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Motor Vehicle Accidents 
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of death in the United States. In fact, an estimated 21,132 individuals lost their lives due to motor vehicle crashes in 2013 alone, and approximately 2.05 million were injured.
The United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released a plan recently that is designed to make it easier to identify trucking companies that are potentially unsafe and get their trucks off of America’s roadways.
On Thursday the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released the new rule that all commercial truck drivers and bus drivers must electronically record their hours behind-the-wheel. Prior to the new rule, drivers were only required to keep paper logs of their hours. It became evident that drivers were not only motivated to falsify their records, but were in fact, falsifying their logs.
There are a number of legislative changes the US Congress is considering as the year comes to a close. Chicago truck accident attorneys reviewing these proposed changes are concerned they would create dangerous driving conditions for both truck drivers and the drivers of passenger vehicles whom share America’s increasingly congested roadways.
Truck driver fatigue causes up to 19 deaths and 560 injuries every year, and it impairs other professional drivers too. However, it isn’t actually the most common cause of large-truck accidents. A federal study of accidents caused by truck operators revealed that 18% of these drivers were sleep-deprived, but 44% were under the influence of over-the-counter or prescription drugs.
On the evening of July 23, 2015, Jill Buck was driving her Honda Pilot home on I-65 near West Lafayette in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. With her in the vehicle were her sons, Aidan and Branson. Shortly before midnight, the mother of five children entered a construction zone located near the SR 43 exit. Buck slowed her vehicle to comply with the posted construction zone speed limit.
Keyless ignition systems are billed as a time-saving device of convenience that can make getting up, and getting out the door a little bit easier. While it’s true they make starting a vehicle easier for consumers, these devices pose considerable safety hazards that should not, and indeed, cannot be ignored.
In early June, Illinois law enforcement responded to a single-car accident. According to the Chicago Tribune, a 73-year-old man was driving the vehicle when it left the road and slammed into a tree. Both the man and his 72-year-old wife, who was in the passenger seat, died as a result of the accident.
One of the greatest hazards on Chicago’s roads is aggressive drivers. Although Illinois currently has no formal aggressive driving laws in place, many of the behaviors that would be covered under that provision are still prohibited because of their increased potential for accidents. A car accident attorney in Chicago may see many aggressive driving accident victims in just a single year.
According to the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, the state of Illinois saw 321 alcohol-related automotive fatalities on its roadways in 2012. Many people try and minimize their risk of involvement in an impaired driving accident by utilizing a designated driver.