Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog

Progress not perfection: Advocates vow to continue fight against Chicago car accidents caused by drunk drivers

September 10, 2010 | By Dave Abels

A new study found that 17 million motorists a year drive drunk despite 80 percent of drivers who cite drunk driving as a serious threat to the health and welfare of their family.

The study found that 8 percent of motorists admitted to driving drunk at least once in the past year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. As our Chicago injury lawyers have frequently reported, drunk driving crashes are a leading cause of Illinois car accidents — 434 of 1,043 fatal accidents that were reported in 2008 involved alcohol.The news has Mothers Against Drunk Driving redoubling its efforts as we head into the heart of the 2010 holiday season.

“The survey makes one thing very clear: drunk driving remains a primary threat to the American family,” said Laura Dean-Mooney, MADD National President. “This means that MADD’s work won’t be done until cars are turned into the cure, eliminating drunk driving forever.”

Still, there is good news: MADD says drunk driving fatalities have declined nationwide by 44 percent in the 30 years since the organization’s inception. And the survey found support for ignition interlock devices and sobriety checkpoints, two of the enforcement actions most promoted by MADD and other safety advocates.

Like many poor driving decision, the study found that teenagers are among those most at risk; particularly young men under the age of 24. A full one-fourth of all young males admitted to driving drunk or riding in a car with someone who had too much to drink at some point during the last year.

“We know that the younger kids start drinking alcohol, the more likely they are to become drunk drivers,” said Dean-Mooney. “This data reiterates that point and makes it clear that parents need to talk to their kids about the dangers of drinking underage early, and often.”
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Chicago rollover car crash injures 5 on Lake Shore Drive

September 9, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Chicago car crash that occurred on Sunday night has resulted in five people being injured, including three teenagers, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The accident took place when a northbound SUV on Interstate 55 was on a connecting ramp to Lake Shore Drive when it rolled over.

All five of the injured were hospitalized in serious to critical condition after the crash. Two of the injured were taken to Cook County Hospital and three were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital by ambulance.

A total of seven people were riding an SUV. The 18-year-old driver of the SUV is likely to be issued multiple citations, as two of the teenage passengers were not wearing seatbelts.

Chicago injury lawyer resolves DuPage County bus accident case

September 8, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Illinois school bus accident attorneys at Abels & Annes have settled a lawsuit that stems from a June 4, 2008 collision in the Western suburb of Woodridge.

At the time of the accident, our client was a passenger on a Pace bus that was rear-ended by a school bus. The accident happened at 63rd and Woodard. Several other passengers were injured in the bus accident.

The accident was investigated by the Woodridge Police Department. After interviewing the parties involved, they issued the school bus driver a citation for driving too fast for conditions.

High risk of Chicago car accidents places city among the nation’s worst

September 7, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Allstate Insurance reports that Chicago is among the most dangerous places in the nation when it comes to the risk of being involved in a traffic accident.

If injured in a collision, we strongly urge you to consult with a Chicago car accident lawyer so that your rights can be fully protected. You should speak with a lawyer as soon as possible after an accident.

The Sun-Times reports the number of serious and fatal Chicago car accidents was enough to rank the city 167th safest out of 200 U.S. cities.Though that is slightly better than the 170th place ranking last year, the study still found that the average Chicago driver is involved in an accident every 7.6 years. Chicago scored worse than major U.S. cities like Atlanta, Houston and New York but better than Los Angeles and Dallas.

Drivers in Chicago were 32.3 percent more likely to be involved in an accident than the national average.

Washington D.C. was the worst city in the nation, with the average driver reporting an accident every 5.1 years. The best city was Fort Collins, Colo., where drivers went an average of about 14.5 years without reporting an accident.

FOX Chicago reported that Naperville cane in at number 133, while Rockford placed 38.

“For the sixth year, Allstate is releasing the Allstate America’s Best Driver’s Report to facilitate an ongoing dialogue on safe driving,” said Mike Roche, senior vice president, Allstate’s Claim Organization. “Human error is the biggest cause of accidents. It is vital for us to educate drivers across the country on the importance of being tolerant and attentive behind the wheel.”

Safe Driving Tips offered with the study include:

-Minimize Distractions
-Be Aware of Road Conditions
-Maintain a safe following distance
-Avoid Road Rage by allowing plenty of time to reach your destination and not engaging in aggressive driving habits.

-Properly maintain your vehicle

Chicago car accidents caused by more than distracted driving and runaway Toyotas

September 6, 2010 | By Dave Abels

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is accusing the federal government of getting sidetracked by text messaging and runaway Toyotas instead of tackling the tough work of forcing the auto industry to incorporate better safety technology into vehicles, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Our Chicago accident attorneys have reported exhaustively, both here and on our sister site Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, regarding the efforts by the government to combat text messaging and cell phone use by drivers.

The Toyota recall issues was well-documented, if not drastically overplayed, throughout the spring and summer months.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration blames 6,000 deaths and 500,000 injuries a year on distracted driving. However, about 34,000 deaths — or 100 deaths a day — occur on the nation’s roads. Traffic crashes remain the number one cause of accidental death in the United States.

