Distracted Driving Ban Fails in Lake Forest

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Distracted Driving Ban Fails in Lake Forest

Written by Malman Law, reviewed by Steve J. Malman.

Earlier this month, the Lake Forest City Council failed to 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,” reports the Chicago Tribune.

While the measure did not pass, it has not been shelved; officials have indicated that they will try again as early as next month. It is also noteworthy that the ban would go beyond hand-held cell phone use and include other “distracted driving” behaviors including, but not limited to, eating or playing with the radio.

The city of Chicago and many surrounding suburbs have already passed bans on handheld cell phones, distracted driving or a combination of both. In fact, late last year Oak Park was considering a 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”; where do you draw the line?

Distracted Driving | Chicago Car Accidents

Our Chicago car accident attorneys know that drivers are often busy or running late which causes them to engage in behaviors that qualify as “distracted driving” – even though they know better. For some drivers, a “close call” provides a necessary wake up call and prevents them from repeating the behavior in the future. Others may need a ban which carries 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 attorney right away.