Jeep Cherokee And Ford Explorer Receive Worst Grades On Crash Test

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Multiple news outlets reported this week that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety performed crash tests on eight (8) different SUV vehicles. The crash test mimics what would be considered a violent and dangerous type of collision. Of all the vehicles tested, the Jeep Cherokee and the Ford Explorer were the only vehicles to receive a “poor” rating.

In the test, a vehicle is propelled at 40 miles an hour and strikes a barrier with just the outermost part of the bumper on the passenger’s side. It is designed to mimic the impact of a vehicle with another car or a tree or pole with just the outer part of the bumper. The occupant compartment on the Grand Cherokee was also crushed inward in the test. The crash test dummy’s head sunk into the front airbag so far that it hit the dashboard. Also, the side airbag failed to deploy while driver’s side door also opened. That allowed the dummy’s head to move outside the vehicle. Leg injuries were seen as likely and head injuries possible.

In a response email, Ford stated: “In an email, Ford said that the Explorer is safe, and has earned top scores in all other crash tests. The automaker added that a new version of the Explorer will go on sale next year, and that it expects that car will earn top scores in all Insurance Institute and government crash tests, including the small overlap test.”

What does this mean for both of these car makers? For one, I think it opens the door for auto defect lawsuits if serious injuries result from these types of crashes. In most jurisdictions (states), there are two (2) types of auto defect claims. The first is an auto product liability case, which arises when a car defect causes the accident which results in serious injury or death.  These types of auto defects are referred to as crash causing defects.  An example of a crash causing auto defect is the tread separation of a defective tire which results in the driver losing control of the vehicle.

The second type of auto defect case arises when a vehicle fails to provide reasonable crash protection to its occupants.  This type of case is often referred to as a crash worthiness case.

For the above vehicles, if there are cases where drivers are seriously injured in violent crashes as described above, I think we could see a rise in crash worthiness auto defect lawsuits against both car makers.

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

Active Transportation Alliance Calls For Safety Improvements On Chicago’s Roads

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An alarming eighteen (18) pedestrians have been struck and killed in Chicago this year. That is up from a total of fourteen (14) through all of 2017. The Chicago Sun Times reported today that the Active Transportation Alliance, a community protection group, is calling for immediate changes from city legislators.  The group is calling for proposing lower speed limits, more speed cameras and a $20 million-a-year fund to pay for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s “Vision Zero,” which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2026.

The group is asking that the money go to multiple improvements including: better-lit crosswalks and countdown timers; pedestrian-refuge islands on wider streets; asphalt repair; narrowing streets and re-striping the width of lanes to force motorists to slow down and installing bump-out curbs that force turning vehicles to go slower and make wider turns.

Neither Mayor Emanuel or the cities’ transportation department has responded to these requests by the Active Transportation Alliance.

I think most of these improvements are needed. My only issue has to do with the speeder cameras. I don’t think there is enough evidence yet showing that these cameras are an actual deterrent or make our streets safer. As I have written multiple times in the past, we know for sure that the red light cameras have not made intersections safer. Multiple studies from Texas A&M University have shown that overall the cameras have not actually reduced accidents. I think the jury is still out on the speeder cameras.

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.

Apple Introducing App To Curb Smart Phone Addiction

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CBS News reported this week that Apple is introducing a new app to help people that may be addicted to – – yes this is correct – – their own telephone. The new app will allow users to set limits on the phone in general, or choose to set limits for certain apps, such as social media. When the limit is reached, the device will shut down. Those who choose to use this new feature can also sync the monitor limits among devices, so you can’t switch over and keep surfing on your iPad or Macbook. Google also announced plans to help monitor smartphone use on Android devices.

Full disclosure, if my wife reads this I’m certain she will ask me to download this app immediately and ask me to apply it toward my Twitter usage. Regardless, this will be interesting technology that car makers and lawmakers to look at regarding phone use in vehicles. With the epidemic of distracted driving traffic accidents occurring in our country, I wonder if this type of technology could be used to prevent hand held phone use for drivers. Currently, laws banning cell phone use while driving is not preventing the number of car accidents around the country.

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

Tesla Admits Autopilot Is Not Accident Proof After Latest Car Crash

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CBS New reported last week that another one of their vehicles that was in Autopilot mode was involved in a traffic accident. On May 29 a 65 year old man drove his Tesla sedan into a parked Laguna Beach, CA, police vehicle. Luckily the police officer was not in his vehicle at the time of the car crash, and the Tesla owner suffered only minor injuries.

