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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Distracted Driving

Distracted Driving Ban Defeated in Lake Forest

Earlier in the month, the Lake Forest City Council did not pass a distracted driving ordinance. The lack of consensus resulted from concerned aldermen who “feared that banning other distractions would put an ‘undue burden’ on police officers who ‘have enough to do’ and questioned whether the city can ‘legislate common sense.’

While none of the aldermen present expressed strong opposition to any distracted-driving law, some questioned whether educating the public, rather than issuing tickets, might be a better approach. Any ordinance that might be enacted would likely begin with a grace period during which officers would issue only warnings,” according to the Chicago Tribune.

In spite of the measure’s defeat this time around, officials plan to try again to get it passed – maybe as early as next month. This particular ban would go past banning hand-held cell phones to include other “distracted driving” behavior like eating or changing the radio while driving.

The city of Chicago and many surrounding towns have previously passed handheld cell phone bans, distracted driving bans or a combination of both. Late last year Oak Park was considering a similar ban on distracted driving ban which brought up some of the same concerns about enforcement. Additionally, one of the trustees of the village indicated that it would be difficult to designating a handful of behaviors as “distracted driving,” questioning where to draw the line.

Distracted Driving | Chicago Car Accidents

Our Chicago car accident attorneys understand that drivers are often busy or running late, causing them to engage “distracted driving” behaviors even though they know better. For some drivers, a “close call” may be a wake up call preventing them from repeating the behavior in the future. Others may respond better to a ban carrying a hefty fine before they realize they may cause an accident with “distracted driving.”

If you have been involved in a car accident caused by another driver texting while driving or engaging in other “distracted driving” behaviors, contact a Chicago car accident lawyer right away.

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