Should Illinois consider jail time for distracted driving offenders?

August 9, 2017 by Ken Levinson Leave a Comment

We’re taking it to the extreme in the name of safety

On the heels of a May report that Chicago’s distracted driving citations took a dive in 2016, it’s fair to wonder: should Illinois consider stricter penalties for first-time distracted driving offenders?

The basis for my argument is a simple one. If law enforcement can’t reasonably enforce the law, then the law should reasonably enforce itself. In other words, devising harsher, more damning penalties for talking on a cell phone or texting while driving may be the extreme deterrent law enforcement needs to cut down on the rate of distracted driving offenses.

If the matter is purely about making comparisons, then I refer people to this statistic: The Brain Institute of Chicago equates distracted driving as the equivalent of consuming four beers. If you happen to weigh 160 pounds, that’s a 0.080 blood alcohol level content, the threshold by which most states declare someone legally impaired. For first-time offenders, Driving Under the Influence can run in the neighborhood of a $2,500 fine, a suspended license for at least one year, and up to one year in jail time. Second and third-time offenders face even stiffer penalties, going as far as revoking licenses altogether.

There are many people who would have you believe that enforcing such laws is not only impractical but severely lacking enough statistical evidence to prove beneficial. We can look to a 2014 article by U.S. News and Reports, which pointed to 2004 when the NHTSA lowered the minimum BAC threshold in all 50 states from 0.10 to 0.08.

In this case, Gary Biller, president of the National Motorists Association and author of the article, argued that lowering the threshold would do practically nothing to change the drinking habits of Americans. He cited statistics from the NHSTA showing that highway fatalities dropped by 8.6 percent since 2003, but, he argues, the stats didn’t account for advances in auto safety technology like side air bags and better harnesses.

In closing, Biller says this: “The millions of dollars that would be spent in lowering the DUI limit to 0.05 would divert critical resources from that effort. And by arresting tens of thousands of moderate social drinkers every year who have not operated their vehicles unsafely but been deemed legally impaired, we have further burdened our overtaxed legal and correctional systems.”

Biller may have a point to a certain extent, but he also fails to acknowledge what the purpose of enforcing impaired driving is ultimately meant to do, and that’s keeping people safe. It may be impractical for local law enforcement to cite every possible distracted driver, as it is to cite every drunken driver, but it’s certainly better than nothing happening at all.

As we’ve seen in the last two years, the number of auto-related crashes nationwide has jumped by as much as 14 percent. Many attribute that to habits like texting while driving. As Tribune reporter Mary Wisniewski pointed out from her interview on WGN Radio a couple weeks ago, most people believe they can do it safely, and so they do so without thinking about the consequences.

If the penalties were steeper (increasing fines, sending people to jail, etc.), perhaps drivers might think about the consequences more seriously.

Are party buses safe?

August 1, 2017 by Ken Levinson Leave a Comment

Do your research

I was relieved to hear the news. Yesterday the city shut down at least 17 bus companies that failed to enforce safety.

The companies mentioned were purportedly under investigation by the Chicago Police and the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protections for failing to properly maintain several safety measures, including licensures, security cameras, and vehicle signs. A city ordinance passed in April also requires party buses to hire security guards if there are more than 15 passengers on board and alcohol is present—a point of fact that has been largely ignored, leading to several instances of excessive violence.

While the problem is now making headlines, it’s hardly new. Party buses are notorious for shirking city laws to save a dime at the expense of riders who don’t know better. We preach all the time about doing more for the sake of safety, yet the pattern has proven to be dangerous and disappointing for those of us who see the effects of auto crashes.

What’s encouraging is that the city seems to be taking proactive steps to enforce those laws, going as far as to significantly penalize the perpetrators for essentially putting others at risk. It’s especially encouraging when you consider that buses are much more precarious than people like to believe.

What many people don’t know is that party buses are akin to commercial vehicle crashes, if not worse. The injuries are often severe because of two things: a lack of adequate harnessing and the presence of alcohol. Injuries sustained in those types of crashes are devastating. But they’re also preventable and consumers should know exactly what they’re signing up for and how to ensure their safety when booking a private bus.

Make sure the company is properly licensed

After the shutdown, business affairs Commissioner Rosa Escareno noted that there are roughly 340 licensed charter bus companies in the city. She believes that many are violating city laws somehow, but the greatest risk for consumers is hiring a bus company that isn’t properly licensed, meaning you could lose your deposit or the money you’ve already paid to the company.

What to do if you’re a victim of a party bus crash

First and foremost, remain calm and wait for medical personnel to arrive. Once stable, consult with other members of your party and figure out whether a police report was filed. You’ll also want to gather insurance information for the bus driver and the other drivers involved in the crash. As we noted above, party buses are required to comply with city ordinances designed to keep people safe. Depending on the circumstances of the crash and whether the bus was in violation of one or more of those ordinances, you may have the legal basis to file a lawsuit based on negligence.