I’m posting this story, not to rehash what I have discussed the last several weeks, but rather to point this statement they made after this latest accident:

““When using Autopilot, drivers are continuously reminded of their responsibility to keep their hands on the wheel and maintain control of the vehicle at all times,” the company said in a statement after Tuesday’s crash. “Tesla has always been clear that Autopilot doesn’t make the car impervious to all accidents, and before a driver can use Autopilot, they must accept a dialogue box which states that ‘Autopilot is designed for use on highways that have a center divider and clear lane markings.’”

It’s clear to me at this point that despite all the “safety” claims made by industry experts, the autopilot technology is not fool proof. There still will be auto accidents. Also, it’s important to point out that autopilot should only be used on the highway. If that is the case, then why on earth was this gentleman driving in autopilot on a Laguna Beach side street? If the technology didn’t fail in that situation, then an argument could be made by Tesla that the owner/driver was negligent for putting his vehicle in autopilot at the wrong time.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a Chicago car accident or Chicago truck accident, then please call Chicago personal injury attorney, 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

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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.

International Traffic Study Show U.S. Leads In Increase Of Traffic Deaths

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According to a new study from the International Transport Forum, which recently held a traffic summit in Leipzig, Germany,  5 of 29 countries saw a jump in traffic deaths between 2010 and 2016. The U.S. had the highest rate of increase at 13.5 percent. Argentina had the second-highest increase in traffic deaths, at 9 percent, and Chile experienced a 5 percent increase. The United States also saw the highest jump in pedestrian deaths during the time period, at 39.2 percent, and a 34.8 percent increase in cyclist deaths.

We know that traffic fatalities have increased in Illinois and throughout the U.S., but it is now clear that these increases are outpacing every other country in the world. While we have known about these increases, there has been some debate about the cause. I have written on this site multiple times that the improved economy during the Obama administration led many more motorists on the road, and thus more accidents. The other factor I have written about over and over is the impact of phone use and distracted drivers.

The above referenced study agrees with this conclusion.  According to Fred Wegman, chairman of the International Road Traffic Data and Analysis Group, a division of the Transport Forum, the two main factors that has led to the increase in traffic fatalities is an improved economy and the rise in texting and driving. “Distracted driving is more prevalent and prominent in the United States than in other countries,” Wegman said.

What is the cure for the epidemic? I have written multiple times that there need to be stricter penalties for those caught texting and driving. According to those involved in the this Summit, more research is necessary.

Derek Kan, U.S. undersecretary of transportation for policy, said the U.S. started a safety data initiative last year to predict and better understand what causes traffic fatalities. “What does the data tell us — are there specific intersections, are there specific weather conditions, specific events where we see a spike in traffic fatalities?” Kan said. He said the U.S. is working with local police and state transportation departments to examine causes.Kan said the U.S. also wants to know how significant distracted driving is as an issue in traffic deaths — the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found the number of crashes due to texting or talking on mobile devices actually fell in 2016.“Is there a measurement error?” Kan said. “Maybe we’re not capturing this data correctly.”

It’s my opinion that there was a measurement error and they need to look further into the data.

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.

NTSB Recommends New School Buses Include Improved Safety Requirements

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The National Traffic Safety Board (“NTSB”) met in Washington D.C. earlier this month for a board meeting to discuss safety improvements for school buses. The meeting came in the wake of a 2016 fatal school bus crash that occurred  in Chattanooga, TN, which killed six (6) and injured another twenty-six (26) children. The NTSB recommended to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) that all new school buses should contain lap-shoulder seat belts, the board also issued recommendations that buses be equipped with electronic stability control — computerized technology that improves a vehicle’s stability by detecting and reducing skidding.

The NHTSA, which sets national standards for school bus safety, requires lap-and-shoulder belts on school buses weighing less than 10,000 pounds, but allows individual states to decide whether to require seat belts on larger school buses. Eight (“8”) states — Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and Texas — have passed laws requiring seatbelts be installed on school buses.

It will be interesting to see if the NHTSA follows the NTSB’s recommendations that states should enact laws requiring these lap seat belts on all new buses. Or, the NHTSA can look to the U.S. legislature to enact a law requiring all states follow these safety protocols. I think this is vastly needed, but would be shocked if this current congress and presidential administration would enact laws that would require these additional safety regulations. The current congress and president seem more apt to deregulate as much as possible regardless of the safety ramifications. We shall wait and see what happens here.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a Illinois bus accident or any type of Illinois traffic accident, then call Chicago personal injury lawyer, Aaron J. Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

Hit And Run Accidents Reach Record High And What You Can Do To Protect Yourself

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According to a AAA Insurance press release, hit and run car accidents have reached an all time high.  AAA’s research done by the Foundation for Traffic Safety, found that a hit-and-run crash occurs every minute on U.S. roads. These hit and run accidents resulted in 2,049 deaths in 2016. This is the highest number on record and a 60 percent increase since 2009.

