Tag Archives: Illinois
May Is Motorcycle Awareness Month
Watch out for motorcycles.
That’s what the Illinois Department of Transportation and local motorcycle rider groups are asking car drivers to do. As the weather gets warmer and more motorcycles are on the road, drivers of four wheeled vehicles need to be more attentive of the two wheeled types.
The state launched their “Start Seeing Motorcycles” campaign this week in conjunction with Motorcycle Awareness Month in attempt to promote the idea of improving traffic safety for both motorcycles and cars.
Slow Down! It’s Work Zone Awareness Week
With road construction projects sprouting up all over Chicago and the State of Illinois, local agencies have announced their participation in National Work Zone Awareness Week.
Both the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois Tollway Authority and a handful of other groups have launched the Embrace the Orange Campaign to reduce traffic related crashes, injuries and deaths in road work zones.
Work Zone Awareness Week began Monday, April 23rd and runs through Friday.
IDOT says there are an average of over 7,000 work zone crashes in Illinois each year. Last year, 24 people died in work zones statewide. Of the 24, one victim was a pedestrian, two were construction workers, and 21 were drivers or vehicle passengers.The goal is to reduce work zone deaths to zero.
IDOT Opposing Bill To Enhance Traffic Safety?
Senator: Agency Against Longer Yellow Light Times At RLC Locations Despite Proof Of Safety Gains
The evidence is overwhelming.
At least according to Illinois State Senator Dan Duffy (R-Barrington).
That’s the reason Duffy says he introduced Senate Bill 3504–to try to improve the safety of Illinois intersections by adding one second or more of yellow light timing to traffic signals at red light camera locations.
Introduced February 8th, SB 3504, or the One Second For Safety bill, simply mandates municipalities or counties utilizing red light camera enforcement, use nationally recognized standards to determine yellow light timing for an RLC intersection and then tack on an additional second.
But, for some reason, according to Senator Duffy, the Illinois Department of Transportation, a state agency that has overseen impressive reductions in traffic accidents and deaths over the past decade through aggressive legislation, programs and initiatives promoting driving safety, is opposed to Duffy’s bill–despite a dearth of evidence to support such a measure.
“IDOT has come out and opposed the bill for ‘safety concerns’,” says Duffy. “I say that is an outrageous claim considering all studies show increasing yellow light times by one second drastically reduces red light running. I haven’t seen one study that refutes this. It’s mind boggling IDOT would oppose something that improves safety.”
Illinois House Passes Bill: Buckle Up Backseat Passengers!
Backseat passengers may now be joining their friends in the front seat when it comes to wearing a seatbelt.
The Illinois House passed a bill 61-55 Thursday which would require anyone in the backseat of a car to wear a seatbelt according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Currently, any passengers under the age of 19 are required by law to buckle up.
Lawmakers behind the bill feel the measure would save more lives. 11 other states have this type of law on the books, including Indiana and Wisconsin.
The bill still needs to pass the state senate.
Here’s the Sun-Times full story, “Illinois House narrowly passes bill requiring backseat passengers to use seatbelts.”
Illinois Gas Prices Hit Record High For January
In just one month, average Illinois gas prices have jumped $.16 per gallon–the highest prices ever for the month of January according to AAA Chicago’s gas price tracking website, Daily Fuel Gauge Report.
“Oil prices are trading at nearly $90 per barrel, which is having an enormous effect on the price of gasoline at the pump,” said Beth Mosher, director of public affairs for AAA Chicago via press release. “Unfortunately, at least in the near-term, consumers should get used to paying these high prices at the pump.”
Cook County’s average gas prices was even higher than the state average, jumping $.18 in the last month to an average $3.37 per gallon of regular gasoline.
While U.S. petroleum refiners are at near record production levels, worldwide global demand for oil is pushing up the cost of crude according to the American Petroleum Institute.
Bans On Texting While Driving Increasing Crashes?
A startling new report from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) released Tuesday, seems to indicate texting while driving laws seem to be having no effect on reducing car crashes.
And, at least according to the HLDI’s analysis of automobile accident insurance claims from four states (none of them Illinois), crashes have ticked up slightly after the texting bans were installed.
“Texting bans haven’t reduced crashes at all. In a perverse twist, crashes increased in 3 of the 4 states we studied after bans were enacted. It’s an indication that texting bans might even increase the risk of texting for drivers who continue to do so despite the laws,” says Adrian Lund, president of both HLDI and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Fines For Speeding Tickets Going Up Sept. 15th
Motorists caught speeding on Illinois roads could see as much as a 60% increase in fines very soon.
According to Sunday’s cover story in the Chicago Sun-Times, starting September 15th, the increase will add $45 to the cost of an average speeding ticket.
The price bump is specifically targeted at drivers who opt to plead guilty to a traffic offense and just mail in their payment or make payment to the police officer at the time of the traffic stop. The current fine (technically a bond) for speeding (20 mph or less over the limit) is $75. After September 15th, this will jump to $120.
Fines for other violations, like driving without a seat belt, driving on a suspended license and others will also rise.
Illinois Drivers Face Late Night Seat Belt Crackdown
Study Shows Late Night Hours Deadliest For Drivers
Buckle up drivers!
Illinois state troopers and local law enforcement will be cracking down on safety belt scofflaws in advance of Memorial Day by singling out late night drivers.
The state’s annual Click It Or Ticket campaign officially kicked into gear last Thursday and continues through the Memorial Day holiday–a traditionally extra busy time on Illinois highways. But this year, law enforcement is going to concentrate on enforcing seat belt compliance during night time hours with safety belt checkpoints.
The reason is, a recent Illinois Department of Transportation study shows most fatal car crashes not only occurred from midnight to 3 AM, but this high incidence of death is most likely because those same hours show the lowest compliance rate for buckling up.
Speed Limit Smackdown
Debate Over Boosting Illinois’ Speed Limit To 70 Heats Up
By Diana Novak
This story reported in partnership with Fox News Chicago.
Illinois lawmakers are preparing to consider raising the speed limit on highways outside of Chicago from 65 to 70 mph.
But two prominent national motorist organizations are at odds over the proposed bill.
One would think the AAA Motor Club and the National Motorists Association (NMA) want the same thing.
The NMA and AAA both claim support for drivers’ rights and member’s interests as the foundation of their organizations—but what happens when they can’t agree on what is best for their constituents?
The NMA has just under 100 of their few thousand members in the Chicagoland area, while the AAA has about 940,000 between Chicago and northwest Indiana, and 52 million nationwide.
Like parents arguing over what is best for their children, the NMA and AAA are throwing down over Illinois Senate Bill 3668, a plan to raise highway speed limits outside the Chicago metropolitan area from 65 mph to 70 mph. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Illinois would be the 34th state to implement such speed limit increase.
Cullerton’s Red Light Camera ‘Reform’ Bill Passes Senate
The Illinois state Senate passed President John Cullerton’s (D-Chicago) red light camera reform bill Thursday.
The controversial bill, according to anti-red light activists doesn’t do enough to truly reform the use of RLC technology by municipalities, had 45 yea votes and 10 nay votes.
Sen. Dan Duffy (R-Lake Barrington) who had sponsored a draconian bill banning all red light cameras in the state, was one of those no votes because he felt Cullerton’s bill was too watered down.
Anti-red light camera proponents have been publicly critical of the bill.