Have further questions? Reach out to our office, our attorneys are happy to assist.

Distracted driving tickets took a dive in 2016

May 9, 2017 by Ken Levinson Leave a Comment

From tens of thousands to hundreds

Distracted driving remains a low priority for the Chicago Police Department, a consequence of less manpower and changes to city ordinances, according to Tribune Transportation Columnist Mary Wisniewski.

Wisniewski made appearances on WGN Radio and WBEZ this morning to discuss the huge drop off in the number of citations being doled out by the CPD for things like texting while driving. In 2015, nearly 26,000 distracted driving tickets were written, compared to 46,000 in 2014. In 2016, the CPD wrote just 186 tickets.

“They’ve all but given up on enforcing this particular city ordinance,” Wisniewski said on WGN’s The John Williams Show, prompting host John Williams to ask why. Wisniewski explained:

In 2015, there was a change in the law that made police treat citations under the cell phone ordinance the same as other moving violations, which means that [officers] now have to go to traffic court and appear when the person who’s going up there with their ticket is appearing. [Officers] used to be able to not appear and the tickets could be upheld without them.

Wisniewski also pointed out that the CPD now employs fewer officers and that the department is placing stronger emphasis on other areas of law enforcement, like guns and gang violence. Still, she continued, the CPD hopes to make distracted driving a priority in the future.

The U.S. has experienced an influx of crashes over the last two years, including a 14 percent jump in auto-related fatalities nationally—the highest in almost half a century. Officials at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration attribute at least some of that to distracted driving.

The people who are experts on this said that people are very complacent about distracted driving. Everyone thinks they can do it safely. Everyone thinks, ‘well, I made it home okay, I must be a great driver.’

One of the ways that we can change that is through technology. One of things I brought up in my article is a technology that a company’s working on called a textalizer, which will be able to look at your phone’s operating system after you’ve been in a crash. You’ll be able to plug in your phone and see if you were just texting or on the phone.

Williams countered by saying that while a textalizer might be a good thing, it still wouldn’t prevent people from doing something bad in the first place, would it?

Do we need stronger penalties?

As we’ve outlined here on the blog, and as Wisniewski illustrated to Williams, the key to prevent distracted driving may be imposing stricter penalties to deter people from doing it at all.

Driving Under the Influence is considered a class A misdemeanor in Illinois for first and second-time offenders. Some instances qualify as a felony, which carries much stiffer penalties, including hefty fines and extended jail time.

Organizations like the Brain Injury Society go as far as to say that texting while driving is the equivalent of drinking four beers, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said that the two are similar as far as the level of distraction. As it stands, Chicago and other cities and states could benefit by qualifying the word “impairment” to cover a much broader scope of infractions. One hopes that doing so would effectively scare people straight.

Remember these safety tips during National Bike Month

May 8, 2017 by Ken Levinson Leave a Comment

We outline a small refresher for cyclists and drivers

With National Bike Month officially underway and warm weather on the horizon, we’re dusting off our seats, tuning our wheels, and getting ready to enjoy the best of what cycling offers: an unmitigated sense of freedom. But it also means that we (along with other cyclists) are taking precautionary measures to remind ourselves of the dangers amongst us and how to combat them. We’ve outlined a few best-practices for both cyclists and drivers.

For Cyclists: Bike lanes are your friends

The city of Chicago has at least one proponent of safe cycling in Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Since Emanuel took office, the city has added an additional 200 miles of protected bike lanes in and around Chicago, which has consequently improved people’s driving habits. In 2011 for example, the city completed the construction of the Kinzie Street Protected Bike Lane. A survey found that 49 percent of respondents felt that driving habits had improved since then. That’s the good news. The bad news: Bike lanes, while exponentially beneficial, are not a failsafe. Some drivers overlook them, which can lead to problems like “dooring” and illegal parking. The bottom line: Remain on high alert.

For Cyclists: Check for flats

It might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many cyclists forgo the necessary tune-up to get back on the road as quickly as possible. Despite having sat in a garage for the better part of four months, bikes and their tires deteriorate at a slow but steady rate. Jump-starting your ride is akin to running a marathon without having trained in the first place, meaning your legs are bound to give out in a hurry. Tires are no different. The best option: Take your bike for for a pre-spring tune-up at your local bike shop, where rates are as low as $20.

For Cyclists: Wear your helmet

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that less than half of cyclists wear bike helmets while riding, putting their chances of survival in the event of a crash at a measly percentage. The CDCP also pointed out that kids are particularly averse to wearing helmets for fear of being teased, and amazingly, a 2011 poll by the BMJ found that 68 percent of its readers opposed mandatory helmet laws.

