Attorney Generals' offices from 43 of 50 states and Guam have partnered with the Ad Council and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), to launch a new ad campaign and website to aimed at the prevention of texting and driving. The website, www.stoptestsstopwrecks.org, targets young adult drivers and aims to show them the consequences of this seemingly benign behavior. The campaign features Public Service Advertising (PSAs) in TV, radio, outdoor and web, as well as integrated digital and social media platforms. All advertising drives consumers to StopTextsStopsWrecks.org where consumers can find tips and tactics for how to curb this behavior.

You can click here to view the public service announcement.  The website also lists 30 different statistics about the dangers of texting and driving.

This is another collaborative effort from different government agencies working together to help promote the dangers of texting and driving. As I have said before, it seems the public has been somewhat slow grasping the dangers of texting and driving, which is similar to the lackluster reaction people had toward the seat belt laws enacted in the 1960s.  Hopefully campaigns like these continue to spread the word about the dangers of cell phone use while texting and driving.

If you or someone you know has been involved in a Chicago car accident or Chicago truck accident, then call Chicago personal injury attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free consultation at 312-588-3384 or to the firm website at www.blgchicago.com.

The Naperville Sun recently reported that the 'Directed Traffic Safety Initiative' - - which is in its' sixth year - - will probably break a record for the number of traffic tickets issued. The initiative, which includes the Naperville, Aurora, Bartlett, Hoffman Estates, Joliet, Plainfield, Shorewood, Streamwood, Warrenville and West Chicago police departments, is aimed at promoting traffic safety, which in turn, will hopefully lead to fewer car accidents.

This year the initiative posted police officers along Route 59 where Naperville police issued 182 tickets.

That tally is likely to double and perhaps more than triple once final statistics are compiled and submitted by the other 14 police agencies that participated in the annual initiative.  Naperville Police Sgt., Lee Martin, was somewhat discouraged with the number of tickets as they had let the public know about the initiative through various media outlets. “We’d actually like for the totals to have been lower,” said Martin, who supervises his department’s traffic unit. We were hoping people would pay more attention than this. Despite our best efforts to warn people ahead of time and during the event ... it looks like it might be a record day for enforcement totals,” Martin said.

Martin said Naperville police issued 93 seat belt-related citations; 47 speeding tickets, including one to a motorist driving 83 mph in a 45 mph zone; 15 citations to motorists driving without insurance; and four to unlicensed drivers. The remaining 23 tickets were issued for a variety of other infractions, he said.

Remember to try your best to obey the speed limit and wear your seat belt so that you will not only avoid costly traffic tickets, but could also avoid potentially dangerous car accidents.

If you or someone you know has been charged with an Illinois traffic violation or an Illinois DUI, then call Chicago traffic violation attorney, Aaron J. Bryant, for a free consultation at 312-588-3384 or go to the firm website at www.blgchicago.com.

A smart new campaign has been introduced by the National Road Safety Foundation and NSSP (National Student Safety Program), which is offering a $1,000 scholarship to the winning teen who creates the best idea for a public service announcement. Three runner ups will receive a $500 scholarship.  The aim of the PSA is to convince other teens to put down their phones when driving.  

The new year is upon and there a few changes for Chicago drivers. Despite numerous complaints about red light cameras, and their effectiveness, they have not been eliminated in Illinois. Despite the complaints the Illinois legislature did make some changes. First, cities will have to post the locations of red-light cameras on the internet, and violations must be reviewed by a law enforcement officer.

Probably the biggest change is for excessive speeding violations. Motorists who are caught driving over 40 miles per hour the speed limit are no longer eligible for Court supervision.* Supervision is a fair method of punishment that Courts use for traffic violations and other crimes. As long as the violator pays the fine and court costs and does not commit any other traffic violations or crimes during the supervision period (typically 1 to 6 months), then the charge is dismissed from their record as if it never occurred.**
    
*Please note that the States or City Attorney or even the judge does have the discretion to amend a ticket to a lower speed violation so that the driver does  become Supervision available. This is not guaranteed but the odds are better if the driver has a clean driving record (i.e. no previous tickets or none within the last few years)

 * *Please note that supervision is becomes a little more complicated when a commercial drivers license (CDL) is involved as supervision is considered a conviction for CDL drivers and they can lose their license and ability to drive commercially if they receive supervision.

