Articles Posted in Bicycle Accidents

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that a Chicago lawyer by the name of Neill Townsend was riding his bike southbound on Wells on Friday morning when a parked driver opened his car door in the path of his bike. Neill Townsend attempted to avoid the door by swerving out of the way and fell or was pushed by the door into the path of a south bound truck. Mr. Townsend died at the scene.

The man who opened the car door for opening a car door in the path of a bicyclist which is against the law in Chicago.

According to the Illinois Department of transportation, Division of Traffic Safety in data obtained by WBEZ, there have been 577 reported doorings in Chicago between 2009 through September, 2012. According to the map, doorings are particularly common on Milwaukee and Lincoln Avenues, two streets that have heavy commuter traffic.

Even though biking and walking reduces congestion on the roadways and reduces the level of green house gasses admitted into the atmosphere, Congress is proposing a bill that would greatly reduce funding for local biking and walking projects. According to the Active Transportation Alliance, the proposed federal bill would reduce spending for these projects from between 40 and 100 percent. Federal money for walking or biking would be reduced by 40 percent, but the cash strapped states would be allowed to divert this money to other transportation projects, most likely roads, meaning that in some states the reduction could be as much as100 percent.

Active Transportation Alliance notes that biking and walking nationally account for 12 percent of all trips but receives only 1.5 percent of federal spending. Ron Burke, executive director of Active Transportation Alliance states: “We are concerned that people who chose to walk and bike will get the short end of the stick as a result of disproportionate cuts in the proposed bill. With gas prices and roadway congestion increasing, and more and more people wanting communities that are friendly to walking and biking, this bill is a step in the wrong direction.”

Anyone who enjoys riding their bicycle throughout the Chicagoland area knows the dangers that come with it. Chicago is working to become a more bike friendly city by adding bike paths and instituting a bicycle program.

The bikers have a duty to ensure their own safety. Chicago code requires bicyclists to ride “as near as practicable” to the right-hand side of the roadway. Additionally riding against traffic is a violation of the law and can prove hazardous to everyone on the road. Illinois law requires those under age 18 to use their helmets, but it’s still a good idea for adults to use them as well. The Illinois Department of Transportation estimates that 4,000 bicyclists are injured every year.

If you or anyone you know is injured in a bicycle accident it is important that you know your legal rights. Contact attorneys Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C. for a free personal injury consultation.

Early in February in “Children’s Safety Will Hit Your Wallet,” we brought to your attention Governor Quinn’s signing of bill S.B. 965, that allows speed enforcement cameras to be placed in Chicago within 1/8 of a mile from city schools and parks each weekday. Mayor Rahm Emanuel insists that this measure is all about improving safety around schools and parks. The Chicago Sun-Times now reports changes to the mayor’s original proposal. The mayor presented his proposed speed-camera ordinance to the City Council on Wednesday. Alderman as well as city residents are questioning whether the ordinance is really about creating a new way to get money for City Hall. Originally Mayor Emanuel said there would be speed cameras at 79 locations that already have a red light camera. The speed cameras would start recording on school days between 6 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 9 p.m. on Friday. On Tuesday Emanuel’s aides didn’t acknowledge that there would be speed cameras placed where there currently are red light cameras. Also the hours the speed cameras would be tracking drivers was scaled back from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. speed cameras will also be up and running in park safety zones during hours when parks are open. Usually parks are open from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. Emanuel insists his priority is safety, “We’re gonna make sure it achieves the goal, which is to keep our kids safe near schools and parks.” Children’s safety is important, especially when it deals with the possibility of a pedestrian accident. If you or a loved one has been hurt in an auto accident contact Chicago personal injury attorneys Zneimer & Zneimer P.C for a free personal injury consultation.

The mayor’s aides said that the speed cameras would be installed first at only “a handful” of dangerous intersections within 1/8 of a mile of schools and parks. The amount of speed cameras will slowly expand until a cap has been reached at no more than 360 locations. Drivers caught speeding between six and 10 miles an hour near schools and parks would face $50 fines and an additional $50 if the payment is late. The fine would increase to $100 for motorists caught going more than 10 mph over the limit. It’s possible drivers who speed through red lights could be hit with fines for both speeding and running a red light.

Early in January we brought to your attention the case of Richard Bolling, who expert toxicologist Jennifer Bash told jurors she felt Bolling was legally drunk at the time of his May 2009 accident that struck and killed a 13 year old Trenton Booker. Trenton Booker was riding his bicycle on 81st street and Ashland avenue when he was struck. Richard Bolling was off-duty and driving his own Dodge Charger at the time of the accident and sped away from the scene. The Chicago Tribune reports Judge Matthew Coghlan sentenced 42 year-old Bolling to 3 years in prison for his conviction on charges of aggravated DUI, reckless homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Judge Coghlan also ordered Bolling to talk to recruits at the Chicago Police Academy and educate the department on “how to properly handle an investigation into one of your own.” Evidence presented at trial showed that Bolling had received preferential treatment from other officers that night including waiting at least 4 hours to administer a breathalyzer test which determined Bolling was just slightly under the legal limit. Trenton’s mother, Barbara Norman, said she would have preferred a stiffer prison term for Bolling but felt the sentence showed police officers “are not above the law.” Bolling’s supporters, including his father, retired Chicago police Cmdr. Douglas Bolling, as well as his mother and wife, left the courthouse without comments. Accident attorneys Zneimer & Zneimer estimate there are over 1,200 vehicle related fatalities in Illinois. If you or anyone you know has been involved in any accident contact Chicago personal injury attorneys Zneimer & Zneimer P.C for a free personal injury consultation.