But teasing or not, fashionable or unfashionable, skeptical or not, helmets are indisputably a last line of defense that can’t be ignored. Some studies try to promote the idea that helmets are largely inconsequential, but if you need further evidence that they indeed save lives, we point you to the law firm of attorney Steve Gursten in Michigan, where a helmet quite literally saved the eye (and possibly the life) of a longtime receptionist. Countless stories like this exist, and they are not as few and far between as you might believe. For more perspective on helmets, read Jay’s opinion.

For Cyclists: Know your hand signals

Some cyclists underestimate or flat out ignore the importance of using proper hand signals, yet it’s one of the simplest ways to declare your intentions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides a handy (pardon the pun) guide illustrating the proper indicators, and Active outlines eight of the basics by way of a slideshow. Of strong importance: The “Stop” and “Left Hand Turn” signal.

For Drivers: Employ the “Dutch Reach”

In our last blog post, we noted that more than 300 local cyclists crashed into car doors in 2015, a 50 percent increase from the previous year, according to statistics provided by the Illinois Department of Transportation. That’s a staggering statistic. One of the solutions that we, along with many others, proposed was promoting the Dutch Read, a concept developed in the Netherlands. The idea is this: Always open the car door with the hand furthest from the door (e.g. U.S. drivers open their doors using the right hand), forcing you to turn your body in the direction of oncoming traffic, thereby giving you a better vantage point of oncoming traffic. Simple. Easy. Necessary.

For Drivers: Avoid distractions

This may be stating the obvious. Stay off your cell phones and other handheld devices. I don’t think we need linkage to any studies or statistics on this one. Nothing’s more dangerous or consequential for those who ignore the basic safety tenements of the road. It’s also illegal, which means a conviction could end up costing you anywhere from a traffic violation to jail time depending on the severity of a crash.

For Drivers: Proceed with caution

It’s inevitable that you’re going to pass a bicycle at some point while driving. Give as much room as possible at a relatively slow speed, exacting a great deal of patience as you do. If you can’t pass right away, wait until the moment’s right, and whatever you do, don’t honk. Honking can induce panic, causing cyclists to make unpredictable decisions. Don’t put either you or the cyclist in that situation.

To aspiring lawyers waiting tables

January 12, 2017 by Ken Levinson Leave a Comment

From my sophomore year of high school through my first year of law school, I bussed tables, served entrees and endured the occasional disgruntled customer who liked to take a week’s-worth of frustration out on poor, unassuming servers.

Like the legal world, working at a restaurant is sometimes surreal. The days and nights are long, the people are anxious and the operation never stops. A recent encounter with a young law student, who happens to be waiting tables to pay for school, reminded me of those early days. There were many nights, he said, when he’d come home tired, irritated and temped to quit, suggesting that it was not helping him get where he wanted to go with respect to the law.

But there are benefits of enduring late night harangues and doing the so-called grunt work that you won’t learn anywhere else. I’m convinced that the principles of the restaurant world have made me a better, more humble lawyer. The lessons that I learned while working at a restaurant have been equally if not more valuable to the approach I take with regard to my practice.

For any discouraged law students or pre-law students working the late shift at the local diner, steakhouse or fast-food joint, I share with you the practical and translatable lessons of the serving experience that can help you achieve your goals as a future attorney.

Be patient and stay organized

I didn’t start off as a waiter. I was a small gear in a big machine. I was cleaning dishes well before I was given an opportunity to join the wait staff. Even then, I had to suppress my urge to leap frog the system, and it came in the form of a not-so-subtle jab at my work ethic by a bartender who decided to call me out for my over anxiousness and lack of organization.

After that, I remember spending many nights and weekends as a young law clerk training myself to sweat the small stuff. Many times, I volunteered to do tasks typically assigned to interns, which would only help when it came time for case prep. I often wonder if I hadn’t received such a stern wake-up call from my bartending friend, it would have caught up with me at the firm. And that would have been disastrous.

Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize

There are lots of competing interests in a kitchen, much like at a law firm. A chef wants customers to receive their food on a hot plate; a server needs timely clearing and bussing to keep traffic flowing at a steady pace; the bartender needs a fully stocked shelf to keep customers entertained while they’re waiting for their tables. Everyone’s got their priorities. You learn quickly that some are more important than others.

When you’re in the process of overseeing a case, you’ll find that the interests of counsel, co-counsel, opposing counsel, clients, judges and even juries are all different and demanding. Keeping pace is an art that you can and should use to your advantage. It’s a big part of what separates a bad attorney from a great one. In a process with so many variables, it’s impossible to give everything equal attention. Defining what can and can’t happen on a daily, or even hourly basis will help steady the balance of your workflow and show your colleagues that your ready for the Big League.

