Monthly Archives: December 2009

Transportation Secretary LaHood Lauches Holiday Crackdown On DUIs

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USA Today recently reported Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is launching a national crackdown on DUI and Drinking and Driving during the holiday season.

“Our feeling is in states where you have real tough law enforcement, where the law enforcement people are no-nonsense, those are the states that have been able to reduce their numbers,” LaHood said. “In states where they don’t have tough law enforcement, or they don’t do it as aggressively as other states, the numbers are not that good.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the drunken-driving fatality rate in the USA declined about 7% from 2007 to 2008, continuing a decades-long drop. Drunken-driving deaths have been trending downward since 1982, two years after Mothers Against Drunk Driving began focusing attention on the issue. There were 11,773 such fatalities in 2008, a 44% drop from the 21,113 in 1982, according to NHTSA and U.S. Department of Transportation data

LaHood, White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske and John Saunders of the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) launched the annual national winter holiday crackdown on impaired driving. Thousands of law enforcement agencies across the USA will be targeting drunken driving in the campaign, which runs through New Year’s Day. Each state has its own version.

To read the complete story, click here. 

Drinking and driving deserves this type of press from the federal government. It is a great step towards making the roads safer during the holiday season. Remember to appoint a designated driver or to use cabs when you are out and about attending holiday parties.

If you or someone you know has been involved in an Illinois car accident or an Illinois truck accident, then call attorney Aaron Bryant for a free consultation at 312-588-3384.

IDOT Issues “Ice And Snow – Take It Slow” Warning To Drivers

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If you live in Chicago, you woke up this morning with the first snow of the season on the ground. This was not a pretty site to a lot of commuters as it means their travel time increases and the roads become a lot more dangerous.  With the winter season upon us, the Illinois Department of Transportation has issued a campaign to drivers titled “Ice and Snow – Take it Slow.”

Authorities say when roads are hazardous, only make necessary trips. If you do go out, be sure to give snow plows plenty of room and watch out for black ice.

“If you were to encounter black ice, don’t slam on your breaks, just push through it and if you happen to slide, just steer into your slide a bit and you should make it through ok,” said Jeff Able, traffic operations engineer for IDOT.

Before the snow strikes, authorities advise you check your car’s anti-freeze, headlights, tires and battery. And make sure you have an emergency kit in your car, with water, snacks, flares and reflectors.

For Illinois road conditions this winter, call 1-800-452-IDOT.

To read the complete article about IDOT’s winter weather warning, click, here.

If you or someone you know has been involved in an Illinois car accident or Illinois truck accident, then call attorney Aaron Bryant for a free consultation at 312-588-3384.

Car Companies Look For Ways To Protect Pregnant Women And Their Unborn Children

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The New York Times recently published an article discussing the steps car companies such as The Ford Motor Company are doing to protect pregnant drivers and their unborn children.

States are not required to track fetal deaths when reporting car accident data, but it is estimated that 300 to 1,000 unborn children die in car accidents each year. The car accident fatality rate for unborn children is about four times the rate for infants and children up to age 4. Car safety experts at Virginia Tech University, funded in part by Ford Motor Company, are trying to develop a computerized crash test model to determine how best to protect pregnant women and their unborn children during a auto collision.

Stefan Duma, Virginia Tech’s head of biomechanical engineering, discussed with the Times the different steps that are being taken to protect pregnant drivers. Below is some of her insight on this issue:

“The three-point belt (a shoulder belt and lap belt) is better for everybody. But with pregnant women, one of the problems is misuse and misinformation. A lot of women don’t like the way belts feel, and they move the shoulder strap or the lap belt will ride up and come up in the middle of the abdomen. Seat belts are designed to load on the bony structures. You want the seat belt on your pelvis. If they are seated right the airbag helps. The seat belt and airbag combination is best.”

“The design cycle for cars is about three years. If I wanted to put a new thing in a car right now the best case is three to four years. What is the perfect belt for a pregnant occupant? It’s a a difficult solution, but it’s something we need to work toward. There are some attachments out there, but none of them are recommended by auto manufacturers. The problem is we don’t really have a good tool to evaluate what they do. The first step is to develop a computer model to evaluate them.”

“The biggest thing is to wear your seat belt. Keep the lap belt by your legs and stay as far away from the steering wheel as you can. Some vehicles have a button to adjust the height of the brake and gas pedal so shorter people don’t have to sit so close to the steering wheel. And there are after-market pedal extenders. My wife used those. Pedal extenders allowed us to put her in a position further away from the steering wheel. It’s just three inches, but that’s a lot of distance in an accident.”

To read the complete article, click here.

We will have to wait and see if any technology is installed in new car models that will help protect pregnant women and their unborn children.

If you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident or truck accident, then call attorney Aaron Bryant for a free consultation on your case. You can reach attorney Bryant at 312-588-3384.