Be safe on the roads and take note of these changes in the law. If you or someone you know has been involved in a an Illinois traffic violation  or with DUI , then call Chicago traffic attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free consultation  at 312-588-3384 or go to the firm website at www.blgchicago.com

The Chicago Tribune wrote an interesting article yesterday regarding designated driver services devoted to driving people to and from parties and/or bars. This is a new trend that appears to be timely considering the holiday season that is upon us. There are several components to this service that differentiates itself from a taxi or your typical "limo' driving service. First is the price. These designated driving services appear affordable as they typically only charge $12.50 per hour or $25 if you have already arrived to your location. Second, is that the designated drivers use the client's automobile to drive them to and from their destination. (This eliminates an often common worry about leaving your car somewhere away from home for the night and having to retrieve it the next day.) Third, if the client is going to a party, say in the suburbs, this type of service is much more accessible than trying to hailing or calling a cab to a subdivision.

Some of the new companies that have popped up recently include Paddy Wagon Services of suburban New Lenox, Booze Crews serving DuPage County and U Drink I Drive of Chicago.

This is a very enterprizing idea, and most importantly, can save lives and also avoid the hassle and stigma of being arrested for a DUI .  The Tribune article notes that  in 2009, there were 373 alcohol-related car crash  fatalities in Illinois. Nationally, more than 11,000 people are killed in alcohol-related car crashes each year, accounting for one-third of all motor vehicle crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

If you or someone you know has been charged with a DUI or other traffic violation, the call Chicago DUI Attorney , Aaron Bryant, for a free consultation at 312-588-3384 or go to the firm website at www.blgchicago.com.

It just became much more expensive this week for Illinois traffic violators. The new Illinois traffic laws went into effect on September 15 The new fines for minor offenses such as speeding up to 20 mph over the limit, running a stop sign or making an illegal turn will carry a $120 penalty, up from $75, under rates set by the Illinois Supreme Court. Topping the speed limit by 21 to 30 mph will cost $140, up from $95.

The increase in fines is the first since 1993, said Champaign County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Ford, chairman of the Supreme Court subcommittee that recommended the increases.The panel investigated the cost of speeding tickets  in other states and found that Illinois' were lower, Ford said. "We were a bargain," he said.

The set increases apply only to offenses that don't require a court appearance. The cost of many tickets requiring a court date — such as speeding more than 30 mph over the limit — will also go up. But those hikes aren't definitive because a traffic court judge decides the fines.

A traffic violation  cash penalty actually represents a bond rate set by the state Supreme Court. The bonds for minor offenses are accepted as fines for convenience's sake, Ford said.

I think it's fair to say that the increased fines were intaled to raise more revenue for the state but we will see if it acts as a deterrent to drivers and if it actually decreases the amount of car accidents .

If you or someone you know has been involved charged with a Chicago traffic violation  or DUI , then call Chicago traffic violation attorney  , Aaron Bryant, for a free consultation  at 312-588-3384 or go to the firm website at www.blgchicago.com

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration  released some startling numbers regarding drinking and driving  in their report titled: "National Survey On Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behaviors."  The survey concluded that and estimated 17 million motorists in the U.S. may have driven while drunk in the preceding 12 month and twenty percent of the public 16 and older had in the past year driven a motor vehicle within two hours of drinking alcohol.  About two-thirds of these, or 13 percent of the total population 16 and older had done so in the past 30 days. The survey produced an estimate of 85.5 million past-month drinking-driving  trip, up from 73.7 million trips in 2004.

The scary part of the of this survey is the resulting damage that these drinking and driving  trips have caused. Among persons 16 and older involved in a motor vehicle crash in the past two years, 20% reported that someone had been injured in the (most recent) crash. Respondents were more likely to report that an involved driver had been drinking alcohol if the car crash led to injury (32%) than if no injury occurred (5%).

About 1% of the population 16 and older had been arrested for a drinking and driving  violation in the past two years; the percentage was 5% for males 21 to 24. Almost three-fourths of the public believed that drivers who had too much to drink to drive safely would be somewhat likely (40%), very likely (21%), or almost certain (12%) to be stopped by police.

