As the School Year Begins, Officials Focus on Preventing Teen Car Accidents in Illinois

As our teens head back to school for another year, officials head back to the drawing board to figure out ways to help keep our teen drivers from being involved in a car accident in Illinois. In another effort to keep our young driver safe, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) recently teamed up with the Illinois Secretary of State and Illinois State Police (ISP) to kick off the fifth year of the Operation Teen Safe Driving (OTSD) program.

“Whether the issue is texting, speed, or distracted or impaired driving, the program is successful because teens are directly educating their peers about the hazards of irresponsible driving behavior, and the messages continue to resonate with one another,” said Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider.

Our Chicago car accident attorneys understand the number of risks that our teen drivers face on our roadways. Their inexperience behind the wheel leaves them extremely vulnerable to serious traffic accidents. With the proper driving education and with the help of parents, teens can be taught the skills necessary to help keep them safe.

Currently, the state of Illinois requires that's its newly licensed drivers complete a Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) program. This is a system that allows teen drivers to learn how to drive through a three stage process in which they must abide by a number of restrictions.

Illinois GDL program:

-15-year-old drivers: Drivers in this age group must always ride with a licensed parent or guardian. They must also be enrolled in a driver's education program and must pass the exams. They're not allowed to drive Sunday through Thursday from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. On Thursday and Friday these drivers can drive until 11:00 p.m. A driver must hold this license for a minimum of nine months and complete at least 50 hours of supervised driving with 10 hours of the 50 occurring during the evening hours. Drivers that are 15-years-old are not allowed to use a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle.

-Drivers Age ages 16- and 17-years-old: Driving is prohibited from Sunday through Thursday from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. for drivers in this age group. They're allowed to drive until 11:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Drivers must maintain a conviction-free driving record for the six months before they turn 18 before they can graduate to the Full Licensing Phase. All drivers in this age group must wear a seat belt while driving and can only have one passenger in the front seat. Drivers in this age group are prohibited from using a cell phone.

-18- to 20-year-old drivers: A driver can now drive with normal unrestricted license privileges provided they've passed all of the other licensing stages. No driver under the age of 19 is allowed to use a cell phone while driving unless they're using it for emergency purposes.

"Teen drivers who are educated and informed, develop safe and responsible driving habits as adults - and that is a safety goal OTSD is already achieving," said ISP Col. Robert Haley.

More than 100 local high schools participated in the fifth year of the Operation Teen Safe Driving program in an attempt to help educate young drivers. These students participated in a number of school assemblies, accident enactment seminars, fatal accident simulations and other informational events.

Each school was able to fund the program through a $2,000 grant from the participating organizations. Each school then participated in a contest to determine who led the best and most effective peer-led teen safe driving program. Winning schools received prize money to help them fund post-prom events aimed at encouraging kids to stay sober this school year.

They were also invited to participate in the Ford Motor Company Fund’s Driving Skills for Life Ride and Drive event.

As teens head back to school this year, parents are urged to speak with the young driver's in their life about the importance of safe driving habits.

If you or your teen driver has been injured in a car accident, the personal injury attorneys and wrongful death lawyers at Abels & Annes offer free and confidential appointments to discuss your rights. Call (866) 99-ABELS. There is no fee unless you win.

More Blog Entries:

Expressways Experience Frequent Fatal Car Accidents in Chicago, Chicago Car Accident Lawyer Blog, August 12, 2011

Chicago Car Accident Lawyer

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules fireworks more important than preventing truck accidents

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has decided to give nine trucking company members of the American Pyrotechnics Association exemption from its hours of service (HOS) regulations. This means that these trucking companies transporting fireworks are allowed to drive their trucks past the 14-hour time limit that other truckers must follow.

There are so many things wrong with this decision.

Our truck accident lawyers know with scientific certainty that truck driver fatigue causes more truck crashes. This applies to all drivers, of course, but there is a big difference between an 80,000 pound tractor-trailer truck and a 6,000 pound car. This is why commercial trucks require professional drivers, special tests and a license (the CDL). There are also certain hours of service requirements to drive these trucks, in order to avoid otherwise preventable truck accidents from occurring.

We also know that fatigue is one of the most significant factors responsible for a large number of the 5,000 Americans who are killed in truck accidents every year. And we know driver fatigue is responsible for the tens of thousands more who suffer serious personal injury in other trucking accident cases, such as my own client in Fairley v. Schiber Truck Co. in Jackson County, last December.

We know that truck drivers who continue to drive trucks over regulated hours, called “hours-of-service” rules, are less able to perceive and to react to road conditions. We know these delayed perception and reaction times cause precious seconds to pass before a fatigued driver can apply air brakes, or turn his wheel to avoid crashing into a pedestrian or car.

We know tired and fatigued drivers fall into “micro or mini-sleeps” when they literally are asleep at the wheel - the wheel of an 80,000 pound metal missile driving down our roads.

And we know that at the most basic level, a tired trucker makes bad decisions.

In fact, these tired and fatigued truck drivers pose such a danger to public safety that there is a specific federal safety regulation, FMCSR 392.3 Ill or fatigued driver, that specifically prohibits truckers from continuing to drive over the mandatory hours of service rules. Here’s a blog on how to nab the tired trucker in a deposition.

Well, not anymore.  We can forget all that. Because it is apparently more important that we get our pyrotechnics and fireworks - made in China, of course - then it is to save lives and protect the public.