The report found that most victims of fatal hit-and-run crashes are pedestrians or bicyclists. Over the past 10 years, nearly 20 percent of all pedestrian deaths were caused by hit-and-run car crashes, meanwhile just one percent of all driver fatalities in that same time period.

It is illegal in every state to leave the scene of an accident, regardless of who caused the traffic accident. The penalty for leaving the scene varies depending on the whether there was property or personal injury damage. It is considered a Class A misdemeanor in Illinois. You should report the accident at once so the authorities can search for the other party immediately.

One thing I can recommend to Illinois drivers is make sure you have full auto coverage on your vehicles. This includes uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. What this means is that if you are struck by an uninsured vehicle or a vehicle that flees the scene and you are unable to collect their information, then your uninsured motorist coverage will kick in. This means that if you are injured in this type of accident, you can make a claim against your own insurance company for any injuries, medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and loss of a normal life damages. All of this can and should be covered by your own insurance company. Based on the above hit and run numbers provided by AAA, I cannot stress how important it is to purchase uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage from your insurance carrier.

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.

Another Tesla Autopilot Crash Leads To More Legal Questions

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The Associated Press is reporting another Tesla car crash, which was allegedly traveling about 60 miles per hour, when it rear-ended a fire truck stopped at a red light. The driver sustained a broken right ankle, told police that her car was in autopilot mode and failed to brake before the violent impact decimated its front end.

This is is the fourth Tesla involved in a traffic crash this year while cruising in autopilot. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into the matter. “Consistent with NHTSA’s oversight and authority over the safety of all motor vehicles and equipment, the agency has launched its special crash investigations team to gather information on the South Jordan, Utah, crash.” the agency said in statement Wednesday. “NHTSA will take appropriate action based on its review.”

For me, the most crucial aspect of this particular case is whether the vehicle owner will seek damages against Tesla for her injuries. Typically in a case like this, the party that rear-ended another vehicle would not be able to seek damages for her injuries as she was the one that was at-fault for the car accident. Our civil justice systems allows parties to seek reimbursement for economic and non-economic damages against at-fault parties. In this case, if the driver can prove that the Tesla software failed by not stopping on time, then she could seek damages under a product liability claim. Unfortunately, product liability cases are very expensive due to the high costs of experts in these types of cases. Regardless, I think the driver here would have a very strong case based on the facts that we know. There are no allegations that the fire truck she rear-ended doing anything wrong. It was merely sitting idle at a red light. The question is whether an attorney will want to take on the cost for this type of case for just a broken ankle.

Another interesting question will be whether the driver’s insurance carrier will seek a subrogation claim against Tesla for the cost of repair or replacing the damaged vehicle. The insurance company could easily ask for reimbursement for the repair or replacement of the vehicle if the evidence continues to show that their driver did nothing wrong. Again, the subrogation claim would most likely come under product liability. This could be the rare situation where a plaintiff personal injury attorney and auto insurance company team up together for the same common goal.

These are some of the very intriguing issues that continue to arise from car accidents stemming from self-driving cars.

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

Memorial Day Weekend Is One Of The Busiest Traffic Weekends Of The Year

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Next to Thanksgiving, Memorial Day is one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. According to AAA auto club close to 42 million Americans plan to take travel over Memorial Day weekend. This is a five (5) percent increase from last year.

In Illinois 2.04 million people plan to travel, which is an increase of four percent from 2017. Unfortunately, we will also see some of the highest gas prices in several years. It is estimated that the Illinois average for a gallon of gas is $2.95 is up from $2.70 last month, and $2.39 last year.

Based on past numbers, AAA expects to help approximately 340,000 motorists over the weekend.

This Friday, May 25, between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm is supposed to be the busiest travel period over the weekend.

A few tips to ensure you have a safe road trip:

  1. Check your battery before heading out on an extended road trip.
  2. Check alternate routes and times for leaving so as to avoid the heaviest traffic
  3. Buckle up. Not only for safety purposes, but also, state troopers will be out in full force ticketing speeders and those no wearing their seat belts.
  4. Put the phone aside. For everyone’s safety, put your phone aside and stick with the hands free technology. This is always the safest way, but especially true when there are so many people out on the road.

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