DuPage, Kane and Will County Personal Injury Law Blog

As a resident of Illinois who frequently uses a car, you are putting yourself at risk any time you deal with a manufacturing defect. If these defects affect crucial parts of the vehicle, it is considered a safety-related defect, which can lead to potentially devastating crashes and widespread auto recalls.

First and foremost, FindLaw defines what a safety-related defect is. These are defects in certain parts (or even the entirety) of a vehicle that do not meet the safety standards and regulations of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). They involve parts that are either crucial to the use of the vehicle, or crucial to the safety of the passengers. For example, steering, lighting and brakes are crucial to vehicle use, while seatbelts and airbags are crucial to safety.

In terms of size and weight, commercial trucks tend to trump passenger vehicles. As a result, the drivers and passengers in the smaller vehicles typically suffer the most when the two collide. Because it takes so much to stop a large semi-truck, all trucks must have properly functioning brake systems. Regrettably, this is not always the case.

Air brake systems, per Transport Topics, can malfunction on their own, which can lead to serious crashes and associated injuries and fatalities, but they can also malfunction because of a truck driver’s errors. Many truck crashes involving brake failure issues also involve younger, less experienced truck drivers. Today’s trucking companies must ensure their drivers are well-trained and well-informed about how to avoid brake failure issues.

Residents in Illinois unfortunately know that every time they get in their vehicles, go out for a bike ride or a walk or even just attempt to cross a street, they face the risk of being hit by a reckless driver. From people who choose to drive while texting or when they are too tired to people to refuse to find other modes of transportation when they want to drink, there seems to be no end to the factors that contribute to so many serious and even fatal accidents on area roads and highways.

According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speeding and alcohol continue to claim numerous lives in Illinois. In fact, the number of vehicular fatalities associated with these factors alone increased in 2017 for the fourth consecutive year. In 2014, the state lost 302 people at the hands of drunk drivers. In 2017, alcohol was a stated factor in the deaths of 349 people. Excessive speed was a factor in 349 fatalities in 2014 and of 462 fatalities in 2017.

A multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 70 in Effingham County, Illinois, that occurred late Saturday morning had far-reaching consequences. Not only did it claim three lives and send three other people to the hospital, but it also necessitated the closure of all lanes of traffic for several hours. This action essentially trapped motorists who had the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in their vehicles on the interstate with temperatures outside in excess of 90 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Authorities have since charged a 59-year-old truck driver from Michigan with failure to reduce speed to avoid a traffic crash. He was reportedly driving a white tractor-trailer eastbound through a construction zone on I-70 when he allegedly struck the back of a black SUV that had come to a halt in front of him when traffic stopped for an unspecified reason. The force of the collision reportedly propelled the SUV into a black tractor-trailer, which reportedly then struck a fourth vehicle. Though believed to be another tractor-trailer or large truck, the fourth vehicle left the scene after it sustained no damage. The white tractor-trailer came to a halt after striking a concrete dividing wall along the center line.