The FMCSA has announced its decision to grant the application for exemption from the American Pyrotechnics Association on behalf of nine member trucking companies seeking “relief” from the FMCSA’s hours-of-service (HOS) regulations, which prohibit truck drivers of commercial motor vehicles from continuing to drive after 14 hours. “Relief” is sadly, the word the organization chose to use that’s responsible for enforcing mandatory trucking safety standards.

The exemption for trucks carrying fireworks is effective during the periods of June 28, 2011, through July 8, 2011, and June 28, 2012, through July 8, 2012, inclusive.

Who knew the pyrotechnic industry wielded such power?  Apparently, instead of just planning a little earlier so its trucks can deliver its fireworks and pyrotechnics on time, we are having large commercial trucks loaded with pyrotechnics now being driven on our roadways by tired and fatigued drivers who can now keep driving past the 14 hour hours of service rules!

Can’t wait to see what the toxic waste lobby petitions for…

- Steven Gursten is a partner of Michigan Auto Law. He is past president of the American Association for Justice Truck Accident Litigation Group, and has received the top-reported jury verdict in Michigan for truck accidents, according to Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

- Photo courtesy of Creative Commons, by bayasaa

Related information:

Michigan truck accident FAQs

What safety violation is the No. 1 truck accident predictor?

Truck drivers on drugs - and how to catch them

Michigan Auto Law exclusively handles car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state of Michigan. We have offices in Farmington Hills, Sterling Heights, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Detroit to better serve you. Call (800) 777-0028 for a free consultation with one of our truck accident lawyers.

Kansas City Auto Accident Blog

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules fireworks more important than preventing truck accidents

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has decided to give nine trucking company members of the American Pyrotechnics Association exemption from its hours of service (HOS) regulations. This means that these trucking companies transporting fireworks are allowed to drive their trucks past the 14-hour time limit that other truckers must follow.

There are so many things wrong with this decision.

Our truck accident lawyers know with scientific certainty that truck driver fatigue causes more truck crashes. This applies to all drivers, of course, but there is a big difference between an 80,000 pound tractor-trailer truck and a 6,000 pound car. This is why commercial trucks require professional drivers, special tests and a license (the CDL). There are also certain hours of service requirements to drive these trucks, in order to avoid otherwise preventable truck accidents from occurring.

We also know that fatigue is one of the most significant factors responsible for a large number of the 5,000 Americans who are killed in truck accidents every year. And we know driver fatigue is responsible for the tens of thousands more who suffer serious personal injury in other trucking accident cases, such as my own client in Fairley v. Schiber Truck Co. in Jackson County, last December.

We know that truck drivers who continue to drive trucks over regulated hours, called “hours-of-service” rules, are less able to perceive and to react to road conditions. We know these delayed perception and reaction times cause precious seconds to pass before a fatigued driver can apply air brakes, or turn his wheel to avoid crashing into a pedestrian or car.

We know tired and fatigued drivers fall into “micro or mini-sleeps” when they literally are asleep at the wheel - the wheel of an 80,000 pound metal missile driving down our roads.

And we know that at the most basic level, a tired trucker makes bad decisions.

In fact, these tired and fatigued truck drivers pose such a danger to public safety that there is a specific federal safety regulation, FMCSR 392.3 Ill or fatigued driver, that specifically prohibits truckers from continuing to drive over the mandatory hours of service rules. Here’s a blog on how to nab the tired trucker in a deposition.

Well, not anymore.  We can forget all that. Because it is apparently more important that we get our pyrotechnics and fireworks - made in China, of course - then it is to save lives and protect the public.

The FMCSA has announced its decision to grant the application for exemption from the American Pyrotechnics Association on behalf of nine member trucking companies seeking “relief” from the FMCSA’s hours-of-service (HOS) regulations, which prohibit truck drivers of commercial motor vehicles from continuing to drive after 14 hours. “Relief” is sadly, the word the organization chose to use that’s responsible for enforcing mandatory trucking safety standards.

The exemption for trucks carrying fireworks is effective during the periods of June 28, 2011, through July 8, 2011, and June 28, 2012, through July 8, 2012, inclusive.

Who knew the pyrotechnic industry wielded such power?  Apparently, instead of just planning a little earlier so its trucks can deliver its fireworks and pyrotechnics on time, we are having large commercial trucks loaded with pyrotechnics now being driven on our roadways by tired and fatigued drivers who can now keep driving past the 14 hour hours of service rules!

Can’t wait to see what the toxic waste lobby petitions for…

- Steven Gursten is a partner of Michigan Auto Law. He is past president of the American Association for Justice Truck Accident Litigation Group, and has received the top-reported jury verdict in Michigan for truck accidents, according to Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

- Photo courtesy of Creative Commons, by bayasaa

Related information:

Michigan truck accident FAQs

What safety violation is the No. 1 truck accident predictor?

Truck drivers on drugs - and how to catch them

Michigan Auto Law exclusively handles car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state of Michigan. We have offices in Farmington Hills, Sterling Heights, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Detroit to better serve you. Call (800) 777-0028 for a free consultation with one of our truck accident lawyers.

Michigan Auto Lawyers

Feds delay rule aimed at preventing backover accidents in Chicago, elsewhere

Home Posted On: April 1, 2011 by Dave Abels

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced this week it is delaying a mandate that all new vehicles be equipped with backup cameras, which had been aimed at reducing Chicago parking lot accidents and accidents involving vehicles backing over victims in driveways.

Chicago personal injury attorneys understand the tragic consequences of such accidents, which frequently occur around the holidays and often involve a relative who strikes a small child or a child or older adult who is run down in a busy parking lot.


View the Original article