantial reduction in accidents during the past several years has been the downturn in the economy.

Continue reading " Seat belt use cited as primary reason for reduction in fatal Illinois car accidents " »

Our Chicago car accident lawyers read with interest a recent article on MSNBC about a Yale professor who hopes to use vibrating car seats as the latest invention aimed at helping motorists avoid car accidents.

Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Transportation reports the overall number of fatal traffic accidents has declined in the last decade -- from 41,501 in 1998 to 37,261 in 2008. Certainly some of that decline has resulted from advances in automobile safety. Curtain airbags, backup cameras and crash-avoidance alarms can all assist a driver in preventing an accident. It's when drivers come to rely on such systems that we think their effectiveness begins to diminish. For example, a driver who relies on crash-avoidance alarms to avoid an accident while backing up, is more likely to get into a collision when operating a vehicle not equipped with the alarms. These inventions are a great addition to driver awareness-- but they are a poor substitute.

As for the vibrating seats, John Morrell, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Yale University, claims the "touch" technology is superior to visual or audio alarms because it comes with the ability to alert a driver to the location of the danger. The seats use vibrating cell phone motors to alert drivers to the presence of another vehicle in a car's blindspot and around tough-to-see areas at the rear of a vehicle. A car approaching at the right rear will cause the right-rear portion of the seat back to begin vibrating.

“Looking at an (light) and converting that into an image of a car in your blind spot requires a little more cognitive ability than if something's touching you,” Morrell told TechNewsDaily. “It's a more direct pathway into the brain, since touch gives you orientation for free.”

A peculiar twist (for those of you who were otherwise taking vibrating car seats in stride) is that the seat always vibrates. It just vibrates more to warn of an approaching car. Inventors claim the mild vibration during normal operation will help increase the awareness of the driver.

We think that is a stretch and point to the addition of the third brake light, which debuted at the center-rear of vehicles several decades ago. They were shown to reduce crashes so effectively that they were eventually mandated for all vehicles. Now that they are standard on every vehicle, they are no longer as noticeable and their effectiveness has largely diminished.

And we don't think you can put the impact of a vibrating seat in the same class as more brake lights. While we don't necessarily think it's a bad idea, we also wonder what happens to the seat during heavy bumper-to-bumper traffic!

Continue reading " Vibrating seats may be next tool in combating Illinois car accidents " »

Authorities will be on the road this weekend, looking for offenders and working to reduce the number of Fourth of July car accidents in Chicago and throughout Illinois.

Illinois State Police have announced a crackdown aimed at drunk drivers and speeders, while the Illinois Department of Natural Resources will be patrolling state parks and the waters, where Illinois boating accidents will be a primary concern. Thirteen people were killed in fatal Illinois car accidents during the Fourth of July holiday last year -- five of those involved drunk drivers. During the last five summers, the Illinois Department of Transportation reports that 101 of 163 fatalities that have occurred between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. involved a drunk driver.

“July 4th is a great time of celebration for our country, but too often, those celebrations can turn deadly because of impaired driving and a failure to buckle up,” said IDOT Secretary Gary Hannig.

The state patrol said it will be giving no breaks to drunk drivers.

“Holiday weekends provide a great opportunity for family and friends to gather and celebrate, but the festivities are often short-lived when someone chooses to drive impaired,” said ISP Acting Director Jonathon Monken. "Our goal is to make the roads safer by taking a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to impaired drivers."

Impaired boating is also a concern over the holiday, with July Fourth marking the very height of Illinois' boating season.

“Alcohol use is one of the leading factors in fatal recreational boating accidents nationwide," said IDNR Director Marc Miller. "We certainly want people to have a good time on the water but we have zero tolerance for anyone found operating a boat under the influence."

State officials offer motorists and following safety tips:

Plan ahead and designate a driver.
If impaired, call a taxi, use mass transit or phone a friend to get home safely.
Use community designated driver programs.
Report impaired drivers by pulling over and calling 911.
Wear your seat belt.

Continue reading " Chicago car accident, boating accidents, a Fourth of July danger " »