Illinois’ Distracted Driving Awareness Week Took Place At End Of April

Illinois’ second annual Distracted Driving Awareness week took place the week of April 20-27.  Illinois Distracted Driving Awareness Week, is a collaboration between the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, AAA,  IDOT, Illinois State Police, the Illinois High School & College Driver Education Association and nearly 300 law enforcement agencies in Illinois.  According to the Illinois State Police, the use of a cell phone while driving increases your chances of getting into a car crash by 400%.

Once of the local law enforcement agents that participated in the initiative was the town of Naperville. According to the Naperville Sun, their local police department issued over 350 distracted driving tickets during the month of April.   221 of the tickets were written the week of April 23-27, as part Illinois Distracted Driving Awareness Week. The rest were issued as part of the Illinois Drop It And Drive program conducted from April 16-30, according to a Naperville police news release.

Current Illinois Distracted Driving Laws include: mobile phones may only be used in hands-free mode or wireless earpiece, and drivers under the age of 19 may not use a phone in any way while driving. Breaking distracted driving laws in Illinois is considered a traffic offense, and first violation carries a fine of $75. Second violation has a $100 fine, $125 for third, and $150 for each subsequent offense. Causing an accident which results in injury while breaking Illinois distracted driving laws is considered “Aggravated use of electronic communication device”, carrying much harsher fines and penalties.

Hopefully we will see area law enforcement continue to crack down on distracted drivers throughout the year and not just in April

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