Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog

How much you pay for auto insurance can be influenced by your behavior both on and off the road, according to a report published by Yahoo!

And, while some of the behavior can also increase your chances of being involved in a Chicago car accident, other factors insurance companies look at have nothing to do with your behavior while behind the wheel. While consumer advocates continue to push for better consumer protections, some of the industry’s more questionable practices continue and many companies have grown even more aggressive in response to the economic downturn. Our Chicago injury lawyers encourage motorists to shop around when looking for auto insurance. Consider using an agent rather than an online quote, and purchase as much coverage as you can afford. The mandatory minimums will not even come close to protecting your physical and financial well-being in the event that you or a family member are in a serious accident.Distracted driving, speeding, drunk driving and other poor driving habits are likely to result in a quick and often substantial increase in your insurance rates. “If the driver does get into an accident as a result of his behavior, his next policy renewal would reflect it,” said Robert U’Ren, senior VP of Quality Planning Corp., a company that assists insurers with validating and underwriting policies.

Texting While Driving

We continue to report the dangers of texting while driving. Thirty states, including Illinois, have outlawed the practice in an effort to reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 6,000 people a year are killed and more than 500,000 are injured. Only drunk driving and speeding claim more lives. And insurance companies are paying attention to the risks. If you are issued a citation for distracted driving or for violation a cell phone or text messaging law, you can expect an increase in your insurance premiums during your next billing cycle.Not wearing a seat belt

As we reported recently on our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, Illinois continues to toughen its seat belt law and the associated enforcement. Motorists who are cited for violations could see an increase in the cost of their car insurance.

Teen Drivers

Just adding a teen to your policy will include a drastic increase in the cost of car insurance. Call it guilt by association, but car insurance companies command a heavy premium to ensure young drivers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that car accidents are the leading cause of death of young people ages 15 to 20. And we have reported extensively on the dangers teens face, particularly when it comes to driver distraction.

Several other variables can increase the cost of insurance premiums and have nothing at all to do with your behavior while on the road. While consumer advocates continue to decry these practices, insurance companies continue to get away with them.

Credit

Insurance companies continue to use a driver’s credit score in setting insurance rates. Companies continue to claim that characteristics of a consumer’s credit score can help predict the likelihood of a claim. Those with poor credit are also thought to be more likely to engage in insurance fraud or other high-risk behavior.

Paying insurance in installments

Motorists have always received a bit of a break for paying their insurance all at once, or in six-month installments. But companies have really ratcheted up such fees. Consumers often do not see them as a fee, because companies market them as the cost of coverage, while offering discounts to those who pay in one lump sum. Whatever you call it, making monthly payments can easily cost you an additional several hundred dollars a year.

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The U.S. Department of Transportation will hold a National Distracted Driving Summit in September as the federal government continues the effort to convince states to adopt measures aimed at preventing motorists from texting while driving.

The first summit was held last year and culminated in an order issued by President Obama that forbid 4 million federal employees from text messaging while driving government vehicles. As we reported recently on our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, authorities believe the state’s texting ban is partly responsible for the reduction in Chicago car accidents and serious and fatal traffic accidents elsewhere in Illinois.But there is concern that the patchwork of legislation is less than desirable. Eight states ban the use of hand-held cell phones. Thirty states ban drivers from text messaging. Twenty-eight states forbid new drivers from using cell phones except in cases of emergency.

Several states, including Florida and Arizona, have no laws at all. Meanwhile, some large cities, including Chicago, have enacted their own laws. Using hand-held cell phones is illegal in Chicago but permitted elsewhere in Illinois, except in school zones and areas of road construction. Text messaging by drivers is illegal throughout the state.

Many expect the federal government to soon announce the use of federal highway dollars to induce states to fall into line with a uniform standard. A similar tactic was used to convince states to adopt uniform standards for drunk driving and seat belt compliance as the fed threatened to withhold highway funding from states that failed to comply.

Nationwide, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 6,000 people are killed and more than 500,000 are injured each year in accidents caused by distracted driving. Only drunk driving and speeding are blamed for more deaths.

“Working together, we can put an end to the thousands of needless deaths and injuries caused by distracted driving each year,” said Secretary LaHood. “By getting the best minds together, I believe we can figure out how to get people to put down their phones and pay attention to the road.”
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A proposal to use high-speed paid toll lanes on Chicago freeways could reduce congestion but it’s unclear what impact it could have on the number of serious and fatal Chicago car accidents.

