Chicago Car Accident Lawyer Blog

A recent five-car accident in Belleville resulted in an elderly woman being sent to the hospital and traffic delays that stretched over four hours. The traffic accident happened at roughly 4 p.m. on Illinois 15, right by 11th Street. Traffic in the westbound lanes was congested as a result of this accident, as Illinois State Police investigated.

The accident happened when the older woman slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer. She was transported to a local hospital with multiple injuries. According to BND, the woman's vehicle sustained significant damage to the front-end. The others involved were lucky to have emerged from the accident with minor injuries.

Our Illinois car accident lawyers understand that traveling our state's roadways with these large tractor-trailers requires caution. Driving near a tractor-trailer isn't the same as traveling next to other passenger vehicles. These large trucks require you to adjust your driving habits to accommodate their presence. Traffic accidents with these large vehicles often produce deadly results. The weight, the size and strength of these vehicles can overpower our passenger vehicles in seconds. Drivers are asked to travel carefully to avoid a serious collision with a semi, tractor-trailer, big rig or an 18-wheeler.

Our Illinois personal injury attorneys are here to offer you a few safe driving tips to help make sure your travel near these large trucks is as safe as it can be. Please review and share them with your loved ones.

Safety Tips for Driving Around Large Trucks:

-Remember that trucks are like sails, meaning they handle wind just like a sail would. They are likely to swerve back and forth when driving at such high speeds. Never travel too closely to these vehicles for this reason.

-Trucks have blind spots virtually everywhere. Remember that the driver of a large truck cannot see directly in front of him, to the side in his blind spots or directly behind him. You want to make sure you can always see the driver when traveling near these large trucks.

-Trucks make very wide turns. Drivers cutting onto the side of a semi or a tractor-trailer as the truck is turning is one of the most common accidents involving trucks. Stay away from these large trucks when they're turning.

-You never want to linger around one of these dangerous vehicles. When passing a large truck, do so swiftly.

-Never cut in front of a large vehicle. Semis and tractor-trailers have a difficult time stopping and take longer to do so than our passenger vehicles.

Crashes with tractor-trailers and other large vehicles can be avoided when you put these safety tips to work on our roadways. Travel safely and travel cautiously!

Continue reading "Five-Car Accident, Including Tractor-Trailer, in Illinois Sends Elderly Woman to Hospital" »

Motorists headed downtown from the O’Hare Airport this past weekend had to sit in traffic for nearly 2 hours, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Illinois State Police crews had to find a way to get a semi-truck back on its wheel after a Chicago trucking accident on the outbound Dan Ryan Expressway.

The late morning accident happened on the southbound Ryan at 26th Street. Only two lanes were open as crews worked on the scene. The lanes were reopened nearly 12 hours after the accident. The overturned semi spilled fuel all over the road.

Local officials say that this accident couldn't have happened at a worse time as many residents and visitors were heading to either the White Sox game or the Air and Water Show. Luckily, the driver of the big rig was not injured in the accident.

Our Illinois trucking accident attorneys understand that this accident could have turned out much differently. Accidents with semis, especially when they happen on our Expressway, oftentimes turn deadly. Motorists are urged to travel with extra caution in these areas as the fast-traveling traffic can cause mass chaos and wind up causing fatal motor-vehicle accidents.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were nearly 400,000 large trucks involved in traffic accidents in the United States in 2008. A large truck is a vehicle with a gross weight of more than 10,000 pounds. Of these accidents, more than 4,000 resulted in fatal accidents and nearly 4,300 people died in these incidents. These fatalities accounted for more than 10 percent of all of the traffic deaths that were reported in 2008. Another 90,000 people were injured in these accidents. It is estimated that one out of every nine traffic accident-related deaths involved a large truck.

Of deadly trucking accidents:

-74 percent of the people that died were occupants of another vehicle.

-10 percent of those who died were nonoccupants

-The remaining 16 percent of people that died were the occupants of a large truck.

Of injury-resulting trucking accidents:

-More than 70 percent of injuries were sustained by the occupants of another vehicle.

-Less than 5 percent were nonoccupants.

-The remaining 26 percent of injuries were sustained by the occupants of a large truck.

Of the roughly 1,500 vehicles that were involved in fatal traffic accidents in Illinois in 2008, about 150 were large trucks.

Motorists are asked to be cautious when traveling along our Expressways with large trucks. Adjust your driving when one is near. Don't travel alongside one for a prolonged amount of time. Don't hang around in its blind spots as these are the areas in which the driver cannot see you. Don't cut one off because trucks are not able to stop as easily as passenger vehicles and you run a risk of being rear ended. And lastly, look ahead at all times. Knowing what kind of traffic patterns you're approaching can help to keep you safe and to help you adjust to potential roadway changes sooner.

Continue reading "Chicago Trucking Accident Shuts Down Dan Ryan Expressway for 2 Hours" »

The National Safety Council (NSC) is predicting more than 400 traffic fatalities this Memorial Day weekend and another 39,400 injuries caused by car accidents in Chicago and elsewhere in the country.

The official holiday weekend begins Friday at 6 p.m. and ends Monday at 11:59 p.m.

"We are reminding Americans to buckle up before they hit the road for the long Memorial Day weekend," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Seat belts are a lifesaver, but too many people are failing to buckle their seat belts at night, and it’s costing lives."

Our Illinois car accident attorneys would like to remind residents to be safe this long holiday weekend. We would also like to remind you that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will be enforcing its “Click It or Ticket” campaign from the last week in May until the first week in June. Residents are urged to wear their seat belts while traveling on our roadways this holiday weekend to not only prevent injury in a motor vehicle accident, but to avoid a traffic citation as well.

The “Click It or Ticket” campaign has proved to be the most successful safety belt enforcement campaign as it has contributed to the highest national safety belt usage rate – almost 90 percent. Law enforcement agencies will be enforcing zero-tolerance for violations of safety belt use across the country throughout the campaign.

The NSC estimates that more than 300 motorists will survive this Memorial Day holiday weekend because of seat belts. Additionally, it estimates another 103 lives could be saved if everyone were to wear their seat belts.

Motorists are less likely to buckle up late at night, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. Last year in Illinois, statistics show that only two in 10 people who died in crashes from midnight to 3 a.m. were properly restrained by a seat belt.

Over the last six years, the Memorial Day holiday weekend saw an average of more than a 12 percent increase in traffic fatalities than averages on other similar non-holiday periods. Researchers believe this is probably because of the increase travel in the U.S.

To help you stay safe on our roadways this Memorial Day holiday weekend, the NSC recommends that drivers consider the following:

-Make sure that all vehicle occupants are wearing their seat belts and children are placed in the appropriate child safety seat.

-Halt distracted driving habits. Do not use your cell phone or text behind the wheel.

-Allow yourself plenty of time for travel. Allowing extra time will help you avoid frustrations or any acts of road rage.

-Plan out your trip before departure. A plan will help with smoother travel.

-Practice defensive driving habits and exercise caution, especially in congested roadways and in inclement weather.

-Get plenty of rest. Avoid driving while fatigued or drowsy.

-Do not get behind the wheel if you've consumed alcohol. Even the littlest of consumption impairs driver reaction time and judgment.

Continue reading ""Click It Or Ticket" in Full Force Memorial Day Weekend To Reduce Risk of Car Accidents in Illinois and Elsewhere" »