Illinois Tollways Is Partnering With Waze App

The Chicago Tribune reported last month that the Illinois Tollway will be partnering with the popular maps and traffic app Waze to create faster traffic alerts. Since February of this year the Illinois Tollway and Waze have been sharing its’ traffic data with each other. Waze has been sending info regarding traffic incidents such as debris on the road, stalls and potholes. The Illinois Tollway, for its’ part, has been sharing with Waze any incidents related to lane blockages, including crashes, stalls and the locations of Tollway help trucks.

All of this information from the Waze partnership is made available directly to the phones of Waze users. The moment one of the Tollway’s help trucks turns on its lights, a signal is sent directly to Waze notifying users of a stopped vehicle at that location. According to this report the costs of the partnership have been small, and involved tweaks to the Tollway’s web servers and other equipment.

This is an excellent example of the progress that can made from a partnership between the public and private sectors. The goal for both entities is to provide a safe and hopefully quicker commute for drivers. I will be interested in seeing any data as time progressives as to whether this partnership has helped decrease traffic accidents and traffic congestion.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in an Illinois car crash or Chicago truck accident, then call Chicago personal injury lawyer, Aaron J. Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

Illinois State Police Enforcement Effort Leads To Nearly 6,000 Traffic Citations Memorial Day Weekend

CBS Chicago reported recently that the Illinois State Police’s (“ISP”) effort to crack down on traffic violations over the busy Memorial Day Weekend led to 5,924 traffic citations and 5,206 written.

Illinois State Troopers efforts included 109 drunk driving arrests and 815 seat belt citations.  ISP also provided assistance to approximately 1,300 stranded motorists. “I am very proud of the hard work displayed by the men and women of the Illinois State Police,” said ISP Director Leo Schmitz. “I am confident their enforcement efforts resulted in lives being saved.”

I think these numbers are encouraging, especially as it was predicted that this year would be one of the busiest traffic weekends of the year. Regardless, I would like to see how many of those citations were for distracted driving. Also, I would like to see the Illinois accident numbers compared to those over the last five (5) years. I think this would provide us some context as to whether the ISP’s enforcement efforts are actually reducing the number of traffic accidents.

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured in an Illinois car crash or Illinois truck accident, then call Chicago personal injury lawyer, Aaron J. Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

Changes Coming to Dangerous Lake County Intersection

According to the Lake County News-Sun, the intersection of Grand Avenue and Hunt Club Road could be seeing changes, as it is viewed as one of the most dangerous intersections in the county. The Lake County Board approved a $370,173 contract with Chicago-based Stanley Consultants to conduct a preliminary engineering study to identify potential safety improvements at the intersection.

Car accident statistics  show 127 vehicle collisions at Grand and Hunt Club between 2011 and 2013. Of those, 75 were of the rear-end variety, while the next most frequent type was 33 collisions during turns. The remainder included 11 sideswipes, four collisions with fixed objects like roadside signs, two collisions at angles and one rollover accident. The consulting engineers “will review the crash data and summarize crashes by year and major type to define trends and roadway deficiencies at each of the above intersections. Areas experiencing significant crash rates will be investigated so that countermeasures can be recommended.”

The report stated that the most likely change will involve a designated left turn signal for north and south bound drivers turning from Grand onto Hunt Club. There will likely be construction in the area, but there is plenty of vacant land in the area, which can accommodate an expansion of lanes.

If you someone you love has been seriously injured in an Illinois car crash or Illinois truck accident, then call Chicago personal injury lawyer, Aaron J. Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.