Tag Archives: Chicago truck accident

Illinois Governor Quinn Vetos Bill That Would Raise Truck Driver Speed Limit

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The Chicago Tribune reported this week that Illinois Governor Quinn used his veto powers to overrule a bill that would raise the speed limits for semitrailer trucks from 55 mph to 60 mph on interstates in Chicago and the surrounding area. The bill, which was sponsored by Sen. Jim Oberweis, passed the House 114-0 and the Senate 58-0.  Oberweis said the bill was designed to reduce the differential between cars going 70 mph and trucks limited to 55 mph.

“It would make the roads safer,” said Oberweis, who is challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin this fall. “There would be only a 10 mph differential rather than 15.”

Quinn’s responded by stating that this was all about driver safety:  “no amount of fines, penalties or jail time can ever replace the lives of those whom we have lost to fatal accidents on our interstate highways,” Quinn said.

Citing the recent traffic deaths tied to big trucks traveling at high speeds, Quinn said, “The convenience of increased speeds for truckers on roadways does not outweigh the safety risks to children, families and our dedicated public servants.”

Quinn cited a July 21 truck crash on Interstate 55 near Arsenal Road in the southwest suburbs. An Indiana trucker, Francisco Espinal Quiroz, 51, of Leesburg, Ind., allegedly was speeding in a work zone when his truck slammed into three vehicles, killing 5 people. He has been charged with falsifying duty logbooks used to verify that a driver is not spending too many hours on the road without rest.

I think the Governor was correct in his decision here. Obviously the Chicagoland area is one of the most congested areas with traffic and trucks make up a big percentage of that congestion. Semitrailer trucks, if not driven properly or at a safe speed, can be prone to traffic accidents. Further, the results of a truck accident can prove much more deadly than regular vehicles based on the size of a semitrailer. I do not believe Governor Quinn was overstepping his boundaries as Governor in this situation.

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

Reckless Homicide Charges Brought In Edgewater Neighborhood Car Crash

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The Chicago Tribune reported last week that the driver, who allegedly caused a fatal car accident in the Edgewater neighborhood, was charged with reckless homicide by States Attorney’s office. Prosecutors said the driver hadn’t been drinking, had a valid license and has no criminal background. Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered the Russian native’s passport seized.

The accident killed a 71 year old pedestrian and injured five (5) others when the defendant driver tried to pass a CTA bus on the right side through a parking lane. After striking two (2) pedestrians, his vehicle crashed into another which caused a chain reaction.

As I wrote yesterday regarding the Tony Stewart NASCAR accident, drivers who kill someone with their vehicles are typically charged with reckless homicide, which is often referred to as manslaughter. Since it is difficult to prove intent (i.e. that the driver purposely struck the pedestrians), reckless homicide carries a much lighter prison sentence than first or second degree murder. The defendant driver in this case will also be facing civil liability through a wrongful death lawsuit by the family or estate of the pedestrian who was killed at the scene. He will most likely also be sued for the personal injuries of the five (5) others who were injured.

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

9,000 Red Light Ticket Recipients Will Receive Chance To Appeal

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I wrote recently about the Chicago Tribune investigative article about abnormal spikes in red light camera tickets at various locations around the city. This story made news headlines around the country. The City Council responded last week with a hearing on the issue and announced that they were going to give ticket recipients a chance to appeal.

At a hearing of the City Council Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety, Transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld said the city’s Finance Department will send letters to approximately 9,000 motorists who were issued a red light camera. Those people will be invited to get a new review of their case, and if it’s found the violation was an error, they’ll get a refund.

At the hearing, Commissioner Scheinfeld did come to the defense of how the red light cameras work and that there could be explanations for some of the spikes in tickets:

“It is important to note that there are always spikes in any automated enforcement system due to fluctuations in traffic volume and driver behavior where cameras are located. For example, if a street is closed for construction, increased traffic flow on an adjacent street or alternate route might drive up violations for a period of time during that construction. The occurrence of special events or severe weather can also create significant changes in traffic patterns,” she added.

In particular, she noted one spike cited by the Tribune — at 119th and Halsted in May and June 2011 — appeared to be the result of a project to repair the 111th Street and 115th Street bridges over Interstate 57. Shcheinfeld said the city believes drivers likely used Halsted to bypass the construction work by exiting I-57 at 99th and Halsted, then heading south to 119th Street to get back on the interstate.

