Auto Accidents

What Dummies! Car Industry Ignores Women’s Safety by Designing Cars to Protect Men Only

July 23, 2019 | The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

39201856305_40c4b98c8a_k-1024x768 So, you bought a car with a five-star safety rating for your family. But, is the entire family actually safe? A new study has determined that a woman has a 73% higher chance of being seriously injured or killed in a car crash than a man, and crash-test dummies are to blame.

A quick history of crash-test dummies: Dummies were first introduced in the 1950s and, unsurprisingly, were based on the average man, who is about 5’10” and 168 pounds. That average-man dummy represented the entire human population until 2003 when a female crash-test dummy was created. However, regulators did not require automakers to test vehicles with the female dummy until the 2011 model-year vehicles. (By the way, regulators have still not required a pregnant test dummy, even though one was created in 1996)

When manufacturers started to use the female dummy more regularly, they discovered that smaller female drivers and passengers suffer more head, abdominal, and pelvic injuries. This shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone. Men and women have different body structures. For instance, women generally have wider, shallower pelvises. They also have different fat distribution and tissue concentration. These differences come into play with seatbelts and other safety features.

Electric Scooters in Chicago: A Recipe for Disaster

July 19, 2019 | Shawn Collins

Chicago recently began a pilot program allowing electric scooters on city streets. Within a mere six days, at least ten couple-4244576_1920-204x300 people were sent to emergency rooms, including one bicyclist who was left unconscious and badly injured after being struck by a scooter.

The city’s e-scooter program launched June 15^th on the west side of Chicago, bringing 2500 scooters to Chicago streets. Ten scooter companies—Bird, Lyme, Jump, Sherpa, Gruv, Lyft, Spin, Wheels, Bolt, and VeoRide– are providing the scooters for the next few months. In October, the city will evaluate the program and decide whether to permit the scooters permanently and whether to expand into the lakefront area and the Loop, the city’s busiest traffic and pedestrian areas. I can just imagine the nightmare of inexperienced or potentially intoxicated riders zipping around on electric scooters in Chicago’s already chaotic Loop.

Chicago might do well to heed the experiences of other cities that have tried out e-scooter programs. Hospitals in these cities have noted frequent, serious scooter injuries, and police forces have admitted that enforcing the rules is difficult. Scooter riders often ride without helmets; endanger pedestrians by riding on sidewalks despite it being against city ordinances, and litter the streets with abandoned scooters.

Naperville’s Five Most Dangerous Intersections for Bicyclists

July 15, 2019 | John Risvold

Throughout Naperville, there are miles and miles of trails and bike paths, perfect for a cruise on a summer day or training for your next triathlon. While many of Naperville’s bike paths are located within forest preserves or secluded trails, some of them cross over major roadways and through busy intersections. bicyclist-569279_1920-1024x692

As the city grows, so does the amount of traffic, and, unfortunately, with that growth comes an increase in bicycle crashes. Naperville police report there are between 20-40 crashes involving automobiles and bicycles in the city on an annual basis. Many of these crashes occur in just five of the most dangerous intersections in Naperville. These intersections have seen at least two crashes per year for the last three years.

According to Naperville Police data, the five most dangerous intersections for bicyclists are:

New Distracted Driving Crackdown in Illinois Starting July 1st

June 18, 2019 | Shawn Collins

Starting July 1^st, Illinois is taking a tougher stance on motorists who use their cell phones while driving.

Drivers will no longer get a free pass for their first offense. melissa-mjoen-399641-unsplash-300x200 Unlike the current law, where a first offense is a non-moving violation which does not affect your driving record, under the new law, you will get you a ticket for a moving violation if you are caught using a hand-held cell phone for any reason, even if it’s your first time. The ticket will have a fine of $75 for a first offense, $100 for a second offense, and $125 for a third, however, this does not include fees and costs which can make the total much higher. Receiving three tickets in a 12 month period will mean a license suspension.

According to the new law, you are only allowed to push one button to activate GPS or answer or make a call. So, unless you are using technology such as Bluetooth to access your phone hands-free, the following offenses will get you a ticket:

How to Keep Your Teen Safe from a Car Crash During the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer”

June 11, 2019 | John Risvold

The time between Memorial Day and Labor Day is a time for sun, fun, and vacation for many. Summer is here, and while this is a great time adult-1866883_1920-3-300x225 for families to take it easy, it is not time for parents to relax when it comes to keeping their kids safe. In fact, the AAA Foundation refers to the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day as the “100 Deadliest Days” of summer because, on average, two teenagers die every day during these 100 days – an increase of 26% compared to other months of the year. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for these teenagers, who also have the highest crash rate for any age group.