Eastern Illinois Assistant Football Coach Dies In One-Car Accident

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The Chicago Tribune reported over the weekend that Eastern Illinois University offensive line coach, Jeff Hoover, died from injuries suffered from a one-car accident.

The accident occurred when Hoover, along with his family and EIU strength coach Eric Cash and his family, were returning from Carbondale, Ill., where Eastern Illinois had lost to Southern Illinois 48-7 in a first-round playoff game. The vehicle they were driving swerved to miss a deer and rolled over.

Hoover, 41, just finished his third season as the Panthers’ offensive line coach. He had served previously as an assistant coach at Portland State, Utah State, Henderson State and UC-Davis, his alma mater.

Two people were released from the hospital early Sunday morning, while all others involved in the accident were transported to Carle Hospital in Champaign, Ill., for further observation.

Hoover began his coaching career as the offensive line coach at UC-Davis in 1991. He coached the offensive and defensive lines for the Sacramento Attack of the Arena Football League in 1992 before spending two seasons at Claremont McKenna College.

In addition to his wife, Hoover is survived by two children — his daughter, Lauren, and son, Cole.

This is a very sad story as Coach Hoover had two young children. This type of accident is not rare this time of year as this is deer hunting season. It is not unusual to see deer coming and going across public highways and streets, especially at night. It is very important to drive carefully at night as deer can appear out of nowhere.

Should you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident or truck accident, then contact attorney Aaron Bryant to discuss your case and for a free consultation at 312-588-3384.

Power Windows May Pose Risk To Children

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The New York Times recently reported that a consumer group is urging the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration to require special safety requirements in all cars using power windows.

“It just kind of defies logic why anyone would allow a product to continue to be made in a fashion that is knowingly killing, maiming, crushing, and responsible for amputation,” said Janette Fennell, president of KidsAndCars.org in Leawood, Kan. The group wants the federal agency to require automakers to equip all power windows with an auto-reverse feature, so that a window would automatically stop and open if it encountered an obstruction while closing.

However, the agency says in various regulatory documents that several new safety requirements involving power windows show it is doing a good job tackling what it describes as “a small, but persistent problem.”

The agency estimates there are 1,995 injuries – mostly minor – and six deaths a year related to power windows. It says its figures are based on “verifiable police and medical reports of injuries directly related to power-window accidents,” including surveys of emergency rooms and checks of other records.

The agency does not see this as a widespread problem. In regulatory documents, it says it is aware of “only one documented case of a fatality in which a driver may have closed a window while unaware that a child was being entrapped in the window opening.”

As part of its required study, the agency figured if automakers were required to put auto-reverse on all power windows using a more demanding United States standard, the cost would be about $588 million annually. It would save two lives and prevent 997 injuries.

Ms. Fennell says she believes auto-reverse could be installed on all power windows for about $150 million by using a slightly different but still effective standard.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers supports the agency’s proposal to require automatic reversing only on one-touch up windows, says spokesman Wade Newton. He said the association feels auto-reverse is not necessary on windows without a one-touch feature because of the other recently adopted safety requirements like pull-up-to-close switches. Check your windows in case you need auto glass repair for you and your passengers safety.

To read the complete story, click here.

It will be interesting to see if how much pressure this consumer group will put on lawmakers and on the NHSTA and whether any new changes will take places.

If you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident or truck accident, then call attorney Aaron Bryant for a free consultation at 312-588-3384.

New Technology Helps Drivers Put Their Phones Down

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The New York Times recently reported about new devices being installed into cars, which allows drivers to put their phones down when on the road.

In 2008, 918,000 hands-free systems were installed in cars, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. By the end of 2009, the industry group estimates, that figure will climb to 1.6 million systems. In many cases, hands-free kits are packaged with other options that together cost around $1,000. “We are trying to take what people are doing and make it safer,” said Doug VanDagens, the director of Ford’s Sync project. “Voice provides the safest options and keeps the driver’s eyes on the road.”

Manufacturers of such systems argue that their products make driving safer. As proof, they point to a Virgina TechTransportation Institute study published this summer that concluded that hands-free conversations were only a minor distraction to drivers.

But not everyone agrees that this technology is the safest option.

Studies from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, for example, show that drivers are four times more likely to have a car accident if they are talking on the phone — hands-free or not — while driving.

The reason, researchers say, is that drivers often become engrossed in their conversation, rather than focusing on driving, even if their hands are on the wheel. “Once a conversation begins, we don’t see a difference between hand-held and hands-free,” says Adrian Lund, president of the institute.

To read the entire story, click here.

I have written in the past about the dangers of talking on cell phones and texting while driving. The new technology being introduced is a positive sign that car companies are looking to make the roads safer for everyone. I look forward to seeing the introduction of new technology in the coming months.

If you or someone you know was involved in a car accident or truck accident, then call attorney Aaron J. Bryant for a free consultation at 312-588-3384.