Chicago Car Accident Lawyer Blog

It's probably not news to you that Chicago motorists are banned from any cell phone use behind the wheel - period.

And you likely know that wherever you are in the state, it's illegal to text and drive.
But on the national stage, it's an issue police, lawmakers and motorists continue to grapple with. And on a local level, it's an issue drivers too often ignore.

Our Chicago personal injury attorneys understand that despite the horrific crashes that sometimes result from distracted driving, the question of whether to ban texting and driving often comes down to enforcement. For example, how will a police officer know whether you are texting or simply dialing a phone number?

That's why some people are so vocal about an outright ban of all cell phone use for drivers. Such a move, they say, will eliminate any confusion.

But the movement may be losing momentum in some areas like Boston. There, The Herald recently reported that proposed bills targeting cell phone use among drivers aren't getting much attention.

Just weeks after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommended outlawing all cell phone use by drivers, lawmakers in Massachusetts met to discuss that possibility. They had already banned texting behind the wheel.
But just one speaker came before the committee to address the issue.

Sen. Thomas McGee told the Herald reporter that the lack of turn out was puzzling, especially given what a hot-button issue distracted driving has become in recent years.
“We expected this to be a much more attended hearing than one person coming in to testify,” he was quoted as saying. “We do get a lot of information. We do get a lot of feedback and hopefully we continue to get that.”

The national government has taken a strong stance on the issue, with the launching of the website, distraction.gov. There, the NHTSA reports that distracted driving accounted for 5,500 deaths and 450,000 injuries in 2009.

In other states, the issue continues to be debated.

In West Virginia, for example, The Charleston Gazette reports the governor's bill to ban all cell phone use by drivers is expected to easily pass the first round of committee hearings. Similar pieces of legislation have, in the past, failed to make it through that state's senate.

Meanwhile in Utah, lawmakers are debating whether their texting-and-driving laws go far enough. A ban was enacted three years ago, but Sen. Lyle Hillyard recently talked with a KSL TV reporter about what may be considered a possible loophole - the fact that the person texting has to actually hit "send" before it's considered in violation of the law.

There, those who break the anti-texting law face up to three months in jail and a $750 fine. If someone is killed by a texting driver, that penalty increases to a possible 15-year prison term and a $10,000 fine.

And in Arizona, it's one of the few issues both Democrats and Republicans both agree upon. One week into the session, four lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have proposed bills with varying cell phone driving restrictions.

Continue reading " Cell Phone Ban - Already Law for Chicago Drivers - Debated Nationally " »

Tragedy struck the family of an Antioch teenager who was killed earlier this month when a semi-truck slammed into her Jeep.

According to news reports from the Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Sun-Times, Elizabeth Collins, 19, was on her way to a hair appointment just as a nasty snowstorm was beginning. The storm may have been a factor in a three-car pile-up on the Interstate, just north of Deerfield, that troopers say the semi-truck driver was swerving to avoid.

That large truck, in turn, hit Collins' vehicle, a new college student and children's gymnastics instructor.

She died the next day, with her family saying she donated every organ possible, giving life to others, despite that her own had been cut far too short.

Our Chicago car accident lawyers know that drivers of smaller vehicles are at greater risk of injury when involved in a crash with large trucks.

This is true across the country, where the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that accidents involving large trucks - defined as those weighing over 10,000 pounds - were responsible for nearly 3,400 fatalities in 2009.

And most of those victims weren't the truck drivers. Seventy-four percent were the occupants of the other vehicles. Another 10 percent of those victims were non-occupants, meaning they were pedestrians or bicyclists.

Those figures don't take into account those injured by large trucks - a whopping 74,000 across the country.

It's not just that truck drivers are on the road for longer stretches than the average motorist. The NHTSA indicates that large trucks are more likely to be involved in multi-vehicle fatal accidents than other vehicles on the road. In fact, 81 percent of fatal accidents involving large trucks also involved more than one vehicle. Compare that to 58 percent of passenger vehicles.

In Illinois, the administration reported there were 1,301 fatal accidents in 2009. Of those, 90 involved large trucks.

As a result of these startling figures - and tragedies like the one on I-94 - some advocacy groups are lobbying for lowered weight limits for large trucks.

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, for example, insist that bigger trucks compromise safety. That group reports that trucks weighing 80,000 pounds are twice as likely to be involved in a fatal accident as those that weigh 50,000 pounds. Further, the group reports that large trucks need, on average, 25 percent more time to slow down or stop than the average passenger car.

But as there is not likely to be a change in laws anytime soon, motorists must share the road with these large and potentially dangerous vehicles.

As such, our attorneys want to remind you that the National Traffic Safety Institute has outlined the following safety tips for drivers:

--Remember that large trucks do not drive like regular vehicles. They have large blind spots and need more room to make turns. If you can't see the driver in their rearview mirror, he or she probably can't see you either. Keep that in mind when driving behind or trying to pass.

--When being passed by a larger truck or vehicle, slow down, as debris can be kicked up from the truck's tires and reduce your visibility.

