Articles Posted in Auto Accident

Right now, Las Vegas is hosting CES, the Consumer Electronics Show and one of the most anticipated annual events in the tech world. Last year, more than 170,000 visitors participated in CES which took over approximately 2.2 million net square feet of exhibit space. With so much room and so many people to experience the event, designers, companies, and startups are showing off their best products to this year’s participants.

One of the biggest things making its debut this year is a concept car by BMW. This concept vehicle, dubbed i8, is getting attention because it has no rear view mirrors, leading many to wonder whether it is a safe design for a vehicle and whether other manufacturers will soon follow suit.

From the outside, the i8 does not look drastically different than many other cars that are being made today. But a closer look reveals that the outside side view mirrors on the driver’s side and passenger’s side are gone, replaced by smaller cameras pointed towards the back of the vehicle. Gone too is the rear view mirror inside the vehicle, mounted on the windshield, and replacing it is a screen that displays images from the two side view cameras and a third camera mounted on the rear windshield.

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When was the last time you had your car’s tires inspected by a mechanic or other individual knowledgeable about their structure? If you are like the average driver in Chicago, it has probably been too long since you gave serious thought to your tires, but that could be a major mistake. Vehicles manufactured after September 1, 2007 must be equipped with tire pressure monitoring systems but many of the cars on the roads today are older than this date and therefore are unlikely to have any type of aid to assist motorists in determining whether their tires are in a good and safe condition.

Tires that are improperly inflated, overused, old, worn, or of an incorrect style for the type of driving done can pose a threat to the safety of all passengers inside that car. Experts agree that failing to maintain tires in an appropriate manner makes a car accident much more likely as those tires can blow out, fail, or even disintegrate. Yet in other instances, tires may have an inherent flaw or a faulty design that makes them fail no matter how they are maintained by a driver. Regardless of the cause of a tire failure, victims who are hurt in these car accidents should know that they may be entitled to financial compensation for their damages.

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This morning, many commuters will once again be on the roads, returning to their jobs after a likely break for a long holiday weekend. That alone can present a risky situation as some will be rushing to make it to the office for the first time in days, but things will be a little more dangerous today and winter weather car accidents will be much more likely as a result. According to the National Weather Service, a winter storm warning is in effect in the Chicago area and will last until 3:00 p.m. today. Those in the area are being warned about freezing rain, very high winds, and the potential for power outages as a result of the storm.

If you plan to be in Chicago through the mid afternoon, know that the possibility of freezing rain and sleet is very high. This precipitation is expected to coat area surface roads and interstates, leading to slippery and dangerous conditions for those who will be traveling by car or other vehicle. Pedestrians and cyclists will also be affected by the weather and are advised to proceed with caution.

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There are certain basic rules of driving that even beginners understand to be universal truths in the nation. Among those is the fact that traffic operates on the right in the United States, except in very limited circumstances like one-way roads, construction zones, or at the direction of a police officer. But despite the fact that every single states in the country requires drivers to operate on the right, wrong-way car accidents keep happening and continue to threaten the lives of those involved.

A wrong-way collision is one where an impact happens and it involves a car traveling against the direction of legal traffic in any given lane. It can happen on residential roads, commercial streets, expressways, interstates, on-ramps, off-ramps, and other areas where traffic is intended to travel in one direction only. These impacts garner a lot of media attention and are highly publicized because of the extreme nature of these crashes as well as the severity of injuries that tend to result. Unlike some other forms of car crashes, wrong-way accidents are extremely likely to cause harm, including death, among drivers and passengers involved.

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Thinking about the streets of Chicago, people who live in the area might realize that traffic safety can be a big issue. But they may fail to understand exactly how large of a problem pedestrian collisions are or why they happen.

Chicago is not alone in that regard: across the country, pedestrian accidents are happening every hour of every day and enacting devastating tolls to those involved. From the injuries that stem from an accident to the medical treatment needed to get well, to the wages missed while a victim is unable to work to the emotional suffering caused by a crash, it can be difficult to measure the toll of these incidents. Yet no matter how you measure these damages, it is clear that the economic toll enters the billions of dollars and that entire communities are suffering as a result.

