Chicago Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Airfares are reportedly up 10 to 20 percent from a year ago which is causing holiday travelers to opt for traveling by car this holiday rather than by plane. The price of gas has also increased by roughly 50 cents since last year but traveling by automobile is still more affordable for families overall.

Our Cook County car accident lawyers understand that Thanksgiving is a holiday meant for family traditions so traveling safely is more important than ever if you want to spend time with loved ones this holiday season.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Thursday is anticipated to be the busiest travel day on roadways nationwide according to a news release from American Automobile Association (AAA). Illinois motorists should use caution all weekend but expect delays and travel hindrances on the holiday to avoid a car accident in Chicago or throughout the state. Throughout the weekend many motorists will be traveling to family dinners, holiday parades or Black Friday sales events so traffic congestion will be heightened and make roadways much more dangerous. In fact, it is expected that 2 million people will be using Illinois roadways this holiday weekend which is an increase from last year.

With all these roadway users traveling at the same time, safety is a concern. The National Safety Council computes an estimated number of deaths for holiday travel periods. This year, the organization predicts 434 deaths and more than 43,000 medically attended injuries from traffic accidents during the period of Wednesday, November 23 at 6:00 p.m. to Sunday, November 27 at 11:59 p.m. The average number of actual traffic deaths caused by roadway accidents reported during the Thanksgiving holiday periods between 2004 to 2009 was 535.

In effort to encourage safe travel, the Illinois Department of Transportation and law enforcement agencies throughout Illinois will be cracking down on traffic violators all weekend. Last year, Illinois reported 15 traffic deaths during Thanksgiving. Nine of these fatalities involved a driver who was intoxicated at the time of the accident. There were also more than 740 injuries from Illinois traffic collisions during Thanksgiving last year which could have been avoided with smarter choices made by drivers.

This year, roadside safety checks and enforcement zones will be strategically located throughout the state to keep drunk drivers, speeders and motorists who fail to wear a seat belt from breaking the law during Thanksgiving weekend. Illinois motorists could potentially find as many as 1,700 safety belt enforcement areas and 40 roadside safety checks being conducted by more than 200 law enforcement agencies throughout the state.

The coordinated effort has one goal. State officials hope to curb unsafe driving behavior by keeping drunk and distracted drivers off roadways and lowering traffic fatalities overall. Motorists are encouraged to make smart choices by not drinking and driving, speeding or becoming distracted to avoid a traffic citation or worse, a serious car accident this Thanksgiving.

Continue reading " Increase in Illinois Travelers Will Likely Increase Risk of Chicago Car Accidents Throughout Thanksgiving Weekend " »

Our Illinois car accident attorneys want to remind motorists that this week is Drowsy Driving Prevention Week. We support this campaign that shines a light on the problems that sleepy drivers can create on our roadways -- accidents, injuries and even deaths.

Researchers are developing a sense that drowsy driving accidents in Chicago and elsewhere are underestimated and under-reported. Officers at the scene don't ordinarily ask a driver who caused an accident if fatigue was a factor, nor is there a simple on-site test to determine whether the driver was drowsy.

A recent survey by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that 96 percent of drivers surveyed recently said it is dangerous to drive drowsy, but then readily admit it is an unacceptable behavior. Why then, do 32 percent of those surveyed admit they themselves have driven when they could barely keep their eyes open?

Another recent study on drowsy driving accidents in the U.S. indicated that one in eight crashes that result in serious injury is caused by a fatigued driver. Even worse is the evidence that more than 16 percent of fatal crashes are caused by someone who was dozing at the wheel or too tired to react before causing an accident. Driving drowsy is no different than getting behind the wheel under the influence or allowing distractions to take focus away from the road.

Other research has found that 41 percent of drivers admit to falling asleep behind the wheel. The following are common warning signs that you may be about to fall asleep at the wheel:

-Heavy eyelids or constant yawning.
-Head begins to nod or bob.
-You recognize several miles have gone by and you don't remember driving them.
-You miss a stop sign or the exit ramp that you intended to get off on.
-You find your vehicle is drifting outside of the lines and causing it to hit rumble strips.
-You may notice that you are following a car too closely.

Most Americans report they get seven hours of sleep or less each night on average. Sleep deprivation can lead to a serious risk of falling asleep behind the wheel. The National Sleep Foundation suggests motorists do several things to prevent a fall-asleep crash:
-Get a good night's rest, especially if you have a lot of driving to do or plan to leave early the next day.
-When possible, have a traveling companion with you on long trips. A passenger can help break up the monotony of a long drive and can help with the driving.
-Avoid medications that have warning labels indicating they could cause drowsiness. If a drowsy medication is prescribed, change when you take the dose if you have to drive later.
-Avoid driving during hours when you are normally sleeping. A change in routine affects your body more than you know and makes it dangerous to drive when you should be sleeping.

Continue reading " Driver Fatigue Increases Risk for Car Accidents in Chicago, Nationwide " »

A common error made by a motorist in order to avoid a car collision with a deer in Illinois is to swerve towards the center line or veer off the side of the road. This defensive behavior often causes more severe damage by causing a head-on collision with a car traveling in the opposite direction or a rollover crash leading to serious injury or death following the accident.