--On the highway, don't put yourself at risk by driving between two large vehicles, which can greatly increase your chances of being injured if there were to be an accident.

Continue reading " Antioch Teen Killed in Crash with Semi-Truck on I-94 " »

Police officers in Chicago and across the country are required by oath to uphold the law. Because of this, they are often held to a higher standard of personal conduct than average citizens.

But on occasion, when officers find themselves on the wrong side of the law, there have been instances of reported preferential treatment.

That is alleged to be the case in a Chicago car accident involving an off-duty police officer accused of a fatal hit-and-run DUI that tragically resulted in the death of a young teen.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the future of a veteran Chicago Police Officer Richard Bolling is in the hands of a jury in Cook County, following a crash that killed a 13-year-old on a bicycle.

The newspaper reports it was two years ago when Bolling, who was off-duty, wrapped up a night of drinking at a nearby bar and got behind the wheel. That's when he allegedly struck the young bicyclist.

But instead of immediately administering a blood alcohol test, the other officers who arrived on scene delayed it by several hours, resulting in a lower test result measuring just under the legal limit.

One officer testified that her superior ordered her not to give the test right away. Instead, police took their fellow officer to a nearby bathroom and allowed him to wash up before requiring him to take the test.

Our Chicago car accident lawyers believe everyone should receive equal treatment under the law. The law is clear: No one should be immune to the consequences of his or her actions.

Car accidents and other cases involving police or other public officials accused of criminal actions require a law firm with the expert knowledge and resources to tackle what can turn out to be a complex and high profile situation.

Taxpayers expect that police, with the primary function of upholding the statutes set forth by lawmakers, will conduct unbiased investigations in their every day work. And our Chicago accident attorneys recognize that most police officers do this with integrity.

But when law enforcement officers are charged with investigating their own in a car crash, it becomes even more important to have an independent analysis of a crash scene.

Much has been written about what is known as the police "Code of Silence," which refers to police helping police by not talking when one of their own finds themselves in trouble.

A comprehensive study in 2000 by The National Institute of Ethics uncovered some disturbing facts about this unspoken code.

Of more than 1,000 full-time police officers who responded to a confidential questionnaire, 46 percent reported witnessing misconduct by a colleague which they concealed. Of those, 8 percent said the misconduct was perpetrated by a superior.

According to the Tribune, Bolling was a veteran narcotics officer. Evidence presented at trial included a video recording in which a high-ranking officer at the scene of the fatal crash told Bolling he would try to help him out as much as possible.

For his alleged actions that night, Bolling is facing charges of aggravated DUI, leaving the scene of a fatal crash and reckless homicide.

Continue reading " Preferential Treatment Alleged for Officer Involved in Fatal DUI, Hit-Run that Killed Chicago Teen " »

As we recently reported on our Illinois Injury Law Blog, distraction-related car accidents took the lives of more than 3,100 people in 2010. While this statistic reveals a decrease from the previous year, there are still far too many drivers engaging in distractions behind the wheel. To help to reduce these stats even more, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is recommending that all state governments enact a law prohibiting drivers from using any and all portable electronic devices at the wheel. Yes, this recommendation even includes hands-free phones. Recent studies conclude that hands-free devices are just as distracting to drivers as hand-held devices.

This measure would go beyond anything currently being pushed in any state. Illinois law prohibits the use of hand-held cell phones for any drivers who are driving through a school zone or in a highway construction zone. In addition to those areas, bus drivers and drivers who are under the age of 19 are prohibited from using a hand-held cell phone behind the wheel, according to the Governors Highway Safety Administration. In the City of Chicago, it is illegal for any driver to talk on a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle. It is illegal for any driver in the state to text message while driving.

Our Chicago car accident attorneys understand a statewide law banning drivers from using cell phones may be inevitable, but experts don't think it's going to happen here any time soon. Illinois Senate President John Cullerton says a ban would not have the political support needed to pass the General Assembly, according to the Chicago Tribune.

“There’s no question that it’s a distraction from driving,” Cullerton told the paper. “With the increase in technology use while people are driving, it’s a real diversion.”

Cullerton believes strongly in traffic safety though. He helped pass Illinois' first seat belt law back in 1984. He just doesn't think that this type of overall ban will go over well with the public and lawmakers. Yes, most drivers recognize the dangers associated with distracted driving, but most are willing to give up the dangerous habits.

The state passed a ban of text messaging for drivers just a few years back.

In a recent survey, 1 out of every 10 drivers admitted to texting and e-mailing behind the wheel. Half of the drivers under the age of 21 surveyed admitted to engaging in this dangerous behavior. Statistics reveal that at any given moment in time, 1 out of every 100 drivers is text messaging, web surfing, Facebooking or Twittering behind the wheel.

Slowly, states are enacting stricter distracted driving laws. But the truth is that some of the most dangerous distractions involve talking to other passengers, playing with the radio and other non-electronic distractions.

The Chicago Tribune reports that it's not more laws that we need to make our roads safer, but it's better enforcement of the one's that we already have.

Continue reading " Risks of Distraction-Related Car Accidents in Chicago Continue Despite Nationwide Regulating Efforts " »