Be judicious and pick your battles

Remember the disgruntled customer I was talking about? He wasn’t my first and he wasn’t my last. The old adage rings true: the customer is always right. I’ve withstood my share of emotional beatings as a waiter, always with a smile. Some complaints are legitimate others are downright silly. Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself and other times it’s best to keep your feelings to yourself. I’m certainly not saying you need to get pushed around, just that there’s a time and a place for everything.

As part of your legal career, a judge will rule against you. You may be disappointed. You may even put up a fight, knowing the result isn’t going to swing in your favor. The key is sensing when to put down the sword. Odds are you’ll see the same judge more than once in your career. That’s not to say we won’t argue. In fact, that’s what attorneys are paid to do. But knowing how to pick your battles will keep your reputation in good order when it comes time for round two.

Speaking of reputation, focus on that and not the rewards

Temptation is a fact of life. A customer asks for your opinion when they’re deciding between two entrees. One is more expensive than the other, but less tasty. The second dish is cheaper and better quality. The expensive plate is guaranteed to get you a better tip. What do you do? Well, if you value repeat customers, giving them the cheaper option is likely going to benefit you in the long-run and earn you merit points with your customers.

Staying true to what you believe, as cliché as it sounds, is one of the most important tools in your arsenal as an attorney. Clients depend on your feedback, and the foundation for that feedback is a sense of trust. It’s possible you’ll find yourself in a position that allows you to take advantage of consultation fees, or maybe you risk losing a client if you don’t tell them what they want to hear. Venturing down a path in which the rewards may be significant but the path is unclear is a recipe for disaster. Taking stock of your ethical standards will preserve your integrity, and ultimately, the reputation of your practice.

Picking up the slack

You’ll likely never find a job in which you won’t ever need help. Same goes for your colleagues. This is an essential reality of the teamwork necessary to keep a good business functioning at a high level. Sometimes a busser needs help clearing tables, or a chef needs a hand with the dishes. It may not be your job, but picking up the slack pays off. I was given many opportunities to make extra cash on the weekends, thanks to a tip from a fellow server, whose shift I covered while he dealt with a family issue. By the same logic, you never know when going the extra mile will inspire other lawyers to generously refer cases to your door.

Donald Trump is the world’s worst client

June 1, 2016 by Ken Levinson Leave a Comment

The real estate mogul’s behavior is proving to be a legal nightmare

Far be it from me to throw my hat into the ring of Presidential punditry, but Donald Trump has provided an opening.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has been fending off serious backlash for Trump University, among other things, which is back in the headlines after a federal judge ordered 1,000 pages of internal Trump U documents be made available to the public. Those documents, unveiled yesterday, reveal what many are now calling a sophisticated scheme that was intended to scam people out of money. The basis for that conclusion comes from the so-called Trump U Playbook, which instructed would-be salespeople how to earn a prospective student’s trust, only to lead them down a shady, destructive financial path.

From the New York Times: “One sales manager for Trump University, Ronald Schnackenberg, recounted how he was reprimanded for not pushing a financially struggling couple hard enough to sign up for a $35,000 real estate class, despite his conclusion that it would endanger their economic future.”

“The language employed by Trump University’s sales team is similar to that of multilevel marketing scams like AdvoCare and Amway, and even certain cults,” wrote Olivia Nuzzi of The Daily Beast, which parceled through the documents yesterday.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has said that he will prosecute Trump to the full extent that he and the state of New York is able, calling the situation a “straight-up fraud case,” not a political one.

In the meantime, Trump defaulted to his usual shtick by levying insults toward his critics and, more surprisingly, the judge overseeing his case. He made reference to the idea that Judge Gonzalo Curiel has been out to get him. He later derided the Indiana-born Curiel as “Mexican” during a Trump rally and re-ignited his tendency to make racially suggestive commentary, all of it setting yet another dangerous precedent as he trucks along to the Republican nomination.

Even if Trump knew how stupid he sounded before he stood in front of a microphone, it probably wouldn’t have mattered. The intent was to defame, damage and offend his way out of a corner. In a normal world, that would pose problems for any litigant.

But Trump is not normal. Since announcing his run for the presidency, his campaign has capitalized on the pettiness that emboldens him and his followers. It’s become so normalized that the Trump contingent likely can’t recognize the damage Trump is doing to himself or the legal process.

That makes attorneys like me lose sleep at night. Trump has instigated a far more complicated legal battle than he or his lawyers bargained for. Worse, his example has inspired recklessness by challenging his detractors with petty insults rather than evidence. How long before other litigants start doing the same, whether it’s an ill-advised tweet, a Facebook post, or airing their grievances in a public forum? We always encourage our clients to refrain from discussing their case outside the courtroom. I never imagined that might one day include advising people to refrain from personally attacking the judge presiding over our case.

From the outset of the legal profession, attorneys have had to protect clients from hurting themselves. It’s worth thinking about how we can protect them from examples like Donald Trump.