According to statistics, the primary cause of these deadly car crashes is distracted driving, which accounts for 60% of all teen crashes. And teens report that distracted driving involves more than just cell phones. In fact, the top distraction for teens—accounting for 15% of all crashes— is passengers distracting the driver. Cell phones are the second biggest distraction, causing 12% of all teen-related crashes.

Other than distracted driving, impaired driving, and a failure to follow the rules of the road also account for a large percentage of teen crashes, injuries, and fatalities.

Pedestrian Deaths at New High: Who’s to Blame?

March 22, 2019 | Shawn Collins

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Walking your dog or taking a stroll after dinner should not be a death sentence. Yet, more and more frequently, walking is becoming hazardous, and deadly, in America.

A recent report by the Governors Highway Safety Association has revealed that pedestrian deaths last year reached their highest level since 1990. In fact, an estimated 6,227 pedestrians died in 2018, 35% more than were killed just a decade ago. And these rates are rising even as overall traffic deaths have declined over the last ten years. So, why is this happening?

Experts have pointed to several factors that seem to be contributing to this increase:

Winter Auto Accidents and How To Handle Them

November 27, 2018 | Ed Manzke

Winter is here and accidents are already on the rise. Here are a few basic tips as we navigate the busiest time of year for auto accidents.

If you’re involved in an accident during a snowstorm, you may be asked to file a report at a later time since police may be unable to respond to every auto accident. Do file a report with the police right away and be sure to notify your insurance carrier immediately. In addition, it is important that you seek medical help right away if you’ve been injured. Having a gap or lapse in your medical treatment will prolong your recovery time and make insurance carriers wary of your claim.

If you have been injured and you have group health insurance coverage, you need to use it to pay your medical bills. Your group health insurance has contracts with the medical providers and typically obtains reductions of about 50% from the medical providers. Use your auto insurance med-pay coverage to cover anything your health insurance does not cover!

Critical Things To Do After a Car Crash

April 11, 2018 | Ed Manzke

Car crashes happen thousands of times a year and can have devastating impacts on families throughout Illinois. In fact, the past few years have been some of the deadliest years for drivers in American history. If you get in an accident, there are a few things you need to do to ensure that you are making the best of a bad situation and protecting yourself. I deal with these issues in my practice every day. Here are some helpful tips in the event that you are in an accident.

Be Prepared

Make sure your insurance information, photo identification, and a copy of the registration to your vehicle are easily accessible. I also suggest that my clients have a photograph of their license, insurance information, and registration on their smartphones.

Your Smart Watch is Distracting You Behind the Wheel

March 20, 2018 | John Risvold

Over the last 10 years, cell phones have gone from large handheld phones we could use to make calls, to mini computers containing our mobile offices that we run our entire lives and businesses from. They are now essential tools in our everyday lives, but they are also incredibly dangerous when used while driving.

While everyone under the sun has acknowledged the dangers of distracted driving because of our smartphones, we have over-looked another – more distracting – device that is making driving more dangerous.

A study by the U.K. Transport Research Laboratory found that smartwatches are far more distracting than smartphones. According to the Huffington Post, the research found it takes 2.52 seconds for someone to react in the event of an emergency after looking at their smartwatch, compared to 1.85 seconds if they were using a smartphone.

Just How Deadly are Smartphones?

October 30, 2017 | The Collins Law Firm, P.C.

Are you aware that a simple, very common habit that you refuse to give up could end your life? Or your child’s? Or a stranger’s?

Every time you decide to save time in your busy schedule by talking or texting on your cell phone in the car, you are taking this chance.

Multiple articles, videos, and ads describe how dangerous this practice can be, showing graphic images of people crashing their car during their last text. Yet, people do not seem to be getting the message. On the contrary, recent statistics show the problem is increasing. Over the last two years, traffic fatalities have gone up 14.4%. In fact, in 2016 more than 100 people died EVERY DAY in or near vehicles in this country. Experts conclude that this surge can be explained by three things: