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A Chicago woman was driving her Envoy Excel at about 25 miles per hour when suddenly the airbags deployed. Now, the woman suffers not only from a swollen arm, but also is enduring hefty bills for a rental vehicle while her SUV is being looked at to determine what happened, according to FOX Chicago.

The car’s manufacturer reported that the investigation could take a few weeks to a few months. But the driver believes the company is trying to stall, and hiding what could be another case of recalled vehicles in Illinois and elsewhere.Our Chicago car accident attorneys understand that the woman had her vehicle towed to the nearest GMC dealership so that they could get to the root of the problem. The service manager said he was instructed by corporate management not to touch the vehicle.

“We’re sitting there trying to figure out what happened. There’s no malfunction, nothing’s broken nothing hit us, we hit nothing the road was clear,” said the driver of the Envoy Excel. She also says she has owned the vehicle for six years, but after this incident she never wants to drive a GMC again.

Reports indicate that the dealership has seen this problem before, but is not authorized to release any information regarding these incidents. The Envoy Excel has been the subject of several recalls, including faulty ball bearings and malfunctioning door latches.

GMC has agreed to pay for the reimbursement of the car rental only if the incident is proven to be their fault. Until then, the Chicago woman is stuck footing the $200 a week rental bill.

Typically how it works is the registered owner of a vehicle will receive a recall notice once a manufacturer has discovered dangerous and malfunctioning issues with a vehicle. Unfortunately, sometimes vehicle owners don’t get these recall notifications in time, if ever. We have reported here before on the strides the industry has made in vehicle safety. But we have also reported how new technology can create hazards.

Sometimes those hazards involve in-car technology such as navigation and entertainment systems. And sometimes those hazards can result from vehicle defects.

The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act allows the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue specific vehicle safety standards to help vehicles up to par and to keep motorists safe. These standards require vehicle manufacturers to recall vehicles that have not met federal safety standards or have been found to have safety-related defects. Since this act was enacted in 1966, the auto industry has recalled more than 400 million vehicles, nearly 50 million tires, more than 65 million pieces of motor vehicle equipment and more than 40 million child car seats.

Here are some recent major recalls:

-Suzuki Recalling Grand Vitara, XL-7 SUVs: Accelerator Cable.

-Ford Escape Recall: Seat Belt.

-Volvo Recall: Fuel Leak.

-Chrysler: Jeep Liberty
-Ford Recalls: 2001-2003 Windstar Vans.

-Nissan Recalls: 2.5 Million Units.

-Honda: Ignition Flaw.

-Subaru Recalls: 2004 Models.

-Toyota Tacoma Pickups: Fuel Leak.

You are urged to visit safecar.gov to ensure that you or your family’s vehicle has not been issued a safety recall. This website allows you to search for any recalls regarding your specific car through the make, model and year of manufacture.
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Back in 1997, the very first Walk to School Day was launched in Chicago. It was called ‘National Walk Our Children to School Day.’ During this first event, our city joined students, parents, law enforcement officers, school personnel and city officials on our students’ walk to school.

Since then, the event has turned into International Walk to School Day and countries across the world are now participating. In 2002 more than 3 million people participated and in 2005 legislation was passed to award states with federal grants to help reduce the risk of pedestrian accidents.Our Chicago pedestrian accident attorneys invite residents to participate in this year’s event which will be held on October 5th. All day, parents, students, law enforcement, school employees and government officials will be walking to help raise awareness about the need for pedestrian-safe roadways for walkers of all ages. This event is also used to encourage our young ones to get out and get active as well as to encourage more to walk to reduce roadways traffic. There will a number of events and walks throughout the state to celebrate the occasion.

Pedestrian accidents in Illinois and elsewhere took the lives of more than 1,300 child pedestrians under the age of 15 in 2009. Another 179,000 young pedestrians were injured in these accidents, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

Schools in Chicago that will be participating in this year’s events include:

-Disney Ii Magnet School
-Peterson Elementary School

-Philip Rogers Elementary School

-Sauganash Elementary School

-St. John Berchmans School

-Sutherland School

Since the start of the program, nearly 11,500 schools in all 50 states have received federal funding through the 2005 legislation. The event went ‘international’ back in 2000. Event organizers believe that 2010 was the largest celebration of the event and the campaign as nearly 4,000 events were registered through the website. Many more unregistered events were also held.

According to Transportation for America, there were nearly 2,000 people killed in traffic-related pedestrian accidents from 2000 to 2009 in Illinois. These accidents cost the state more than $7 billion. Illinois ranks right in the middle for pedestrian-safe roadways in our country, sitting at 27th out of all 50 states.

