Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog

Illinois is already one of the states in the United States that has banned the use of cell phones by drivers in school and work zones and has banned all drivers from text messaging in an attempt to reduce the frequency of distracted driving car accidents in Illinois, according to the Governors Highway Safety Administration. While many motorists ignore these safe driving laws, they may soon have another force fighting their distracted driving habits. A proposed federal law. Introduced by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., aims to federalize driving and cell phone usage. These types of laws are currently managed by individual states-- and sometimes even cities as is the case with Chicago's cell phone ban.

Our Chicago car accident attorneys hope that this proposed legislation will one day serve as additional ammo in the fight against distracted drivers. The proposed bill would direct the U.S. Department of Transportation to set up a standard for the entire country that would prohibit hand-held cell phone use while driving.

“Driving while making a phone call, texting or using apps can be as dangerous as driving drunk, and much more common,” Rep. McCarthy said. “With some basic commonsense rules that are already in place in some parts of the country, we can reduce injuries and save lives in America.”

There are a few exclusions to this proposed law. Drivers would still be allowed to use voice-operated, vehicle-integrated devices, as well as voice-operated GPS systems. Even though there are cognitive distractions still present with hands-free devices, they pose a much less serious problem than using a hand-held device.

Under the proposed bill, the Department of Transportation would be required to conduct a study on distracted driving. This study would be required to focus on the issue of cognitive distraction and the impact of distraction on newly licensed, young drivers. Within two years of the completed study, the DOT would then be required to report its findings to Congress. Recommendations for revising the minimum distracted driving prohibitions and penalties must accompany this report. These newly proposed minimum distracted driving prohibitions would be mandatory for all states. Each state would then be allotted two years to comply with the law or lose a quarter of their federal highway funding.

Currently, each state is able to create their own laws regulating cell phone and texting use. Some states offer strict laws to prevent distracted driving while others have absolutely no restrictions at all. A majority of states ban teenagers from using cell phones while driving. Texting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle is forbidden in some 30 states. If this proposed bill becomes law, the entire country would be put under a seamless law that would require all motorists to follow it or face the consequences.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 5,500 people died because of car accidents that involved a distracted driver in 2009. These accidents accounted for roughly 1 in 6 of all motor-vehicle accident related fatalities that year.

Continue reading "Safe Driver Act of 2011 Could Increase Distracted Driving Laws in Illinois" »

An Illinois school bus crash that occurred Thursday morning on the South side of Chicago resulted in nine people being injured, and several hurt were special education students, the Chicago Tribune is reporting. All of the injured were taken to area hospitals after two school buses and a truck were involved in a traffic collision.

The three vehicle accident took place around 7 AM in the area of Ashland Avenue and 76th Street. Chicago Fire Department ambulances took five of the injured to Holy Cross Hospital, 2 to St. Bernard Hospital and 2 to Little Company of Mary Hospital. There were reportedly no life-threatening injuries, and all were in good to fair condition.

The two school buses involved were from two different companies contracted by the Chicago Board of Education. What caused the accident has not been reported.

Read the story as reported by NBC news here.

This is the second Chicago area bus crash this week involving two school buses. As Illinois injury lawyers from our office previously reported, 20 students were injured and hospitalized in north suburban Evanston on Tuesday when one school bus rear-ended another.

Bus accidents can be particularly dangerous to the passengers on board, as they are not typically seat belted and can be thrown around in a collision, sometimes resulting in serious injuries.

A Chicago area school bus accident occurred on Thursday around 5 PM when a bus drove through a brick wall into a classroom in South Suburban Orland Park. Trib Local in Orland Park is reporting that the accident occurred at Central Junior High School, part of Orland School District 135. The bus was on school grounds for a volleyball game.

The crash reportedly occurred when the accelerator pedal stuck to the floor and would not release. By Thursday night maintenance crews started work to repair the damage.

The Orland Park Police Department is investigating the accident. No injuries have been reported and no children were on the bus at the time of the incident.

If the school bus driver was hurt in the accident, he or she will have a workers' comp claim under Illinois law. Whether the accelerator pedal stuck or the driver just loss control the bus will be irrelevant as far as a work injury claim is concerned. Workers' compensation is a no-fault law in the State of Illinois.

An Illinois school bus crash that happened on Friday on the Kennedy Expressway has injured four people, according to WGN TV. The collision involved a school bus and a car, and occurred in the evening hours.

There was an EMS Plan 1 response from the Chicago Fire Department which sent five ambulances to the scene around 5:40 PM. The accident took place in the southbound lanes around Division Street.

Due to the accident, two of the injured were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. One was in serious to critical condition and the other was in fair to serious condition. Two others were taken by ambulance to St. Mary Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

All the passengers on the bus were adults, and it is not been reported what caused the crash.

In other Chicago area bus accident news, the Chicago Breaking News Center is reporting that a school bus in Skokie crashed into a building on Monday afternoon. Only the driver was on the bus and no one inside the building was hurt.