These are some eye-opening statistics. Remember, it is very simple to pick up the phone and call a cab or a friend. You may be protecting yourself and others, let alone the avoiding the legal problems that can ensue.

If you or someone you know has been been charged with a DUI  or traffic violation , then call Chicago DUI attorney  Aaron Bryant for a free consultation  at 312-588-3384 or go to the firm website at www.blgchicago.com

The Illinois legislature and Governor Quinn are closely scrutinizing current driving statutes, including, the red light  camera tickets and excessive speeder violations.

The proposed speeding measure would prevent a driver from getting court supervision if found guilty of going 40 mph or more faster than the speed limit. Supervision is a form of probation that allows a person to wipe a violation off of his driving record if he doesn't get another ticket for a specified number of months."There is nobody that needs to go 105 miles an hour to go anywhere," said John D'Amico, D-Chicago. "When you're driving that fast, you are truly putting other people's lives at risk, as well as your own."

The proposed red-light legislation, would ban the city and suburbs from tacking on a fee to the standard $100 fine if a ticket is appealed, a common practice that deters many motorists from fighting the charges.

It also would give drivers more wiggle room to creep up to the edge of an intersection before stopping. A complete stop still would be required before making a right turn on red, but drivers could come to a halt after the painted stop line without getting a ticket as long as pedestrians were not nearby. Drivers awaiting a green light to head straight into an intersection also could stop past the line without being nabbed by a camera.

Both of these measures are awaiting Governor Quinn's signature, but I have no doubt these will be signed as they were approved on overwhelming fashion.

It is good to see the state legislature take some action on the often scrutinized red light camera tickets. We will see if these measures actually make our roads and highways safer.

If you or someone you know has been charged with a DUI , traffic violation  or traffic ticket , then call attorney Aaron Bryant for a free consultation  at 312-588-3384 or go to the firm website at www.BLGCHICAGO.com

I have written about the controversy of red light cameras in the past. There have been mixed reviews on their effectiveness. I have received one of these tickets and I have had numerous clients call me about taking care of these traffic violations. Unfortunately there is not a lot anyone or an attorney can do as they are a non-moving violation.  Although, one can request an administrative hearing to challenge the ticket. This is an uphill battle as they are facing videotaped and photographed evidence of the violation.

Now more controversy surrounds the red light cameras in Chicago. The Chicago Sun Times reports that a large portion of red light camera tickets issued to city employees have been dismissed.

Since January 2007, 2,685 red-light-camera tickets have been issued to vehicles registered to city departments. At $100 a pop, that should have generated $268,500. Instead, only $77,167 has been collected.

1,830 of those tickets were dismissed for reasons that include the municipal code exemption for emergency vehicles. Not all of those vehicles were responding to emergencies with lights flashing and sirens blaring. Some police vehicles were working undercover. Some were vehicles assigned to city departments not typically considered emergency departments.

I would like to see a better breakdown as to why some of these tickets are being dismissed. Click here to read the entire Sun Times article.

If you or someone you know has been charged with a DUI or other Traffic Violation, then call Chicago Accident attorney Aaron Bryant for a free consultation at 312-588-3384.

The Chicago Sun Times recently released  car accident fatality statistics , which showed that from 1994 to 2008, one third  of all  Cook County car accident fatalities were related to drunk driving. The analysis was performed by Scripps Howard New Services.

As part of the project, Scripps Howard researchers counted the number of deaths on every road in America, using data provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Scripps analyzed 562,712 fatal accidents from 1994 to 2008 that claimed 627,433 lives.

While the carnage has fallen in recent years -- 37,261 individuals died in vehicular accidents in 2008 -- that's still more than 10 times the number who died in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Most of the traffic fatalities can be attributed to excessive speed, alcohol-impairment or failure to wear seat belts. Drivers distracted while texting, eating or using their cell phones are also a growing concern.

"People may feel more comfortable drinking and driving in rural areas, thinking that they are not as likely to get caught as on major roads," concluded Lee Munnich, director of the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety at the University of Minnesota.

If you or someone you know has been involved in a Chicago car accident or Chicago truck accident or have been charged with a DUI or other traffic violation, then call attorney Aaron Bryant for a free consultation at 312-588-3384.