Parents are urged to get out there and join their little ones on the way to school on October 5th. Remember to continue to talk with your child about safe-pedestrian habits. These skills can be used for the rest of their life and may be able to help prevent them from being the victim of a fatal pedestrian accident. Getting out walking also can help them to get healthy, gain self-confidence and become more independent and responsible.
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There were two serious Illinois auto accidents on the Dan Ryan Expressway this past weekend, according to the Chicago Tribune.

One of the collisions involve a fatality. The crash occurred on Saturday around 9:30 AM in the area of 89th St. in the southbound lanes. The incident involved three vehicles and one person was killed, while three others were injured.

The victim fatally injured, a 45-year-old Chicago man who resides in the 2600 block of E 76th Street, was taken to Roseland Hospital and pronounced dead a short time later. Two other people involved were rushed by ambulance to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, both in critical condition. The other person injured was also critical and was transported to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital, according to fire department officials.

The motorist killed was driving a 2001 BMW SUV when he was reportedly changing lanes. Unfortunately, the driver of a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix changed lanes at the same time, and the two cars collided with one of them striking a 2011 GMC Yukon. The victim’s BMW drove across all of the lanes and slammed into a concrete barrier before flipping. The Yukon also hit the wall.

The Illinois State Police are handling the crash reconstruction, and their investigation is still ongoing.

Click here to read the story as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times

The above accident was unfortunately not the only role over on the Dan Ryan this weekend. Early Sunday morning around 3:15 AM a suspected DUI motorist flipped her car over when trying to exit the Dan Ryan at 18th St. moving southbound. State police handled this accident as well.

Four people were injured in the rollover, with one person being ejected from the vehicle. Luckily, none of the injuries are reportedly life-threatening. Paramedics from the Chicago fire Department took all of the injured to local hospitals in serious to critical condition.

The alleged intoxicated motorist had two warrants outstanding for her arrest.

It has not been reported if there is a Chicago injury lawyer involved in either of the above accidents yet, or if any civil lawsuits have been filed.

Just before the weekend started, another Illinois auto accident resulted in injuries to a 31-year-old Chicago resident. He remains in serious condition due to his Ford Explorer getting trapped under a semi truck that reportedly attempted an illegal turn in Rosemont on Thursday. The driver had to be extricated by rescue personnel and was taken by ambulance to Lutheran General in Park Ridge.

The crash occurred by the Lee Street exit ramp coming off of the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway around 7:50 AM. The truck driver, a 32-year-old Riverdale resident, was not hurt. Investigating police officers ticketed him with failure to yield while making a left turn. The Rosemont police handled the investigation.

The location had to be closed to through traffic for five hours during the crash investigation.
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As we recently discuss on our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, the city constructed the Kinzie bike lane to help ensure the safety of cyclists on our roadways and to help reduce the congestion of traffic through the city. Mayor Emanuel previously promised a 100 new miles of shared bike lanes. Kinzie is a new breed of separated bike lanes that officials believe will further reduce the risk of a serious or fatal accident.Such lanes are meant to significantly decrease the risks of bicycle accidents in Chicago in areas that are congested and dangerous. Approximately 20 percent of the traffic on Chicago roadways is made up of cyclists.

The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) completed the construction of the Kinzie Street Protected Bike Lane in July.

According to a recently conducted study on resident’s reviews on Kinzie Bike Lane:

-Of surveyed bikers, nearly 90 percent of them state that they feel safe or very safe on the bike lane.

-Nearly 50 percent of those who were surveyed reported that they feel that motorist’s behavior has improved since the installation of the Kinzie bike lane.

-Bicycling traffic during rush hour is up nearly 60 percent since completion.

-A study from the CDOT reported that more than 40 percent of surveyed individuals admitted to changing their routes in the city to now take the new bike lane.

-CDOT reported that currently bicyclists account for approximately 55 percent of eastbound traffic and more than 30 percent of all traffic.

-Westbound traffic during the morning rush hour from Wells to Milwaukee has decreased.

-Rush hour during the evening hours has decreased in both directions.

-The project is still making more changes to the area. Some of the changes that are planned include increasing access to the lane and installing new signage and red-flashing beacons.

CDOT says that it will be continuing to seek the public’s opinion on the new Kinzie bike lane to help make further improvements. Residents are urged to contact CDOT with and questions, comments or concerns regarding the Kenzie bike lane or any other transportation issues.