I have called into question the validity of red light tickets from the beginning. Both former Mayor Daley and now Emanuel have stated over and over that the red light cameras (and speed cameras) are used for safety purposes. I have written in the past and still believe that this is a ruse and merely money grab by the city. There have been studies around the country concluding that red light cameras actually make intersections MORE dangerous because drivers stop quickly and increase the chance of a car crash. You can read one particular study here.

Now we learn that thousands of these tickets may have been erroneously issued. Prior to that we learned that Redflex, the company that handled the speeder cameras, bribed their way into their contract with the city. This lead to a class action lawsuit against Redflex for being unjustly enriched for the work done for their city based on illegal bribes. I have to ask, when to we finally call for end to these types of tickets?  I have to give the city some credit for at least recognizing the possible errors here and the potential for ticket recipients to be refunded their money.

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

 

Chicago Tribune Investigation Reveals Thousands Of Bogus Red Light Camera Tickets

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I wrote last week about a class action lawsuit filed against the red light camera technology company, Redflex, that the city of Chicago contracted with for its red light camera enforcement. The basis of the lawsuit was that Redflex unjustly profited from ticket fines after it was revealed that they bribed their way into the contract with Chicago transportation officials.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the Chicago Tribune published an article based on a 10 month investigation about bogus tickets being produced by the Redflex technology. The investigation reported the following irregularities in ticket enforcement:

“Cameras that for years generated just a few tickets daily suddenly caught dozens of drivers a day. One camera near the United Center rocketed from generating one ticket per day to 56 per day for a two-week period last summer before mysteriously dropping back to normal.

Tickets for so-called rolling right turns on red shot up during some of the most dramatic spikes, suggesting an unannounced change in enforcement. One North Side camera generated only a dozen tickets for rolling rights out of 100 total tickets in the entire second half of 2011. Then, over a 12-day spike, it spewed 563 tickets—560 of them for rolling rights.

Many of the spikes were marked by periods immediately before or after when no tickets were issued—downtimes suggesting human intervention that should have been documented. City officials said they cannot explain the absence of such records.”

I think one of two things (or possibly both) will happen. First, the city and Redflex will offer refunds on tickets paid during this period of abnormal ticket enforcement. The second is another class action lawsuit against Redflex and possibly the city. Regardless if this glitch in the system was done intentionally or not (both the city and Redflex stated they knew nothing until the investigation came out), those ticketed on these dates should be reimbursed.

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 Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

 

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Former Chicago Red Light Camera Company

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CBS Chicago reported today that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Redflex Traffic Systems alleging that they owe $100 million to motorists who received red light tickets while the company was doing business with the city of Chicago. The lawsuit alleges that motorists are owed a refund because Redflex only received the contract for their services through bribery.

Redflex was removed of their services in 2013 after it was revealed that the company had bribed a city of Chicago transportation official in order to gain the contract for the red light cameras.  The lawsuit states in part:

“As a direct result of the bribery scheme, defendants were able to contractually retain approximately 20-25% of all ‘ticket revenue’ generated by tickets… Both Redflex and the City of Chicago have recognized that the Redflex contract with the City of Chicago was secured through corrupt behavior… As such, Redflex’s $100 million (+) dollars in revenue since 2003 generated under the corrupt contract represents ill-gotten gains that have unjustly enriched Redflex. Defendants’ retention of said benefit violates the fundamental principles of justice, equity, and good conscience.”

Both personal injury and class action attorneys often receive a bad rap for the work they do. They are portrayed by the insurance company lobbyists and in the media as greedy and self –serving. As a result, the general public overlooks that the work performed by the plaintiff’s bar is done to make our society safer or to correct a wrong where companies have been unjustly enriched at an expense to the public. It must be recognized that plaintiff and class action attorneys work hard to save lives and also give a fair shake to everyone. This is most evident when companies are made aware of and forced to repair a faulty product like defective car seats or strollers. Or, in this situation where a private company may be forced to pay back millions in profit they received from bribing city officials. I say this class action lawsuit is just and was a long time coming.