School bus driver was taken by ambulance to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver told police that the brakes failed as she was pulling out of a parking lot at 3412 Touhy Ave. She was a driver for the Illinois Central Bus Company.

Whether the brakes failed or not, if the driver was injured she will have the right to make an Illinois workers' compensation claim. Work comp is a no-fault claim in the State of Illinois.

An Illinois school bus crash in South suburban Orland Park has resulted in injuries to 12 people, including nine grade school students, according to CBS News in Chicago. The students were from High Point School, a school for third, fourth and fifth graders. The accident occurred around 3 PM at 147th St. & Lagrange Road, and involved a school bus and a car.

The bus had 20 students on board at the time of the accident. Nine were injured were taken to area hospitals. The injuries are reportedly non-life-threatening

School administrators reportedly came out to the scene to help police. The Orland Park Fire Department also responded. Some parents drove out to the scene of the accident to pick up their kids, while others were taken away by another bus.

Chicago area school bus accidents can often result in serious injuries. Seatbelts are typically not used on buses, and kids can get badly knocked around in a crash.

The cause of the accident has not yet been reported and is still being investigated. High Point School is part of Orland Park District 135.

Click here to read the story as reported by the Chicago Breaking News Center.

A significant reduction in the number of Chicago car accidents, as well as serious and fatal traffic accidents elsewhere in Illinois, made the state the safest it has been since 1921, according to 2009 traffic statistics released by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

A total of 911 traffic fatalities were reported in Illinois last year and 89,090 were injured. Those figures indicate about 3 people are killed and 244 are injured every day on Illinois roads. Total economic cost was $5.3 billion.

Each fatality cost $1.3 million. An incapacitating injury cost $66,900, while a nonincapacitating injury cost $21,700.

Fatal Accidents in Illinois
-911 motorists were killed in 832 fatal crashes.
-25.7 crashes occurred at intersections.
-77.2 percent occurred on dry roads.
-48.3 percent occurred in daylight.
-56.4 occurred on urban roads.
-31.7 occurred in a crash with a fixed object.

Illinois Pedestrian Accidents
-111 pedestrians were killed in 2009.
-5,231 were injured.
-One in five fatal pedestrian accidents involved a senior citizen; 1 in 20 involved a child under the age of 15.

Illinois Motorcycle Accidents
-A total of 3,846 motorcycle crashes were reported.
-130 riders were killed and 3,152 were injured.

Illinois School Bus Accidents
-133 school-aged children were injured in school bus accidents.
-78 drivers were injured in school bus accidents.

Illinois Semi Accidents
-64 people were killed in tractor-trailer accidents in Illinois.
-3 fatality victims were occupants of tractor-trailers, while 55 were occupants of other vehicles.

Illinois Train Accidents
-One-fourth of fatal train accidents happened at crossings with gates.
-Three-quarters of fatal train crashes happened at crossings with other types of traffic control devices, including signs and flashing lights.

Illinois Work Zone Accidents
-31 people were killed in Illinois work zone accidents in 2009.
-5 of those killed were construction workers.

Continue reading "Fewer Chicago car accidents contribute to historic statewide reduction; nearly 250 a day still injured in Illinois car accidents" »

A lawsuit has been filed over a suburban Chicago school bus accident by a mother who claims her child was injured when the driver fell out of the bus while trying to vomit, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

With the school year set to begin, school bus safety will be back in focus. The causes of school bus accidents can include new or inexperienced drivers, faulty or poorly maintained equipment, unruly passengers, distracted driving, driving under the influence or the driving behavior of another motorist on the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that school buses remain among the safest modes of transportation, with an average of just 19 deaths reported each year.

However, many others are injured in school bus accidents and school-related transportation crashes each year. And the fall brings increased risk as motorists get used to watching for buses and students as the school year begins.

In this case, a mother of a child who was injured has filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court, claiming the driver of the Illinois Central School Bus opened the door to vomit, and then fell out of the bus. The bus continued on and crashed into a nearby ditch. The crash reportedly occurred as the bus approached an intersection in Pembroke Township in Kankakee County.

The personal injury lawsuit reports that the child was injured; it does not say whether other students on the bus were also hurt.

The Illinois Central School Bus company would not comment on the lawsuit but said safety was a top priority. Based in suburban Montgomery, the bus company claims to be the 7th largest school bus transportation company in the United States.

Illinois' 2008 traffic fatality clock logged 1,115 Illinois traffic crashes per day. Eleven people an hour were injured and 3 people a day died in fatal Illinois traffic accidents, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation's 2008 Illinois Crash Facts and Statistics report.

This is the second blog looking at the newly published information. The Chicago injury lawyers and wrongful death attorneys at Abels & Annes published the first blog in the series on our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog last week.

The study reported 10.1 million vehicles registered to 8.7 million licensed drivers traveled over 100 billion miles in 2008. There were 408,258 traffic accidents reported in Illinois during 2008, which caused 94,021 injuries and claimed 1,043 lives.