It’s about making sure that every dollar we spend is focused on building a city that works for all of its residents,” says Mayor Emanuel.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were are more than 700 people killed and more than 500,000 people that are injured because of traffic-related bicycle accidents in the U.S. each year.
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An 86-year-old was killed in a recent pedestrian accident in Chicago on Sheridan Road. The taxi driver that hit the woman had been cited nearly 10 times by Chicago police for a number of traffic violations including crashing into the back of an unmarked police car, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Eight of the charges have been dropped. Another driver, as reports indicate, had been stopped by local officers nearly 20 times since 2008. One of these stops was the result of a pedestrian-car accident that sent the pedestrian flying. Police report that 16 of the charges and citations have been dropped.These types of accidents that are taking out local pedestrians are not only being caused by cab drivers. Speeding drivers are killing pedestrians left and right. According to a recent study that was conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the results of a pedestrian accident are almost directly related to the speed that the vehicle was traveling at the time of impact.

This study aimed to provide solutions for the increasing frequency of pedestrian accidents across the county. The study concluded that in order to improve pedestrian safety, the best bet for officials is to start limiting the speed at which motorists can travel along pedestrian-packed roadways. Officials are urged to keep speeds to levels that are unlikely to harm a pedestrian in the event of an accident.

Our Chicago pedestrian accident lawyers note this study also concluded that officials should create a physical separation of vehicles and pedestrians in places where the volume of both is relatively high and the need for fast-moving traffic is paramount.

Researchers also demand that experts create a better vehicle-based system to help vehicles detect pedestrians and a better way to either warn the driver or to brake automatically when a collision is about to happen. Until more can be done to prevent these accidents, motorists are asked to keep a watchful eye out for our walking travelers. All drivers are asked to abide by all speed limits, look for pedestrians when traveling through the city, double check for pedestrians when making turns at intersections and always yield to the right-of-way for these vulnerable travelers.

According to a recent study of pedestrian-vehicle accidents in Chicago, researchers concluded that 1 in 4 downtown accidents involved a taxi driver. These accidents should be no surprise to residents, as taxi drivers oftentimes zip through highly congested areas.

To help reduce these accidents, the city tightened its policy to state that once a driver receives three convictions within a year time period, they’re subjected to license revocation. But at study by the Tribune found such charges are dismissed about two-thirds of the time. Until we can get the court system to stop dismissing these charges, this rule is virtually useless.

According to AAA, there were approximately 4,000 pedestrians killed on U.S. roadways in 2009. There were nearly 60,000 pedestrians injured in these types of accidents. Since it has been concluded that the risks that a pedestrian faces in an accident are directly related to the speed at which the vehicle was traveling at impact, the AAA recommends that all local governments lower and strictly enforce speed limits in areas where pedestrians and motor-vehicle traffic mingle.

Like we said before, there’s no guarantee that our local officials will take this information into consideration and look into reducing traffic speeds in areas congested with pedestrians. To help prevent serious injury, death or legal issues, drivers are asked to remain aware and alert at the wheel and to curb distractions in order to focus complete attention on the task at hand — driving.
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We just concluded National Child Passenger Safety Week, but the enforcement of child-related safety tips doesn’t stop there. At the Loyola University Health System in Maywood, safety experts recently offered up several tips on how to keep your child safe in the car, according to NewsWise.

Now a new animated series is aiming to provide your child with a little more than entertainment — safety tips! Chugginton is partnering with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in an attempt to teach your child important lessons on how to be safe when inside or around cars.

Chuggington will be targeting audiences aged 2- to 7-years-old. The campaign includes activities and downloadable tips for parents to use with children as well as a kid-focused safety pledge for your child to agree to, sign and practice. These tips and activities, if practiced, can help to reduce the risks of child injury in Chicago and elsewhere.”Educating children at an early age about the importance of wearing bicycle helmets, looking both ways when crossing the street and buckling up leads to a lifetime of good traffic safety habits,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Our Chicago personal injury lawyers understand that traffic accidents remain the number one cause of death for children under the age of 15. As a matter of fact, there were approximately 1,300 individuals in this age group who were killed because of traffic accidents in the U.S. in 2009. Another 179,000 were injured. According to NHTSA statistics, more than 200 child pedestrians were killed and another 115,000 were injured because of accidents that involved a motor vehicle. The new campaign hopes to improve safety by offering important tips to children about bicycles, school buses, pedestrians and car seats.

According to Dick Rothkopf, a creator of the show, Chuggington and his animated friends will learn important safety tips as they earn safety badges as a reward for practicing safe habits. He and the other creators are pushing the “The ‘Think Safe, Ride Safe, Be Safe!’ concept. This theory is the motive of the traffic safety pledge that will be taught to your child.

