Chicago personal injury lawyers at Abels & Annes have reached a settlement on behalf of an Illinois physician that was injured in a DuPage County auto accident. The crash took place at Liberty & Farnsworth in Aurora on October 3, 2009.
Our client was stopped at a red light facing northbound on Liberty in her Honda Civic. At that time an eastbound SUV lost control on wet pavement and struck several cars stopped at the light, including our client. There were a total of five cars involved in the collision.
The Aurora Police Department investigated the crash. Drugs and/or alcohol did not play a role in the accident.
Four people were seriously injured on the West side in three separate Chicago car accidents Saturday morning. The crashes occurred in the Garfield Park and Humboldt Park neighborhoods, the Sun-Times reported.
The Chicago Fire Department reported that one person was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in serious to critical condition after a collision at North Kedzie Avenue and West Walnut Street. The accident happened shortly after 1:30 a.m.
Another motorist was transported to Sinai hospital in serious to critical condition after a second accident, which occurred an hour later on the 4400 block of West Jackson Boulevard.
If you don’t do anything else this summer to warn your teens about the dangers of distracted driving, at least make them watch this video.
As our Chicago car accident lawyers have reported again and again both here and on our sister site, Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, the dangers of distracted driving are very real, particularly for young people. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that car accidents are the leading cause of death for young drivers ages 15 to 20 and teenagers are most likely to be involved in a serious or fatal car accident caused by text messaging.
This video is actually a public service announcement running on British television. While the U.S. government has started a website Distraction.gov in an effort to warn about the dangers of driving distracted, they certainly have not taken it to the street with an in-your-face message like this aimed at teenagers.
The New England Journal of Medicine mentioned the British campaign in an article about the dangers of text messaging and distracted driving. As the article states, at least one study has found that driving while using a cell phone is as dangerous as driving while intoxicated. Drivers who text message are at 23 times greater risk of being involved in an accident.
At least 1.6 million traffic accidents are caused each year by a driver using a cell phone or text messaging.
Now, with publication of the issue in one of the nation’s premiere medical journals, distracted driving has officially become a health issue. The article’s author, Dr. Amy Ship, notes that speaking to patients about the dangers of smoking increases a patient’s chances of quitting. She urges doctors to begin talking to patients about the dangers of distracted driving.
By opening such a dialogue with patients, she has found an opportunity to discuss with them the dangers of using a cell phone even if it’s a hands-free device.
You can do the same by opening a discussion with your child and help reduce their risk of being involved in a serious or fatal Chicago car accident.
A 24 year old pedestrian was hit crossing the street at 9100 S. Stony Island. The driver that hit him fled the scene in a red or burgundy Chevy conversion van that has a gray stripe on the side of it. The driver is reportedly an African American male in his 20s.
The pedestrian victim, who was a Chicago resident, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and pronounced dead a short time later.
A total of 188 red-light cameras have been installed at Chicago intersections and Cook County recently announced plans to install the cameras at even more intersections in suburbia. Chicago car accident attorneys may seek the videotapes as evidence in injury cases. Debate over the cameras has raged as proponents contend they make intersections safer while opponents argue they are little more than a cash cow for government agencies that benefit from millions in ticket revenue.Arizona recently announced an end to its camera program. And, in Palm Beach Florida, a study found rear-end collisions increased without a significant decrease in the number of serious broadside collisions the cameras aim to reduce.
FOX Chicago reports the UIC study found accidents at camera-equipped intersections have actually increased 5 percent. Meanwhile, the Illinois Department of Transportation reports that accidents have declined statewide, including at intersections that are not equipped with the cameras.
A spokesman for IDOT said the study’s number are disproportionately high because the state data used in the analysis counts crashes within 250 feet of a traffic signal as an intersection accident. IDOT maintains the cameras have improved safety and reduced intersection accidents by 20 percent, compared to the 10 percent citywide decline.
Detractors, and an increasing number of studies, continue to allege that the number of rear-end collisions increase when cameras are installed because motorists slam on their brakes at the last minute to avoid getting a ticket.
FOX News also reported earlier this year that the duration of yellow lights appears to be shorter at camera-equipped intersections than at intersections in suburbia that do not have the cameras. Another contentious issue is the citing of motorists for making rolling right turns on red — something that is against the law but that few law enforcement officers enforce even when they witness the violation in person. Palm Beach relaxed its enforcement of right turn violations … after the mayor received a ticket in the mail.
A 16-year-old teenager died Saturday night at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn from brain injuries suffered in a two-vehicle Chicago car accident over Memorial Day weekend, the Post-Tribune reported.