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The safety of the nation’s highways are a primary concern for all drivers, passengers, and those who will be near the roads at some point in their lives. Simply put, traffic problems are an issue for everyone and therefore increasing the safety on these streets should be a paramount concern across the country. When a car accident takes place and a victim is injured or killed, the suffering extends far beyond that crash scene to a victim’s family members, friends, loved ones, coworkers and neighbors with staggering economic consequences as well as personal.

Recent decades have seen an overall improvement in road safety as the number of fatal collisions and the lives lost in those crashes have decreased. But now, the first half of 2015 has shown a stark departure from the trend as the number of deaths is up approximately 8.1 percent over the same time period in 2014, a substantial increase that has left many experts questioning the reasons behind these accidents.

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If you live in the Chicago area, you know how big of a problem traffic congestion can be. It is so bad that many choose to forego ownership of personal cars in favor of the city’s network of public transportation, taxi cabs, or rideshare options just so drivers do not have to deal with the headaches that accompany traffic. Others try to walk or ride a bicycle when possible and some choose to drive only during hours that are unlikely to see a high traffic load.

If you have these feelings, a new study is justifying them as it has concluded that the Kennedy Expressway near Chicago is the worst bottleneck in the nation. The 12-mile stretch of the Kennedy Expressway between the Circle Interchange with I-290 and the Edens Junction at I-94 outranked all other bottlenecks in the nation in terms of the total delays as well as the average length of congestion in the area.

The study was conducted by the American Highway User’s Alliance and it determined that the Kennedy Expressway resulted in 16,900,000 total delay hours in a year, more than twice as many as the second-largest bottleneck which is located in Los Angeles, California. The Kennedy’s delays were also blamed for $418 million in lost time damages and a waste of 6.37 million gallons of fuel.

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Last year, the weather played a significant role for those who traveled over the Thanksgiving weekend. With the holiday rapidly approaching this year, motorists can rest assured that the weather is expected to be much more cooperative this time around as neither snow nor ice are predicted. However, rain showers may strike Chicago and the surrounding areas on and off beginning on Thursday and congestion on the roadways is anticipated so those who will be driving should still plan ahead.

This year, AAA estimates that 42 million Americans will take a road trip for Thanksgiving of 50 miles or more from their homes, meaning that millions of vehicles will be trying to travel in a relatively short amount of time. If you are one of those who will take to the roads, bear in mind that congestion should be expected and that your travel times might be much longer than normal due to increased traffic on the roadways.

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It is the inevitable transition every year that comes to Chicago and leaves many wondering why they call this city home: the switch from sunny fall days to the year’s first snowfall. If you are one of the many that have been dreading winter weather, be prepared as a snow storm is predicted to hit Cook County later today.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning which begins at 9:00 p.m. tonight and will remain active until 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Previously issued as a watch, officials now feel confident that the storm will strike Chicago and bring with it heavy rain, snow, and other wintery conditions, potentially leading to transportation issues for those around town. At this time, it is believed that rain will start falling around 9:00 p.m. but that the rain will transition to wet, heavy snow that will lead to accumulations of approximately four to eight inches throughout Cook County away from Lake Michigan. The downtown Chicago area and other locations near the lake should receive two to five inches of accumulating snow.

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Beginning in February of 2014, General Motors recalled approximately 30 million cars worldwide due to issues with their ignitions. The alleged faulty design of the ignitions would enable a vehicle’s engine to turn off while the car was moving, thereby preventing airbags from deploying if the vehicle was involved in a collision. Claims made against GM state that officials with the automobile company knew of potential issues with the ignition for more than 10 years prior to the initial wave of the recall yet they failed to take action to correct the issue on existing models or to prevent its implementation in future vehicles.

Due to these ignition issues, General Motors has confirmed 124 associated deaths though some claim the number is much higher. Federal investigators reviewed the issues surrounding GM’s faulty ignitions which led to a Deferred Prosecution Agreement whereby GM would pay $900 million to settle the claims against it to the United States Government. However, this agreement did nothing to resolve claims related to the ignitions brought by those who felt the impact the most – the victims who were injured in car accidents and the surviving family members of those who lost their lives in collisions.

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