Articles Posted in Car accidents

Car accidents | September 30, 2013

There are certain behaviors that are often associated with car, truck and motorcycle accidents. When an accident occurs, it is expected that drivers who were distracted, drunk, speeding, inexperienced or aggressive will be to blame. There is no shortage of drivers who fit these categories on the road. Motorcycle accidents may involve an additional issue: Driver’s whose brains trick them into miscalculating the distance and speed of the motorcycle. The way our brains are trained to process information may be leading automobile drivers to cause accidents with motorcycles. The problem is finding a way to combat the problem.

Research conducted at Texas Tech University analyzed the way the human brain perceives motion and direction. The study identified two methods by which we judge this information. The first method is characterized by an optical invariant, meaning a determination made by determining how large the object appears to us over time. The closer the object, the larger it appears as it approaches. The second method short circuits the process and simply perceives larger objects as closer and smaller objects as farther away.

Car accidents | July 30, 2013

Sooner or later, most drivers will make a mistake that could lead to an accident. Driver error is a common cause of car wrecks. Drivers can be distracted, exhausted, irritated or confused at exactly the wrong moment, leading to a serious crash. Eliminating driver error would drastically reduce the number of auto accidents that occur every year on American roads. The National Transportation Safety Board is hoping that connected-vehicle technology can help. Cars that communicate with one another, with the road, and with drivers may prevent thousands of accidents every year. If you have been injured in a car accident, you may be eligible for compensation. Contact our Chicago car accident lawyers today.

The NTSB recently asked the federal government to require automakers to equip all new vehicles with technology that would all cars to communicate with one another wirelessly. Such devices send and receive information regarding the speed, location and direction of vehicles on the road. If a potential collision is detected, the devices can alert drivers using a warning light or alarm or can even apply the brakes directly. In addition, stop signs, stop lights and other danger areas can be equipped with devices to help drivers avoid collisions in those areas, as well.

Car accidents | March 29, 2013

Texting and driving is a crime in most states, including Illinois. The practice has been banned due to the sharp increase in the chances of a car accident coming from a driver who is distracted by his or her cell phone. The behavior is often attributed to young people for whom cell phones have become an integral part of life. A recent study shows that, while teens certainly text and drive with alarming frequency, adults are actually greater offenders of texting behind the wheel. Teens may simply be mirroring the behavior of their parent’s generation.

A large part of the challenge of making the roads safe from the dangers of texting and driving is the attitudes of many Americans toward the practice. The study was conducted by AT&T and involved gathering survey responses from hundreds of teen and adult drivers. The survey showed that 98 percent of adult drivers are aware that texting and driving is a dangerous practice. Despite knowing that the behavior is unsafe, nearly 50 percent of them acknowledge texting and driving. Among teens, 43 percent admitted to texting and driving. Despite success in spreading the word about the dangerous nature of texting behind the wheel, laws and safety campaigns have not yet been successful at actually preventing people from engaging in this form of distracted driving.

Car accidents | February 28, 2013

Illinois is again considering becoming one of the handful of states that ban the use of hand-held cell phones while operating a motor vehicle. The majority of states, including Illinois, already ban texting while driving as a behavior associated with distracted driving accidents. A proposal to ban hand-held cell phone use was defeated in Senate last year. A new proposal was endorsed by a state House committee earlier this month. If the bill is passed by the full House, it will go to the state Senate where a similar bill was defeated last year.

The sponsor of the legislation indicated that the use of a hand-held cell phone increases a driver’s risk of getting into an accident by 800 percent. Distracted driving is a factor in roughly 10 percent of all fatal crashes. Cell phone use of one kind or another is a noteworthy contributor to the total number of distracted driving accidents. It is not clear whether hands-free devices are significantly safer to use while driving that hand-held devices.

Car accidents | May 9, 2012

Motor vehicle fatalities have been declining for many years. Despite a significantly larger population, 2010 statistics regarding fatal car crashes were comparable to the numbers seen in the 1950s. In fact, 2010 saw the fewest fatalities per miles driven ever recorded according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Despite the tremendous improvement in preventing motor vehicle deaths, it seems there has been almost no progress in cutting down on speeding and aggressive driving.