The Illinois State Police announced last week a campaign to reduce the number of Illinois traffic fatalities by at least 100 through the end of the year, dropping the state total below 1,000. Currently, Illinois is one of 10 states that reported more than 1,000 road deaths last year.

Breakdown of Illinois vehicles:
77 percent passenger cars
17 percent trucks, buses and recreational vehicles
4 percent motorcycles

The highest numbers of fatalities were among passenger cars (850) and pickup trucks (200). However, a high number of fatalities were reported as a result of Illinois trucking accidents (113) and Illinois motorcycle accidents (131).

The state has a good chance of dipping below the 1,000 mark -- 781 fatalities had been reported as of Nov. 10, compared to 883 in the prior year. But November and December are traditionally two of the deadliest months on the road, with holiday travel, Illinois drunk driving crashes and winter weather combining to increase road hazards.

Continue reading "More than 1,000 Illinois car accidents a day injured 11 people an hour in 2008" »

Illinois recorded the fewest traffic fatalities since 1923, according to an exhaustive report on 2008 traffic fatalities released by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

The Chicago car accident attorneys and the Chicago injury lawyers at Abels & Annes are taking a look at the report in a series of blog here at our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog and our sister site, Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog.

"We believe these reductions are evident that Illinois' traffic safety efforts are working," Gov. Pat Quinn said.

While the statistics are encouraging, the simple fact remains that traffic fatalities are a leading killer both in Illinois and nationwide. For most of us, riding in a motor vehicle is the most dangerous activity in our lives.

In 2008, 1,043 people were killed and more than 94,000 injured in Illinois traffic accidents, the vast majority occurred in an around Chicago. But, perhaps because of the poor economy, fewer motorists were on the road: the state reported a 1.6 percent decrease in traffic.

Highlights of "2008 Illinois Crash Facts and Statistics"

Cost
-Total estimated cost of Illinois traffic accidents in 2008 was $6.2 billion
-Each fatality was estimated to cost $1.2 million
-An incapacitating injury was estimated to cost $67,500
-A nonincapacitating injury was estimated to cost $21,800
-A property damage crash was estimated to cost $7,800

Fatal
-1,043 people were killed in 950 fatal Illinois crashes in 2008
-There was an average of 1.1 deaths per fatal crash
-25.2 percent of fatal crashes occurred at intersections
-74.2 percent of fatal crashes occurred on dry roads
-48.2 percent of fatal crashes occurred during daylight hours
-55.7 percent of fatal crashes occurred on urban roads
-29.8 percent of fatal crashes occurred with a fixed object

Alcohol
-44 percent of fatally injured drivers who were tested, tested positive for alcohol
-49.3 percent of fatally injured drivers ages 16 to 24 who were tested, tested positive for alcohol

Pedestrian Accidents
-135 pedestrians were killed in 2008 and 5,423 were injured
-About 9 percent were under 15 years old
-About 15 percent were over the age of 65
-About 40 percent had a positive blood-alcohol content

Motorcycle Accidents
-There were 4,901 motorcycle crashes in 2008, though the number of fatalities decreased by 14 percent

School Bus Accidents
-No school bus passengers were killed; 123 were injured
-No school bus drivers were killed;99 were injured

Tractor Trailer Accidents
-115 people were killed in semi accidents
-5 of the persons killed were truck drivers while 99 were occupants of another vehicle

Train Accidents
-38.5 percent of fatal train crashes happened at crossings with gates
-53.8 percent happened at crossings with control devices other than gates, including flashers and warning signs

Work Zone Accidents
-There were 31 fatal crashes in work zones in 2008 in which 31 people were killed
-Two of the persons killed were road construction workers

Deer
-There were 24,209 crashes involving deer
-Two deer crashes involved fatalities

If you or someone you love has been injured or killed in an accident, call the Chicago injury lawyers and Illinois wrongful death attorneys at Abels & Annes for a free appointment to discuss your rights. Call (866) 99-ABELS. There is no fee unless you win.

In Naperville, Illinois an auto accident occurred on Thursday after a vehicle stopped to allow geese to cross the road, according to the Naperville Sun. A second car stopped behind the first car, and then a school bus rear-ended the 2nd car, knocking it into the 1st car. The auto accident occurred at Naper Boulevard and Chicago Avenue around 7 a.m.

The school bus was headed to Naperville North High School with 33 students on board. No injuries were reported and the bus was able to continue on to school.

If it ends up there were injuries in the accident, liability would mainly be against the school bus operator for driving too fast for conditions and failing to stop in time to avoid an accident. While no injuries were reported at the scene, it is likely that the occupants of the vehicle that was rear-ended sustained back and/or neck injuries (and others involved could have been injured as well).

If the bus driver was injured, while at fault, he or she would still have a case as well. The driver would have a workers' compensation claim against the bus company for injuries sustained on the job.

Finally, word on the street is the geese fled the scene of the accident.