The Chicago Tribune reports the lanes are being promoted by experts as a way to reduce congestion in the nation’s third-worst congested city. The Metropolitan Planning Council and the Illinois Tollway say it’s time for Chicago motorists to embrace “congestion pricing.”The system would work by charging a toll, perhaps about $5 for the typical commute, to use a lane where traffic would be managed to guarantee a steady flow of traffic.

“The public understands that unpredictable traffic conditions make everyday driving like a game of roulette,” said Joseph Schwieterman, an urban transportation expert at DePaul University. “Congestion pricing is about the only weapon we have in our arsenal to encourage more efficient use of our expressways.”

Supporters say the system would create incentives to travel during less-congested times of day, encourage car pooling and the use of mass transit, and reduce the amount of time and money wasted by motorists stuck in traffic.

Our Chicago car accident attorneys think such a system could help reduce accidents. Rear-end collisions and distracted driving accidents are most likely to occur in slow moving, bumper-to-bumper traffic. Such accidents further snarl traffic and cause additional distractions for passing motorists.

However, accidents at higher speeds are far more dangerous. Federal studies show the risk of being seriously injured or killed doubles with every 5 mph increase in speed over 55 mph. Additionally, many are rightly concerned about instituting a system allowing authorities to begin charging to use roads — taxpayers already own the roads; they paid to have them built.

Officials targeted three routes to study: the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) from I-355 to downtown Chicago; the Jane Addams Tollway (I-90) from I-290/Illinois Highway 53 to Elgin; and the reversible lanes of the Kennedy Expressway (I-90/94).

Express lanes and high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes are being used or are being considered in 22 states.
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Detectives continue to investigate how the victim of a Chicago car accident was found dead in an alley a mile away, the Sun-Times reported. Authorities believe the accident may have involved street racing but are unsure of how the victim’s body ended up in the alley.

It is the second time in about a week that police have been called to investigate a fatal accident involving street racing. On July 18, our Chicago accident lawyers reported that a motorist was killed and two others were injured in a crash on westbound I-290. Investigators in that case believe two vehicles were drag racing when one of the vehicles left the road.

In this case, a man reportedly struck and dragged in a crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway on Saturday was found dead in a South Side alley a mile away. The 18-year-old man died as a result of injuries sustained in a crash on the Dan Ryan at 69th Street, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Adding a list of cell phone laws in states you plan to travel through has become a summer road trip essential as motorists navigate the patchwork of state laws aimed at cracking down on distracted driving accidents, MSNBC reported.

As we reported on our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, Illinois began the new year with a law preventing drivers from using hand-held cell phones to text message or navigate the Internet while behind the wheel. The law also prohibits the use of hand-held cell phones in school zones and construction sites.The City of Chicago has outlawed all hand-held cell phone use since 2005, in an effort to reduce the number of Chicago car accidents caused by distracted driving.

But those are just two of dozens of laws states and local governments have enacted in recent years as authorities have seized on the use of cell phones, and particularly text messaging, as a primary cause of distracted driving crashes. Nationwide, more than 6,000 people a year are killed and 500,000 are injured in accidents caused by distracted driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

And, while signs won’t be posted notifying motorists of the laws, that does not lessen their obligation to obey them.

“Drivers are still responsible for knowing the cell phone laws that apply in each state, ” said AAA spokesperson Nancy White. While the organization urges motorists to leave cell phones alone while behind the wheel, its website offers information on various state laws.

Our Chicago injury lawyers encourage motorists to pull over when using a cell phone. Better yet, unplug during your vacation and toss the phone in the trunk. It will be there if you need it. In the meantime, relax and enjoy the peace and quiet with a view.

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, eight state ban the use of hand-held cell phones: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington.

-Twenty-eight states ban the use of cell phones by young drivers.

-Thirty states ban text messaging while driving.

In some states, including Maine and Utah, the laws are part of a larger distracted driving initiative and enforcement can only occur if a driver is pulled over for committing another moving violation, such as speeding. In other states, like Maryland, the law allows for primary enforcement, meaning a driver can be stopped and ticketed if caught violating the cell phone law.

Like Chicago, many municipalities have enacted their own regulations governing cell phone use. Although several states, including Florida, have enacted legislation forbidding a patchwork of measure from being enacted by local governments within a state.
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