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Luis Valdivia-Segoviano of Chicago Heights, Illinois was struck by a car and killed while he was standing outside his vehicle on IL-394 near Lynwood, Illinois. The motorist who stopped in front of him and to whom he was talking was also stuck and injured by the same vehicle and is in critical condition at Good Samaritan Hospital.

This is the second fatality in less than a week of someone standing outside their car on the highway in the the near Chicago area when they were struck and killed, emphasizing how dangerous it is to exit ones car on the highway.

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If you are a bike rider in Chicago and frequently use bike lanes on the street you maybe surprised to learn that it is illegal for cars to drive, stand or park in these bike lanes. I say maybe surprised because from what I observe cars drive in the bike lanes all the time in Chicago. Anyway, the law is on the books (Chicago Municipal Code 9-40-060) and reads: “The driver of a vehicle shall not drive, unless entering or exiting a legal parking space, or stand , or park the vehicle upon any on street path or lane designated by official signs or markings for the use of bicycles, or otherwise drive or place the vehicle in such a manner as to impede bicycle traffic on such path or lane. The driver of a vehicle shall not stand or park the vehicle upon any lane designated by pavement markings for the shared use of motor vehicles and bicycles, or place the vehicle in such a manner as to impede bicycle traffic on such lane.”

If you are a bike rider and have been hit by a car while riding in a bike lane and are injured, you have a cause of action for money damages against the driver. The law firm of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. has handled many bicycle injury cases and have obtained good results for our clients.

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A Chicago ordinance requires bicycles being ridden at night to have a white head lamp and a rear red reflector. Chicago municipal ordinance 9-52-080 states:

(a) Every bicycle when in use at nighttime shall be equipped with a head lamp which shall emit a white light visible from a minimum distance of 500 feet from the front and with a rear red reflector capable of reflecting the head lamp beams of an approaching motor vehicle back to the operator of such vehicle at distances up to 200 feet or a rear lamp emitting a red light visible from a distance of at least 200 feet from the rear.

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Chicago Illinois is a major city, and like most large urban areas, tend to have a vast amount of auto accidents. Chicago’s Michigan Ave. seems to be a hot spot for, not just auto accidents, but accidents that involve personal injury.

A recent Chicago Sun-Times article highlights such accidents and injuries:

“Four people were critically injured in an auto accident on Michigan Avenue near Grant Park early Sunday.

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The city of Chicago’s bike safety ordinance provides for a $150 fine for drivers who endanger Chicago bicyclists in any of the following ways:

1. Driving in a bike lane 2. Parking in a bike lane 3. Turning into a cyclist’s path 4. Opening a car door on cyclist 5. Passing within three feet of a cyclist
The fines jump to $500 if the bicyclist is injured. The laws are to encourage drivers to watch out for bicyclists on the road. Bicyclists can also, of course, can make a civil claim for money damages against the negligent driver.

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A 22 year old bicyclist was hit by a car and was critically injured in the Chicago neighborhood of Portage Park. The car against bicyclist crash took place at the intersection of Austin and Montrose in Chicago. The motorist was cited for negligent driving for allegedly driving around a stopped vehicle that was faced southbound on Austin and failing to see the bicyclist who was westbound on Montrose. The bicyclist was run over and was admitted to Advocate Masonic Medical Center in critical condition.

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A new law amends Section 625 ILCS 5/3-707 of the Illinois Vehicle Code making it a misdemeanor to injure someone while driving without insurance. Violators could spend up to a year in jail or face a $2,500 fine.

The amendment reads as follows:

625 ILCS 5/3-707

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Records compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that driver distraction is a significant factor in traffic crashes resulting in injury or death. The use of a cell phone while driving can increase the chances of becoming involved in a crash by 400 percent.

On January 1, 2010, two new traffic laws take effect in Illinois.

The first traffic law restricts drivers under the age of 19 (with an instruction permit or graduated license) from using a wireless or cellular phone while driving. This law law also prohibits the use of wireless telephones for all drivers, regardless of age, while operating a vehicle in a school zone or construction zone.

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In the United States during 2008, 968 children ages 14 years and younger died as occupants in motor vehicle crashes, and approximately 168,000 were injured. A CDC study published in the May 3, 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association indicates that 64% of the children who died in car crashes were riding in the vehicle with a drinking driver. The drinking driver was typically old enough to be the age of the child’s parent or caregiver. The study also found that as the blood alcohol concentration of the child’s driver increased, child restraint use decreased. The statistics is grim:

  • Fifteen percent of occupant deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years involved a drinking driver.
  • More than two-thirds of fatally injured children were killed while riding with a drinking driver.
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Drivers who do not take the time to completely defrost their windows drive with a dramatically reduced field of vision. As Sargent Scott Kristiansen of the Buffalo Grove Police Department in suburban Chicago pointed out in a USA Today article: “Reasonable people who would never think of leaving their driveway with worn tires or bad brakes will routinely drive their children to school after scraping just a small peephole with which to see out of the vehicle.” In Illinois a driver can be cited for anything an officer deems to “materially obstruct” a driver’s vision.

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