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Recreational Vehicle Basic Requirements & Liabilities in Illinois
Summer is fast approaching, and as the weather continues
to improve in the Chicago area, outdoor enthusiasts will
head outside to participate in various activities. In
fact, there are several
ATV
tracks around the Chicago area, all of which are beginning
to open up for the season.
However, as of September last year, the state of Illinois announced a new mandatory registration fee for ATV owners. According to Watchdog.org, the $15 fee is meant to maintain state parks, and pertains not only to ATV drivers but to golf cart and UTV owners as well. Critics of the law insist that ATV owners will not obtain the registration “until they are caught without one.” But as of January 2014, all Off-Highway vehicle owners are required to have one.
Hit-and-Run in Illinois: What You Need to Know
For many it may seem unfathomable to be involved in an
accident and then flee the scene without exchanging
information with the other person. Unfortunately, not
every driver remains at the scene.
The number of hit-and-run incidents in the U.S. is on the rise. In fact, the number increased more than 13 percent between 2009 and 2011. And according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and as reported by USA Today, roughly one in five pedestrian accidents is a hit-and-run.
Number of School Bus Accidents Small, but Incidents Widely Publicized
It can be a terrifying moment to put your child on the
school bus
for the first time, knowing that he or she is no longer
directly in your care. However, according to the American
School Bus Council and as reported in a publication of the
governmental Traffic Safety Marketing organization, school
buses are designed to be much safer than pedestrian
vehicles.
This may come as a surprise to many, given that school buses tend to lack basic precautions required by law in other vehicles, such as seat belts. Yet the American School Bus Council reports that school busses today are built tougher than regular cars to withstand impact, and drivers are specially trained for the job.
A Traffic Safety Facts publication from the U.S. Department of Transportation indicated that only 130 school-age kids have died in school transportation accidents since 2000. In accidents involving school buses, the vast majority of fatalities (72 percent) involve the occupants of the other car, presumably because school buses are built to withstand such impact. The majority of these occurred after school, not in the morning. There were only 20 crashes between either a single vehicle or multiple vehicles and a school bus being used to transport kids between the year 2000 and 2009.
Injured in an Accident? You Have Rights
If you are injured in an accident
in the greater Chicago area, you are not without recourse.
DUI in Illinois is considered a violent crime, and if you
have been a victim of a DUI crime, you have the same
rights as anyone involved in any other type of violent
crime. According to the 2014 Illinois DUI Factbook, a victim of a DUI has the right to (including, but not
limited to):
- Communicate with the prosecution;
- Have the case proceed in a timely manner following the arrest of the alleged DUI driver;
Pedestrian Deaths by Motor Vehicles on the Rise
Major cities always have more
pedestrian accidents
than suburbs or rural communities. This, of course, is for
obvious reasons: the greater the number of people walking
around a busy or congested traffic area, the greater the
number of occurring accidents.
In recent years, several major cities across the country have taken serious measures to bring the number of accidents involving pedestrians way down, though it does not necessarily seem to be working.
As reported by the New York Daily News, pedestrian deaths from motor vehicles are on the uptick in New York City. And noted in a report issued in January by the New York Police Department, there could be an estimated 200 pedestrian deaths caused by motor vehicles in New York by the end of 2014. Different police statistics show that this is a significant increase from the 156 pedestrian fatalities in 2013, the 152 reported in 2012, or the 142 reported in 2011.
Increased Number of Cyclists Leads to Increased Cyclist Crashes
The trend of people opting to ride bicycles
as a primary form of transportation has taken off in
recent years. American cities have joined their European
counterparts in offering expansive bike lane routes,
aesthetically interesting bike lock areas, and bike-only
areas of town. By most rankings, Chicago is in the top ten
of bike-friendliest cities in the nation, featuring valet
bike parking for riders all over the city.
A recent publication from the City of Chicago website reports that there are 170 miles of bike lanes, in addition to the 18.5-mile Lakefront off-street bike Trail. Other new improvements to the cycling culture of Chicago include sheltered bike parking at CTA transit stations and 13,000 on-street bike lock racks. As a result, according to the City of Chicago report, the Windy City has seen a 150 percent increase in the number of regular riders.
Whiplash and Rear-End Collisions in Chicago
Rear-end collisions are some of the most common types
of car accidents
that occur in the United States. They can occur for a
myriad of reasons, and as issues like distracted driving
become a more prominent problem (especially in major
cities like Chicago where traffic is bad) the number of
rear-end collisions will continue to rise.
According to research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly 30 percent of annual crashes are rear-end collisions, and were responsible for a third of all injuries caused on the roadway. Over two percent of all licensed drivers will be involved in a rear-end crash at some point during one year, and more than 35 percent of all people involved in any type of car accident were involved in only a rear-end crash.
Police Crackdown on Distracted Driving
On January 1 of this year, a new law went into effect in
Illinois and banned the use of handheld cell phones
while behind the wheel. This ban is not the first such law to be passed in the
U.S. to help prevent distracted driving. Several other
states and major cities have passed similar ordinances.
New York State was the first to do so in 2001, and reports
initially showed that drivers followed the new law.
According to a 2004 study reported by NBC News, three years into the ban, New York drivers were talking on their handheld cell phones just as often as they were before the ban. However, it seemed to improve as more states became aware of the issue. A lack of publicity was initially blamed in New York for the continuing problem, but it was solved by a major media push to publicize the new law. Other states, including Illinois, may do well to also take this into consideration.
High Percentage of ATV Accident Deaths Are Children
All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) first made an appearance on
American back roads in the 1970s, and their popularity has
steadily increased, according to the American Academy of
Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS). However, with the increase of
popularity in ATVs comes an increase in
accidents involving ATVs, and a “disturbing” proportion of those injured in ATV
accidents happen to be children.
In 1982, there were only 10,100 ATV-related injuries reported in the U.S. A decade later, that number had risen to 58,200. By 2007, there were more than 150,000 injuries caused in ATV-related accidents.
The severity of these accidents has also continued to increase, with only 29 deaths in 1982 to more than 750 in 2007. Over 25 percent of these fatalities (nearly 10,300 between 1982 and 2009) were people under the age of 16.
Summer & Distracted Driving: Most Dangerous Time for Teen Drivers
Summertime means school is out for the year, and
teenagers take the streets to enjoy this newfound freedom.
But it is not all fun and games. A recent article in
HealthDay reports that summertime is the “most
dangerous time of the year for teenage drivers, and the
biggest cause of this is the high percentage of teen
drivers” who are
distractedly driving
behind the wheel. In fact, the article states, “seven of
the 10 deadliest days for teen drivers occur between
Memorial Day and Labor Day.”
Distracted driving is an issue that impacts every driver on American roads. As cell phones, car televisions, tablets, and other devices continue to become more and more ubiquitous, so do the number of drivers distracted by them. Ten percent of all motor vehicle accidents in 2011 alone involved distracted rivers, and 11 percent of all drivers under the age of 20 who experienced a deadly crash were distracted during the occurrence of the incident, reports HealthDay.
Contact a Lake County Vehicle Accident Attorney Who is Ready to Help You
If you or a member of your family has been injured in a motor vehicle accident, contact our office. Call 847-662-3303 to set up a free initial consultation at one of our four convenient locations. There is no risk because we only collect fees if you collect compensation. With offices in Libertyville, Waukegan, Richmond, and Chicago, we represent clients in Lake County, Cook County, DuPage County, and McHenry County.
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