Drivers in Chicago are aware that there is a ban on using cell phones while operating a vehicle and now that could extend to anyone operating a bicycle. If House Bill 3849 gets approved by state lawmakers police officers across Illinois will be able to hand out tickets to anyone caught either talking or texting on their mobile device while riding a bicycle. “This addresses beyond the road, this addresses the bike path as well,” Said Representative Kelly Cassidy of Chicago. Cassidy also says this bill is the result of bicycle safety groups calling for such a law. This law would be similar to the law already enforced on Illinois motorists. There was a 5-4 vote on Wednesday, February 8th where the House Transportation Committee endorsed the texting while biking ban with a goal of reducing accidents. If you or a loved one has been involved in a bicycle accident contact expert attorneys Zneimer & Zneimer p.c. for a free personal injury consultation.

The Bill needs to be approved by the full House, the Senate, and signed by the governor to go into effect. The bill will allow bicyclists to use hands-free devices while biking. With this Bill bicyclists can easily avoid a ticket if they pull over on the side of the road or path to text or make a phone call. Opposition to this law claims there are already enough laws. It seems that even with laws already in place car accidents and bicycle accidents still occur.
Victims of bicycle accidents should know their rights. Texting impairs motorist’s ability to focus on the road and can also have the same effect on bicyclists. When motorists and bicyclists take the necessary precautions and avoid distractions such as mobile devices, while operating either a vehicle or a bicycle, accidents can be avoided.

Earlier this week Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill allowing the City of Chicago to use cameras to catch speeding drivers near schools. The bill known as S.B. 965 will go into effect on July 1 and allows speed enforcement cameras within 1/8 of a mile, or one city block, around schools and parks between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. each weekday. The speed enforcement cameras are to be used within 1/8 of a mile around parks from one hour before the parks open to one hour after they close, which means cameras will be shut off only between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. It also allows using existing red light cameras and mobile cameras to catch speeders within 1/8 of a mile of schools and parks in Chicago.

The Expired Meter website issued a Freedom of Information request on all calls, emails and letters from the public to the governor’s office to learn about the response to the legislation. So far it has been negative; of the 224 calls, letters, and emails about the speed camera bill, an overwhelming 91 percent were opposed to it. Governor Quinn’s response was, “You may get letters, perhaps emails. You know, you study each communication, but… I’m not sure that’s a scientific sampling of all the people of Illinois, I think there are some people who are for the bill and some aren’t for it and, you know, that happens in a lot of situations.”

Mayor Rahm Emanuel released a statement on Monday morning thanking Quinn.

Chicago has recently opened its first protected bicycle lane on a short stretch of Kinzie Street at Clinton Street and Canal Street but unfortunately bicyclists can not as of yet call this short stretch of protected bike lane their own. As Chicago injury lawyer Peter A. Zneimer drove past this short section on Wednesday morning he observed a taxi cab parked squarely in the protected bike lane waiting at the front door on the apartment building located at Clifton Street and Kinzie Street in Chicago impeding all the bicyclists that were headed to work on the bike lane. A couple bicyclists were knocking on the taxi drivers window pointing out that he was blocking the bike lane but he did not appear inclined to move. This individual might have benefited from an instructive traffic ticket at the least. For bicycle lanes and protected bike lanes to work to prevent bicyclist injuries there has to be police enforcement to keep drivers out of the bike lanes otherwise there is no point to bike lanes.

Chicago’s Active Transportation Alliance has launched The Neighborhood Bikeways Campaign which seeks a 100 mile network of protected bikeways in Chicago by 2015. A small section of protected bike lane has just been opened on W. Kinzie St. near downtown Chicago. Such protected bikeways have shown to decrease bike accidents in other cities such as Portland, Oregon and Quebec, Canada where they have been introduced. On one New York street where a protected bike lane was introduced bike accidents were reduced 30% while bike traffic rose 40%. The Chicago personal injury lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer are aware of how dangerous the streets of Chicago are for bicyclist by the number of bicycle injury cases we handle. If Chicago were to introduce a comprehensive network of protected bike lanes, not only would bike injuries in Chicago be reduced but many more people would use their bikes instead of driving which would relieve congestion on the roads and reduce auto emissions into the air.

Governor Quinn announced on Monday that the Illinois Department Of Transportation (IDOT) will now be collecting information on dooring of bicyclist. Dooring occurs when someone in a parked vehicle opens his or her door into the path of a bicyclist who then runs into the door and is thrown off their bike. Quinn’s office said that the goal is to see if anything more can be done by the state to protect bicyclists. Local police departments across the state will begin tracking dooring accidents and report back to the state so that the data can be included in Illinois traffic accident statistics. The Chicago injury attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer note that a large percentage of the bicycle injury cases they handle involve dooring accidents. These accidents are especially dangerous because of the risk that the doored bicyclist will be knocked off his or her bike and be thrown into moving traffic and then get run over by a car, truck or bus.

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