The victim was the passenger in a 2003 Chevy Silverado driven by her 16-year-old boyfriend when their SUV crashed into another vehicle on a rain-slicked highway on Sauk Trail in suburban Cook County, the sheriff’s department reported. The passengers of the other vehicle were also hospitalized with injuries. Cause of the accident remains under investigation. The teen would have been a junior at Marian Catholic High School this fall.
About 1.7 million people a year suffer a traumatic brain injury, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Falls and motor vehicle accidents are the leading causes, accounting for more than half of all brain injuries that occur in the United States each year.
Three women were killed last Monday and a dozen injured in an Illinois semi accident authorities believe may have been caused by a distracted trucker.
The Chicago Tribune reported the accident happened on I-57 north of Mattoon when the tractor trailer crashed into a group of cars slowing for construction. The chain-reaction collision involved at least 9 vehicles, many of which were completely destroyed. The Coles County coroner’s office reported there women — ages 61, 68 and 80 — were killed after the SUV they were traveling in was crushed by the truck.
Cause of the accident remains under investigation by the Illinois State Police. Police tested the blood and urine of the 55-year-old Louisiana truck driver but have no indication that drugs are alcohol are involved. However, a state police Captain said the crash was likely caused by driver inattention.
The measure has the support of some professional truck drivers, who cite aggressive and speeding drivers as a cause of Illinois trucking accidents, according to Land Line Magazine, a professional trucking publication.Last month, the Chicago Tribune reported the results of an investigation that determined nearly two-thirds of motorists cited for speeding in excess of 100 mph, were given court supervision, a form of probation that kept the citations off their driving records, prevented them from having their driver’s licenses suspended and kept their insurance rates from increasing.
At least 1,100 motorists caught traveling 100 mph or faster in Illinois during the last five years were given such breaks.
This week, House lawmakers unanimously passed a measure that would prohibit judges from allowing court supervision in cases where a motorist is convicted of driving at least 40 mph over the limit. The Senate unanimously passed a slightly different version.
As we reported in November on our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers blog, speeding drivers cost an average of $44,193 a minute in speed-related accidents nationwide.
Speed facts:
-Risk of death or serious injury doubles for every 10 mph over 50 mph that a vehicle is traveling at the moment of impact.
-On average, more than 30 people a day, or 1,000 people a month, die in speed-related crashes, making speeding a cause or contributing factor in about one-third of nationwide traffic fatalities each year.
-One-third of fatal crashes involving young motorists, ages 15 to 24, involve speeding.
Lawmakers have forwarded two measures to Gov. Pat Quinn that would toughen the penalty for excessive speed and ease the chances of being cited for a red-light violation via a camera-ticket, the Breaking News Center reported.
Running red lights and speeding are two of the leading causes of Chicago auto accidents, though red-light cameras have come under increasing fire as little more than a money maker for local governments.
The speeding law would prevent drivers found guilty of going 40 mph or more over the limit from receiving a form of probation, known as court supervision, that allows the violation to be removed from a driver’s record if no other violations occur within a set number of months.
The measure comes after an analysis by the Tribune, which found two-thirds of drivers cited for going 100 mph or faster had received court supervision. The supervision option essentially amounts to diversion, which can keep the violation off a driver’s record, prevent it from being taken into account for future violations and negates the chances of increased insurance premiums and other penalties for excess speed. The proposed law would also give judges the option of jail time for speeders caught driving 30 to 39 mph over the limit.
The measure passed the state legislature by a vote of 105-3. The red-light camera proposal passed with a vote of 80-27-1.
The camera legislation would prohibit municipalities from adding additional fees to the standard $100 fine in cases where the ticket is appealed. The fees have become common as a way to deter motorists from fighting the charges. While drivers would still have to come to a complete stop before making a right turn on red, the measure would allow drivers to stop in front of the painted stop line before making the turn, as long as pedestrians are not present.
Municipalities that utilize the cameras would also be required to review the data in an attempt to reveal who effective the cameras are in reducing car accidents. Continue reading
A mother has hurt her own daughter in a Chicago car crash, and it is alleged she was driving drunk at the time, according to the Chicago Tribune. The car accident happened on Thursday night in the 1400 block of South Pulaski Road.
Chicago police officers actually witnessed the accident. They were in the middle of a traffic stop when the 25-year-old defendant drove by going Northbound in a 1997 Chevy. She hit a 1994 Buick, then a truck before coming to a stop.
The mother was charged with aggravated DUI, driving on a suspended license, no insurance, leaving the scene of an accident, and a no seat belt violation for both her and her daughter.
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