“There’s nothing rational about the way we set highway safety priorities,” said Institute President Adrian Lund in the organization’s August Status Report. the IIHS is the safety and advocacy arm of the insurance industry. “You’d think from the media coverage, congressional hearings, and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s focus in recent months that separating drivers from their phones would all but solve the public-health problem of crash deaths and injuries — It won’t.”

Naturally, the U.S. Department of Transportation took exception to the Institute’s position in a response published in the Wall Street Journal.

“Safety is the Department of Transportation’s number one priority, which is why we are aggressively and urgently tackling a number of risks to drivers’ safety,” the DOT’s statement said. “We are going to continue taking drunk drivers off the road, getting people to put down their phones and other distractions, making sure cars and trucks are safe to drive, and doing whatever else is necessary to keep Americans safe behind the wheel.”

Whether the government has overemphasized Toyota defects and the dangers of text messaging is debatable. However, the NHTSA has yet to release traffic accident statistics from last year, which usually occurs by mid-summer. The NHTSA is the arm that has taken a lead role in both issues.
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Chicago car accident injures 9 on the north side

September 5, 2010 | By Dave Abels

NBC news is reporting that a total of nine people have been hurt, seven seriously, in a Chicago car crash. The accident happened in the Logan Square neighborhood on the north side just after 2 AM on Saturday morning. It is being reported that a driver of a silver Infiniti caused the accident, however there is no indication that the crash was alcohol related, that according to the Chicago Police Department.

Infiniti was headed westbound on Fullerton Avenue when it hit another Infiniti vehicle at or near Sacramento Boulevard. The at fault driver then fled the scene of the accident and headed back east on Fullerton at a high rate of speed. As the silver Infiniti fled, it crashed into a taxicab in a Toyota in the 2900 block of W. Fullerton Ave.

The force of the impact ejected three people from the Infiniti, injured the taxi driver and passenger, and injured the woman driving the Toyota. According to witnesses, the at fault driver was alert after the crash, however the three passengers that were ejected were unresponsive.

Chicago pedestrian accident lawyer settles case

September 4, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Chicago injury attorneys at Abels & Annes have reached a settlement in a pedestrian accident case that occurred on the north side.

The accident took place on December 16, 2009 at the intersection of Sheridan Road and Estes. Our client was walking northbound on the west side of Sheridan Road. The defendant was driving westbound on Estes. Our client had a walk signal at the stop light and began to cross Estes within a marked crosswalk. At that time the driver, who was in an SUV, had a red light. The defendant entered the crosswalk on red and the front of the SUV struck our client, causing her to fall to the ground. She landed on her backside and head.

The Chicago Police Department responded to the accident. At the scene the defendant admitted to the investigating police officer that he did not see our client in the crosswalk. An independent witness also reported to the police that our client was crossing within the crosswalk on a green light.

Chicago injury lawyers retained in Illinois motorcycle accident case

September 3, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Chicago motorcycle accident lawyers at Abels & Annes, P.C. have entered into an agreement to represent a motorcyclist from the North Side who was injured in an August 27 accident. The collision occurred as our client rode his motorcycle northbound on Milwaukee Avenue near its intersection with Paulina.

At that time the driver of an SUV failed to see our client and turned left without yielding. There was a collision and the plaintiff was knocked to the ground.

A Chicago Fire Department ambulance rushed the plaintiff to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He sustained multiple lacerations on his legs, a left ankle injury, multiple bruises and abrasions, and neck and back injuries. 52 stitches were required to repair his lacerations.

The injured motorcycle rider is following up with a medical doctor for further treatment.

The Chicago Police Department investigated the accident. The driver of the SUV was ticketed for failing to yield while turning left.

Training of teen drivers has led to fewer Chicago car accidents — In Indiana … not so much

September 2, 2010 | By Dave Abels

Officials in Indiana are trying to make sense of a study that found that teens who take driver’s education classes are four time more likely to be involved in a crash than those who forgo the training.

The report by the Chicago Breaking News Center comes as officials nationwide continue the effort to reduce the number of serious and fatal car accidents involving teen drivers. As we reported on our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, a teen challenge is running through mid-September, which encourages young drivers to submit public service announcements about the dangers of texting and driving.Safety advocates point to Illinois’ Graduated Driver Licensing System, considered by some to be one of the nation’s best young-driver programs, for the reduction in Chicago car accidents involving teenagers.

“I am pleased and encouraged that the number of teen crash fatalities continues to drop since my Teen Driver Safety Task Force issued recommendations that led to the strengthening of Illinois’ graduated driver licensing (GDL) program,” said Secretary of State Jesse White. “Since the stronger GDL program took effect in 2008, teen driving deaths have dropped by over 50 percent.”

Still, 164 motorists were killed in Illinois car accidents involving young drivers in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nationwide, 5,864 young drivers were involved in fatal crashes and more than 228,000 motorists were injured in accidents involving young drivers.

The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette reported that the study looked at 122,924 young drivers in Indiana, more than half of whom did not take driver’s education. Nearly five percent of driver’s ed students were involved in an accident, compared to 1 percent of students without formal driver training. Officials caution that some of the discrepancy might be because teens who take driver’s ed are allowed to get their permits at a younger age and hold a permit for at least six months longer.

Still, the Associated Press reported it might be time to overhaul the driver education system in that state, which has not been updated in three decades.
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Suburban Chicago school bus accident blamed on puking driver

August 31, 2010 | By Dave Abels

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.