The announcement of the new series was released to supplement the recent National Child Passenger Safety Week. Child passengers have been the subject of numerous recent studies, including research products from Safe Kids USA and the NHTSA. A number of updates to the child car seat recommendations were recently released to help ensure that parents are properly buckling up children during each and every car ride.

According to NHTSA Administrator David Strickland, child car seats have been proven in numerous studies to have the ability to protect children and save lives in the event of a car accident. But adults need to have the knowledge of how to properly use these devices for the seats to work. As National Child Passenger Safety Week has come and gone, you can still have an inspector check out your car and child’s car seat by simply scheduling a child seat inspection appointment.

Parents are responsible for buckling in child passengers during each car ride. If you’re busted with an unbuckled child in your vehicle by an officer in the state of Illinois, you can face a $75 fine.
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Two separate pedestrian collisions in Chicago have left a man dead and a woman seriously injured on Friday, according to the Chicago Tribune. Both accidents occur downtown.

In the fatal incident, a pedestrian was crossing Lakeshore Drive in the area of Monroe Street around 1:15 AM when he was struck and killed. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene. The Cook County medical examiner’s office is stating he has not been identified yet, pending notification to the victim’s family.

The accident was initially reported is a hit-and-run, but it was later said that a 45-year-old driver was taken into custody. Police are also saying the motorist may have been driving under the influence, however no charges have yet been filed.

In the second pedestrian accident, a woman was seriously hurt after she was hit by a Chicago Transit Authority bus on Michigan Avenue in the area of Wacker Drive. The Illinois bus accident was caused when the driver reportedly failed to stop at a red light just before 5 PM and collided with the woman in the 200 block of N. Michigan Ave., according to Chicago police officials.

The woman sustained serious head injuries and lacerations, and a fractured elbow. She was taken by ambulance to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for medical attention.

The CTA bus operator was ticketed for running a red light and hitting a pedestrian.

The Chicago Police Department’s major accident investigation unit is reportedly handling both incidents. It has not been reported if there are pedestrian accident lawyers involved in either case yet.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, so far this year 651 people have been killed in motor vehicle related accidents statewide, and 150 of those fatalities took place in what were considered alcohol-related crashes, meaning there was information reported showing some indication of alcohol being used in relation to the collision.

The state further reports that in 2010 there were 5215 Illinois pedestrian accidents which resulted in 115 fatalities. 5067 of those collisions, or 97%, occurred on what would be considered urban roads.

Motorists in the downtown Chicago area have to be on the lookout for pedestrians, even late at night. Typically these types of accidents result in serious injury to the pedestrian, and sometimes death.
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Over the last week Illinois bike crash attorneys at Abels & Annes have signed on to represent cyclists who were injured by negligent drivers in two different accidents earlier this month.

In the first incident, a bicyclist was riding westbound in the 2400 block of Logan Boulevard on the far right side of the street. At that time the driver of a 2007 Chevy Equinox drove too close to him and bumped him as she passed by, knocking him to the ground.

The plaintiff was taken by ambulance to St. Mary’s Hospital in Chicago. He had sustained injuries to his left shoulder, ribs and head, and also had bad road rash. There he was examined by physicians and x-rays were taken, which were negative for fractures.

During the week after the collision, the plaintiff’s shoulder pain remained. He has since sought follow up medical care with a medical doctor in the Chicago area.

In a second accident, a bicycle rider was heading southbound on Sheffield. At that time he approached a 2005 Hyundai that was stopped in the street with a left turn signal on, waiting to enter an alley. As the plaintiff was traveling by on the right side of the street, the driver decided not to make the turn and swerved back to the right, hitting the bicyclist.

The plaintiff flew over the car on impact and rolled on the pavement. He sustained a concussion, and injuries to his neck, wrist and right knee. He was seen later that day at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital emergency room.

Over the next several days the bicyclist’s pain only increased. He soon after started treatment with an orthopedic group in Chicago. There he is under the supervision of a medical doctor and going through course of physical therapy.

Our office is pursuing a claim against Geico, the auto insurance carrier for the at fault driver.

The Chicago Police Department handled the crash investigations for both accidents.

As cooler weather arrives in Chicago, motorists need to be aware the bicycle riders are still on the road. More and more Chicagoans are bicycling to work every day, and fall weather is not going to deter them.

The Illinois Department of Transportation has reported that in the year 2010 there were a total of 3,599 bicycle accidents statewide. 24 of those collisions involved fatalities, and 3444 of them resulted in injuries. Statistically, that means that over 95% of 2010 Illinois bicycle accidents resulted in someone getting hurt.

