Police Cracking Down on Distracted Drivers

 Posted on July 02, 2014 in Personal Injury

Not Paying Attention

Officers are planning on aggressively issuing tickets to anyone who they discover is not paying proper attention to the road. It is an overall safety approach that will equally apply to all drivers they observe on the roadways. Their aim is to get drivers and others to focus on the streets. As a result, they will also be on the lookout for pedestrians who are not paying attention to where they are walking, since this can easily contribute to an accident and a dangerous situation.

One of the main infractions police will be looking for is handheld cell phone use including texting, which has specifically been against the law in Illinois since 2011; additionally in 2014 a law went into effect that made any handheld cell phone use illegal. There are many other acts that would constitute violations resulting in the enforcement of a penalty for distracted driving. Any action that diverts a driver's attention from the road is included. Other traffic offenses, such as seat belt violations and speeding, will also be closely monitored and ticketed when appropriate.

Past Events

The impetus behind this action plan is the numerous serious accidents, some even fatal, that have occurred within the area since last summer. Some of those incidents involved a car and a pedestrian. The examples are plenty: a fatality involving a teen riding his skateboard; a young woman walking on the street struck by a vehicle; a fatal head on crash that injured three other passengers; and a fatal hit-and-run involving a cyclist. While all of these examples were certainly tragic events, not all of them definitively involved distracted driving.

Ultimate Goal

Law enforcement made it clear that their ultimate goal is education of the public. They had already announced increased patrols along busy streets last fall, and this latest announcement about cracking down on violations involving distracted driving is taking things a step further.

In order to further their efforts in curbing distracted driving, officers will be partaking in typical patrols in both marked and unmarked vehicles as well as employing the use of bike cops and officers entering traffic when cars are stopped at a light as well. Their increased effort is to remind people to avoid distracted driving and particularly not to text and drive, which is one of the biggest contributors to distracted drivers behind the wheel.

Accident and Injury Attorney

Despite this increased effort on the part of law enforcement, car accidents can happen anywhere at any time. If you have been injured in a car accident as the result of someone else's negligence, you may have important legal rights that need protection. Contact the attorneys at Mevorah & Giglio Law Offices today to schedule a consultation. We serve clients in DuPage County and the surrounding area.