Our Chicago car accident attorneys want to remind motorists that these kinds of accidents often require experienced legal advice because if you can't be recompensed by your own insurer you may need to take further action by filing a claim against the vehicle owner or other driver involved in the accident.

We bring this to your attention because this time of year is prime time for collisions caused by trying to avoid a deer. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) wants to alert motorists to use extra caution as we approach deer hunting season because four-legged Bambi look-alikes will be scurrying for their life and may jump out in front of your car while you travel.

Deer-related deaths were up in 2010 compared to 2009, but overall collisions were down from 2009 to last year. Ten people lost their life in a deer-related crash in 2010 compared to 6 the previous year. There was a reduction in injuries from deer-related crashes in Illinois reporting 708 in 2009 down to 634 in 2010. There were a total of 17,135 deer-vehicle accidents in 2010 compared to almost 18,850 the previous year.

In 2010, Cook County reported the most deer-related accidents of any county with a total of 562. Nine other counties reported 320 or more collisions involving a deer. The remainder of the Top 10 list for deer-related crashes in each county is as follows:
Madison: 475
Peoria: 458
Sangamon: 411
Will: 396
LaSalle: 364
Fulton: 357
Pike: 355
Kane: 325
Lake: 320
Recent Illinois accident statistics indicate that 67 percent of deer-vehicle accidents in 2010 were during periods of darkness and 77 percent of deer-related crashes were on rural roads.

The following are reminders for how motorists can avoid a collision with a deer:
-If you drive regularly at dawn and dusk, be alert for deer.
-If there is a particular area that you spot deer frequently, avoid driving there during hours of darkness.
-Wooded areas and fields are common places that deer can be found. Prepare to stop or reduce speed in these areas.
-If you see one, a pair or an entire herd of deer near the road, stop and wait for them to cross. Make sure they have vacated the area before you continue driving.
-If a deer stops on the road, honk your horn or flash your headlights. Don't rev your engine because that could result in a mishap.
-Never swerve to miss a deer so that you can continue traveling ahead. Instead, stop and wait rather than risk a head-on collision or rollover accident.

Motorists involved in an accident with a deer should contact local, county or state police for assistance. Never try to remove a flattened deer from a dark or busy roadway. Move your vehicle to a safe location and put up reflectors or turn on hazard lights to alert other motorists that a deer is lying in the road until help arrives.

Continue reading " Avoiding Impact with a Deer Causes a High Risk of Head-on Collisions and Rollover Accidents in Cook County, Statewide " »

Our Illinois bus accident attorneys know that most people probably don't consider the safety risks when using a charter or low-cost bus for a holiday tour or a quick trip to get across town but we want to remind you that there are dangers that you need to be aware of.

Many charter companies and even school districts don't take the necessary precautions to keep passengers safe by hiring experienced drivers or maintaining their fleet of buses. These failures can lead to severe injuries when a bus accident occurs and can be traced back to negligence on behalf of the bus operator.

The Chicago Tribune reports a Chicago bus operator caused an accident which injured 13 volleyball players who were being transported to a tournament. The bus driver was cited for failing to yield while making a left turn at an intersection. As a result, the bus flipped on its side after colliding with a pickup truck on Route 83.

Authorities report that 2 injured athletes were treated and released at the scene. Nine others were taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center with minor injuries. The two remaining injured athletes were transported to Grayslake Emergency Center with more severe injuries, one of which may have had a broken arm.

School bus accidents are not the only concern in the news recently when it comes to bus transportation. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is concerned about passenger safety when using curbside carriers or low-cost charters.

A series of accidents including the Bronx bus tragedy that injured and killed 33 people last March has led to a 6-month investigation on the fast growing bus transportation industry. The following are key findings of the NTSB study:

• Curbside carriers who have been in the industry for ten years or less and operate with 10 or fewer buses have higher rates of roadside inspection violations and accidents rates.


• In looking at fatal accident rates of curbside and conventional bus operators from January 2005 to March 2011, curbside carriers were 7 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than conventional charters; 1.4 per 100 vehicles compared to 0.2 per 100 vehicles respectively.


• Driver drowsiness is a common contributor in most bus accidents.


• Curbside carriers often avoid roadside inspections because they don't operate through terminals. This presents a problem in detecting safety violations being committed on a daily basis.


• There are far more motor carriers in the United States than what the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's investigators can handle when it comes to being thorough and completing safety inspections. The current ratio is 1.15 inspectors to 1,000 motor carriers which means, each investigator needs to complete roughly 80 inspections a month or average 4 a day.


• Curbside operators tend to use online brokers to sell tickets more so than conventional charters. Online brokers make it difficult to track sales and the FMCSA has no authority to regulate brokers.

Since March 2011, there have been 5 bus accidents resulting in almost 160 injuries and 22 deaths. More attention needs to be directed to passenger safety in order to save lives.

Tourists looking to take a holiday bus ride should use caution and consider the risks before you ride. There are many cost-efficient carriers that reduce their fares to consumers but don't take the necessary precautions to keep passengers safe.

Continue reading " Chicago Bus Passengers Using Curbside Carriers Are at Higher Risk of an Illinois Bus Accident " »