Just over 76% of the accidents occurred during daylight hours, and over 96% took place on urban roads. Further, 76% of the bike riders injured were male, while only 24% were female.
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A recent proposal by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) aims to ban truck and bus drivers from using cell phones while behind the wheel — either hand-held or hands-free. The recommendation follows yet another fatal trucking accident believed to have been caused by a distracted driver. The recent accident took the lives of 11 motorists on Interstate 65 in Kentucky. Authorities believe the truck driver was distracted by his phone when he crossed the median and slammed into a van full of people on their way to a wedding. The truck driver and 10 people in the van were killed.

Phone records reveal that the trucker had used his cell phone for calls and text messages just seconds before the fatal accident.

Trucking accidents in Illinois that are caused by distracted drivers are completely preventable. As current law states in Illinois, only drivers that are under the age of 19 or those who are traveling through a school or a construction zone are prohibited from using a cell phone behind the wheel. All drivers in City of Chicago have been banned from using a hand-held cell phone while driving.Our Chicago personal injury attorneys understand the reasoning behind such proposals, which have been made more than once by the NTSB. Traffic accidents that involve commercial vehicles have a high risk of fatally injuring someone. Passenger-vehicle motorists can be as cautious as possible, but without commercial driver attention, fatal accidents may be completely unavoidable.

The most recent recommendation from the NTSB supplements an earlier recommendation asking that federal regulations prohibit commercial truck drivers from both using hand-held cell phones and text messaging devices while driving.

“This is the most comprehensive recommendation we’ve made,” NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman.

The support for these kinds of restrictions has been nearly unanimous, although the trucking industry is questioning the need to prevent drivers from using hands-free devices.

The NTSB is unable to enforce the recommendation and has forwarded it to all 50 states and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Currently, only 34 states prohibit all drivers from texting while operating a motor vehicle. Nine states prohibit hand-held cell phone use by drivers. No state bans hands-free devices.

The recommendation would only affect drivers of commercial trucks and bus drivers. It would only apply to these individuals when they’re driving a commercial vehicle. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this would apply to approximately 3 million drivers.

“This is not going to be popular. But, we’re not here to be popular. We’re here to do what needs to be done,” Hersman said.
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Officers are still on the lookout for a driver that recently struck two elderly females. The Illinois pedestrian accident happened as the women were heading to get their hair done at a salon in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood.

One of the women was killed in the accident, according to the Chicago Tribune. It was her 82nd birthday. The other woman remains in the Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park RidgeOfficers have distributed fliers near West Lawrence Avenue, which is where the accident took place. The hospitalized victim described the vehicle involved in the fatal accident as a black or dark blue pickup truck, possibly a Ford F-150. She said it had gray bottom panels. Officers were able to locate some video surveillance and discovered that the described truck was driven by a male. The truck also had a ladder in the back. Anyone who has information is asked to call officers at 312-745-4521.

As we recently discussed on our Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, there are roughly 3,000 pedestrians involved in traffic accidents in Chicago every year. About 80 percent of these accidents happen at intersections when pedestrians are crossing the street. A majority of the recorded accidents occur when motor vehicles are making a turn at these intersections.

Illinois hit-and-run pedestrian-vehicle accidents are unfortunately a common occurrence as well. There have been about 18,000 pedestrians involved in the approximate 17,000 incidents recorded from 2005 to 2009. More than 30 pedestrians were killed in the Chicago area because of these types of accidents, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT).

Elderly pedestrians are at highest risk. As the weather deteriorates and we prepare for the busy holiday season, please take an extra moment and watch for pedestrians — particularly the young and the old.

Illinois State University Police offer these safety tips to pedestrians:

-Pedestrians are required to yield to the right-of-way to drivers.

-Pedestrians must obey walk lights and traffic signals.

-When crossing a street at a place other than an intersection, pedestrians are required to give the right-of-way to drivers.

-Pedestrians are asked to use a pedestrian crossing or a pedestrian tunnel when one is available.

-Pedestrians are to always walk on a sidewalk. If no sidewalk is available, pedestrians should walk on the shoulder next to the road. Stay as far away from traffic as possible.

-Always walk facing oncoming traffic.

-Make eye contact with drivers when crossing a street.

-Hitchhiking is illegal in the state of Illinois and is punishable by up to $2,500 and a jail sentence of up to a year.

-Walkers and joggers should be traveling along paths when available. On public roadways, these individuals are asked to choose well-lighted, wide roads with wide shoulders.

-Pedestrians are required to obey all bridge and railroad gates.

-Keep looking left and right when crossing the road.

-Always be predictable. Walk where sidewalks are provided whenever possible.

-Make is easy for driver to see you. Always wear light-colored clothing and reflective materials when traveling at night.
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