A report from the Governors Highway Safety Association indicated that approximately one-third of the people killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2010 were killed in accidents caused by speeding. That percentage has not improved in the three decades in which such statistics have been kept. The report did a survey of individual states all across the nation to see what, if anything, is being done about the consistent and pervasive problems of speeding and aggressive driving.

Car accidents | March 1, 2012

The largest car rental company in the United States is no longer opposing a new federal regulation impacting recalled vehicles and the rental industry. Enterprise Rent-A-Car had previously treated the new law concerning recalled dangerous vehicles as unnecessary and had allegedly lobbied against its passage. After a petition supporting the measure acquired more than 100,000 signatures in less than a week, the company may be changing its stance. The petition was launched by a woman who lost two daughters to a car accident involving an Enterprise rental car that was subject to a recall, but had not been brought in for repair.

The incident in questions involved a Chrysler PT Cruiser. The vehicle was the subject of a recall because it posed a fire hazard based on fluid leaks. This particular vehicle was rented to the young women despite the recall. It subsequently caught fire during operation and crashed into a semi truck. That crash led safety groups and legislators to take a long, hard look at car rental companies and their practices concerning recalled vehicles.

Car accidents | February 4, 2012

The recent tragedy in Florida in which 11 people lost their lives has called attention to a problem faced in many states. When is the potential for a serious car accident so great that a road should be shut down? Florida officials briefly shut down Interstate 75 because a brush fire and foggy conditions had lowered visibility to unsafe levels. Shortly after deciding to reopen that stretch of highway, the dangerous conditions caused a massive wreck involving semi trucks, a motor home and multiple cars. The accident has left people wondering who has the responsibility to close roads and what criteria do they use to make their decisions?

The standards used by Florida officials are not the same as those used in Illinois, Wisconsin, Arizona or other states. The reason for that is simple-there is no set guideline recommended by any federal agency for when to close a road. The absence of such a policy is surprising. Florida officials used the reports of Highway Patrol officers on the scene to decide to reopen the highway. Many states rely entirely on the judgment of individual officers on site to decide when to close or reopen a road.

Car accidents | January 25, 2012

The dangers of drunk and distracted driving have been pushed to the forefront of the national consciousness over the years. An older and more common problem continues to be the cause of countless car accidents every year: drowsy driving. Several automakers have invested in new technology designed to protect drivers who doze off behind the wheel. It is unclear if any of the options available will prove effective in saving lives.

Ford Motor Company is releasing two models with “lane-keeping technology” as an available option in the next year. Toyota, Lexus and Mercedes have also released systems designed to notify drivers when their vehicle has begun the telltale drift associated with a dozing driver. Most of the systems use cameras to detect when the vehicle is veering out of a lane with the turn signal off. Ford’s new system will also give drivers a warning when they are veering within the lane.

Car accidents | December 8, 2011

Most experienced drivers have learned to identify when road conditions are challenging. Bad weather and dangerous driving conditions are not rare in Illinois. But even the best drivers have difficulty identifying when rain is severe enough to cause a car to hydroplane or when falling temperatures, moisture and exhaust fumes have combined to form deadly black ice. Scientists are not researching a new method to help reduce the number of car accidents caused by bad weather. They are testing a method that would allow the road itself to inform you.

A new sensor system that can be embedded directly into the pavement will give drivers an easy way to determine if the road conditions are safe. A stoplight-style system of red, yellow or green can inform drivers of when ice has accumulated or when the friction of the road is very low. In combination with weather stations located along the road, the sensors could provide vital, life-saving information to drivers who may not have recognized their peril

Car accidents | November 29, 2011

A new public service announcement (PSA) will begin airing this week at Regal Cinemas and various gas station pumps across the nation. The PSA is part of a campaign by the U.S. Department of Transportation to educate teen drivers about the danger of distracted driving. The timing of the announcements is meant to coincide with the large number of teen drivers who will be on the roads during winter vacation, many in challenging weather conditions.

While teens are more likely to engage in several forms of distracted driving, including talking to friends, listening to music and eating, the campaign targets texting while driving. The campaign is referred to as “OMG” and uses common chatspeak slang to deliver a message of safety. Driving and texting do not mix. Anything that takes your hands off the wheel or your eyes off the road endangers your life, your passengers’ lives and the lives of everyone else on the road. The prevalence of texting among teens makes them the perfect targets for such a campaign.