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

Tracy Morgan Files Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart & Truck Driver

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Famous actor and comedian, Tracy Morgan, has filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in New Jersey regarding the deadly truck accident that killed another passenger in Mr. Morgan’s limousine and seriously injured two others. The limousine was travelling to New York from a show in Delaware when they slowed down for construction on Interstate 95 near Cranbury Township, N.J., and were hit by the truck just before 1 a.m. The vehicle collision forced the limousine into six other vehicles.

The lawsuit alleges negligent and reckless behavior by Wal-Mart and their employee and the complaint specifically states, ““Wal-Mart knew or should have known that it was unreasonable for Mr. Roper to commute more than 700 miles from his home in Jonesboro, Georgia to work at a Wal-Mart facility in Smyrna, Delaware, especially immediately before he was to commence a long shift operating a truck that weighed approximately 30–40 tons.” The lawsuit also alleges that the truck driver fell asleep at the wheel at the time of the accident. 

If it is determined that Wal-Mart and it’s employee were negligent and caused this accident, they will be responsible for Mr. Morgan’s and the other injured passengers’ medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. Something that is unclear at this point is whether the Mr. Morgan’s attorneys will be seeking punitive damages against the defendants. Punitive damages are awarded above the normal economic (bills and lost wages) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering) as a form of punishment of willful and wanton behavior by a defendant. For example, Mr. Morgan can allege that Wal-Mart consciously disregarded the safety of others by allowing their driver to continue to drive without sleep even though they knew this created an extreme danger to fellow motorists and violated state and federal trucking statutes. This will be an interesting case to follow as it involves a famous plaintiff and defendant but unfortunately truck accidents happen like this to everyday people 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 attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

 

Rideshare Bill Awaits Gov Quinn’s Signature, While Uber Announces Big Chicago Expansion

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I have written multiple times about the battle between rideshare companies like Uber and their battle with taxi companies. Specifically, I wrote in May about the new legislation passed by the city council, which regulates the rideshare companies by requiring minimum insurance, caps on surge pricing and background checks for its drivers, among others.

The state version of rideshare legislation has passed both the House and Senate and is currently sitting on Governor Quinn’s desk. The state version, which can be read here, is viewed to be much more far-reaching in it’s’ regulation. It would include that all drivers obtain a chauffer’s license. The sponsor of the bill, Mike Zalewski, told Crain’s magazine “I applaud Uber for wanting to grow its business in Chicago. There is no reason why that cannot happen with this law in place to put customer safety first, as supported by a strong bi-partisan majority of the Illinois House and Senate. I hope the governor will sign it into law soon.” Zalewski believes that the regulations are in the best interest safety and welfare of the commuting public.

Meanwhile, Uber announced this month that they plan a huge expansion in Chicago that would add 500 new well paid jobs. They are urging Governor Quinn via social media and other avenues to veto the rideshare bill.

The questions remains for me: what is the best protection for the commuters and for pedestrians? It seems to me that the city legislation that passed in May was a good compromise. It required that companies like Uber increase their insurance coverage to protect injured passengers in case a significant car crash or pedestrian accident. It will be interesting to see what Governor Quinn does in this case and whether he decides to veto. I will be watching this closely and will report and write about it once any news breaks.

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

Chicago Added 12 New Speed Cameras

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If you have a history of speeding around the city, beware, because My Fox Chicago reported over the weekend that 12 new speeder cameras were being installed around the city. As I have written in the past, despite the city’s claims that these are being used as a safety measure, these cameras seem like a money grab to me. Regardless, warnings will be issued for the first 30 days after cameras are installed, the department said. When fines are instituted, speeders will be charged $35 for driving 10 mph over the speed limit and $100 for going 11 mph or more.

Below is a list of the 12 new locations where the cameras will be installed:

Taft High School, 6545 W. Hurlbut St.

-Ashmore Playlot Park, 4807 W. Gunnison St.

-Beverly Park, 2460 W. 102nd St.

-Chicago Vocational High School, 2100 E. 87th St.

-Loop Lab School, 318 W. Adams St.

-Wicker Park 1425 N. Damen Ave.

-Keystone Park, 1655 N. Keystone Ave.

-Frazier International Magnet School, 4027 W. Grenshaw St.

-St. Gall Elementary School, 5515 S. Sawyer Ave.

-Foster Park, 1400 W. 84th St.

-Dulles Elementary School, 6311 S. Calumet Ave.

-Mulberry Park, 3150 S. Robinson Ct.

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