Illinois Gets Three New Preventative Safety Driving Laws

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Illinois Gets Three New Preventative Safety Driving Laws

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

The Malman Law, advocate for safer driving practices in Chicago and the surrounding areas. Too many of our clients and their families have faced tragic incidents that involved distracted drivers. If you or a loved one were seriously injured in a vehicle accident, call an Illinois accident attorney today.

Fortunately, newly passed distracted driving laws will be going into effect within the next year or two. Although this may not prevent every fatality in the driving sector, it is a step towards closing loops holes in the law that allowed for previous negligent drivers to obtain a license.

On Monday, July 5^th, 2013, Gov. Pat Quinn signed three new driving laws. The laws focus on preventing distracted drivers from causing road accidents. Two of the laws focus on teenage driving and make it tougher for teens to obtain a license.

The first law is named the “Patricia Law,” named after Patricia McNamara, of Rockford, who was killed in a crash by a driver who was distracted and received only a fine and court supervision for their punishment. This law will prohibit judges from granting supervision to anyone charged in a fatal accident if they have a prior conviction or were previously on court supervision for another serious traffic violation.

Previous to this law, drivers who completed a successful court supervision, which often includes safety classes and fines, could maintain a record free of convictions. Now that the new law has passed, this will help to prevent tragic and fatal incidents like the McNamara case. According to officials, the other driver in the McNamara case had previous speeding convictions. Illinois car accident lawyers are available for legal advice if a similar incident happened to your family. The “Patricia Law” will go into effect on January 1^st.

The second law titled “Kelsey’s Law,” will permit driving facilities to deny a driver’s license or permit to anyone 18 or younger who has unresolved traffic tickets. This law was inspired by the case of Kelsey Little, who was struck and seriously injured by a teen driver without a license or learner’s permit. According to reports, 3 days after the accident, the same driver who hit Kelsey received their driver’s license with an unresolved traffic violation.

According to Illinois Government News Network, Gov. Pat Quinn commented, “What happened to Patricia and Kelsey were tragedies that must not happen again.” He also added, “These new laws will make our roads safer for drivers and passengers by keeping more distracted and dangerous drivers from getting behind the wheel.” The new laws will aid car accident attorneys in keeping the roads safer for responsible drivers and passengers.

The last law is to help prevent all persons to maintain safer driving habits. All persons between the ages of 18 to 21 will be required to take a complete adult driver’s education course before receiving their driver’s license. This will only be for persons who did not fulfill or take driver’s education in high school. This law will take effect July 1, 2014.

For legal advice about vehicle accidents, call the Law Offices of Malman Law today. An experienced accident attorney can assist you to evaluate your case today.