Articles Posted in Auto Accident

What is the true purpose of a red light enforcement camera? Well, it may depend on who you ask. Though the publicly stated position is to limit the number of vehicles running red lights and therefore reduce the number of red light car accidents, many drivers feel that the motives may be less altruistic by local governments.

Some in Chicago have been very vocal about their views on red light cameras, stating that the cameras are designed to raise revenue through the issuance of tickets and not designed to improve safety. However, new information released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (“IIHS”) may dispute this widely held belief as the research concludes that use of red lights is saving lives.

According to IIHS, red light camera programs in 79 large U.S. cities are believed to have saved nearly 1,300 through 2014 at a time when car accidents continue to be one of the major causes of unintentional death in America.

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More and more people in the Chicago area are ditching traditional forms of transportation and opting to grab an Uber instead. Uber, a rideshare company based on the west coast, allows those who want to catch a ride to request one via an app, enabling a car or SUV to pick up the rider at the rider’s specified location. Unlike a city bus which follows a specific route, an Uber car can travel anywhere in an approved service area. And unlike a taxi cab which may be difficult to find, an Uber vehicle literally comes to the place where a rider needs it to be within a specified time frame. For many, long gone are the days when they waited on a corner in the rain, trying to grab a ride to make it to work or school on time.

However, as the number of Uber rides and passengers continue to swell in Illinois, so do the number of Uber car accidents that result. Though some of these are minor, many have turned serious and caused injuries to the drivers and passengers involved, leading the victims to wonder where they stand legally and what options they have to get help if a crash affects their lives.

Passengers who were riding in an Uber car at the time of a collision may face a more complicated path to help than those involved in car accidents not involving such a major corporation. First, the victims will need to determine who is legally liable for the crash and whether more than one entity bears the blame. Typically, the driver of an Uber or another driver in another car will have made a mistake or error, leading to the impact between vehicles. However, in other situations, faulty mechanical work, a poorly designed car, negligent maintenance of a road or intersection, or even inclement weather may be blamed for an accident.

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The laws in Illinois are designed to protect the safety of all who call the state home, yet when individuals ignore or violate the law, that safety can be jeopardized. One area that receives little attention but makes a massive impact on others is in the arena of automobile insurance. If you live in Illinois and you own a personal vehicle, you are required to carry insurance on that car that meets or exceeds state minimum levels. The purpose behind this mandatory insurance provision is to protect the innocent victims of car accidents who are hurt by enabling them to obtain financial compensation, a form of relief that can help victims get the medical treatment they need as well as provider payment for all of their other expenses.

Though the law applies to all drivers, the fact remains that every day, motorists without valid insurance drive in an around Chicago, posing a serious threat in the event they are involved in a crash. In fact, the Insurance Information Institute reported that an estimated 13.3 percent of all motorists on Illinois roads in 2012 were uninsured, contrary to and in violation of state laws. Victims who are hurt by these uninsured drivers soon realize that there may be no insurance funds to provide for their damages, pay for their medical expenses, or even compensate them while they are forced to miss work.
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There is a fallacy among drivers that is widely held in Chicago: drivers tend to believe they are better and more skilled than other motorists on the road. Regardless of how long they have been operating a car, where they learned and how they learned to drive, whether they have been cited for illegal conduct or caused a collision in the past, or even whether they have had subsequent training since an initial driver’s education program, the majority of motorists describe their skills as “better than average” when surveyed.

In fact, many Illinois drivers have the educational basis to be very effective and safe on the roadways but in practice, these drivers often ignore what they consider to be good advice for others. A typical example involves texting while driving or other distracted behaviors while behind the wheel. A survey from last year found that 98 percent of adult drivers stated that texting while driving was unsafe yet shockingly, 49 percent of surveyed drivers admitted to texting while driving.

This “do as I say, not as I do” approach is not only ignorant but it can be lethal. Experts have concluded that using a cell phone increases the risks of a car accident by 400 percent and that many of these collisions result in injuries or death to those involved.

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It is basic human instinct to try and control the circumstances surrounding our daily lives and that often stretches to our driving habits. Most motorists will claim that they operate their cars in a reasonable and safe manner, desiring to keep themselves and others near them safe and accident-free. However, a deeper look into Chicago’s driving scene reveals that numerous drivers speed, tailgate, exhibit signs of road rage, weave in and out of traffic, and even drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol on an occasional basis. With so many threatening and reckless factors contributing to roadways safety, it may be surprising just how many people avoid a car accident daily.

Any type of traffic accident can be serious but a rollover collision always poses a significant threat to personal safety. In fact, rollovers are estimated to make up about three percent of all collisions nationwide but they are involved in about 30 percent of deaths among those in a passenger vehicle. The most troubling aspect of a rollover crash is that so many can be prevented when you realize that nearly half of rollover incidents involve one or more drivers who have enough alcohol in their systems to make them impaired.

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As we move deeper into September and the autumn season, the temperatures and leaves will begin to fall. But before we can start enjoying hot cider and apple picking, Mother Nature has a few more weeks of summer heat in store for Chicago. These warmer temperatures increase the likelihood of tire blowouts which can not only be annoying to drivers but also a safety concern. Tire blowouts are incredibly dangerous as they can cause serious motor vehicle accidents which tend to lead to injuries to those involved.

Tire blowouts are more likely to occur when the weather is hot than they are when temperatures are mild. Warm temperatures make the surface of a road hot which can lead to increased friction between a tire and the road. This friction creates heat which puts greater stress on the tire’s components, increasing the odds that the tire will fail. Tires that are underinflated further struggle to accommodate the weight of the vehicle, causing the tires to become overloaded and increasing the friction they normally experience on the roadway.

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A typical motor vehicle accidents may involve two vehicles but some collisions can involve several vehicles. The more vehicles involved in a collision, the more likely it is that damage and injuries will be severe. Given the high volume of traffic in Chicago, multi-vehicle car accidents are very common.

Intersections by nature are a place where vehicles converge which is why multi-vehicle accidents are common in these locations. One distracted driver at a four way stop can cause an accident involving numerous cars just by failing to yield to the right-of-way. When intersections have unique designs, the possibility for multi-vehicle accidents increases. These unique designs are common with older intersections where three streets intersect instead of the typical two. If a driver is not paying attention, the driver can easily fail to see the third street and be unaware of incoming traffic.

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If you were hoping for some nice weather this Labor Day weekend, you are in luck: the forecast in Chicago is calling for mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s and 80s. If you were hoping for an easy weekend of driving, though, the odds may not be in your favor as experts expect Labor Day to be one of the busiest driving holidays of the summer.

Millions of cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs are expected on Illinois roadways this weekend and today may be the busiest day for those who want to head out of town. The Illinois Tollway believes that 7.8 million vehicles will use some part of the tollway system during the long weekend as they leave the city, enter town, or simply drive around the state.

If you plan to be one of the millions who will travel by car this weekend, consider what you can do to keep yourself safe and to limit the risk that you will be the victim of a car accident.

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