The Law Offices of James M. Freeman, P.C.

in 2011, CDOT found that 28 percent of pedestrian/auto crashes between 2004 and 2009 in the "central business district" involved taxis.  The Central Business District was considered to be the area bounded by Division, Halstead and Roosevelt.   The report indicated that there was not data on the percentage of taxis relative to the overall vehicle population in the central business district, so it declined to conclude that taxis were overrepresented among the general number of crashes in the central business disctrict. 

I find it hard to believe that taxis represent a third of all vehicles operating in the central business district.  My own experience and observations also lead me to believe that the data will suggest that taxis are more likely to hit pedestrian than other automobiles.  The report also suggested that the citywide percentage of pedestrain crashes involving taxis was about 5.1 percent.

Starting January 1, 2012, cyclists in Illinois will legally be allowed to proceed through a stop light if they have waited for a "reasonable time" and the light fails to change.  This law does not make stop lights into stop signs for bicyclists, and it doesn't even affect cyclists in Chicago because the law excludes cities with more than two million people.

This law is designed to deal with stoplights that run on magnetic sensors designed to detect the presence of a car waiting at the light.  Such traffic lights may stay red unless the sensors are triggered.  As you might imagine, the sensors are designed to be triggered by automobiles, not bicycles.  When a bicycle stops at an intersection controlled by a sensor the sensor may not be activated by the bicycle because the bicycle lacks enough mass to trigger the sensor.  The light may never change becuase it isn't activated.  The League of Illinois Bicyclists website gives some tips about how to trigger sensors if you are stuck at one of these intersections.

To be clear, you can't just stop at a stop light and then blow through the light.  You have to wait a "reasonable time."  While the act does not specify what a reasonable time is, the language and legislative history make it clear that this law is designed to deal with situations in which the light is malfunctioning or not detecting the bicycle. 

See LIB's comments and suggestions on how to trigger signals here.

See the legislative history and language of the statute here.

Mary Wisniewski authored an article for Reuters on Rahm Emanuel's plans to expand bicycle infrastructure in the City of Chicago.  She interviewed me in preparation for this article and ended up quoting me on my pro-enforcement stance.

Interestingly enough, when she called to get an opinion from me for the article she started by asking if I thought Chicago might experience some of the same anti-cycling backlash New York cyclists are dealing with in light of Emanuel's plan to rapidly expand bicycling infrastructure in Chicago.  I indicated that tensions between cyclists and other users of Chicago's roadways are already chronic.

I tried to explain that tensions between cyclists, pedestrians and drivers already exist in Chicago, and to think we're not seeing the same backlash that New Yorkers are feeling is an illusion.  Just because there isn't a high profile lawsuit brought to prevent installation of bicycle infrastructure doesn't mean anti bicycle biases aren't hindering our ability to get more cycling infrastructure and legislation through.

If we want to see expansion of cycling infrastructure we need to hold bicycling out as a civilized and legitimate form of transportation.  In Chicago, that isn't happening, and I believe it is largely due to the absence of meaningful enforcement of traffic laws as to cyclists.

I have long postulated that based on my experience and observations, helmet use does not preclude a head injury.  In my experience, regardless of helmet use, the single biggest predictor of injury resulting from an accident is the speed of the vehicle.  I was recently talking about this theory to a client who happens to be a science teacher.  He suggested that the science of kinetic energy supports my hypothesis.  He tipped me off to the formula for kineic energy.

Kinetic energy = mv²/2

Kinetic energy is affected by both speed and mass.  According to my science teacher client, kinetic energy is determined by multiplying the mass of a given object by it's velocity squared.  The point is this, mass is a constant that basically increases in a linear fashion as the amount of mass is increased in the formula.  Speed, on the other hand, is not simply multiplied in the equation, it is squared.  Speed increases make exponential differences in the amount of kinetic energy.  If you double the amount of mass in any given collision you double the energy, but if you double the speed you quadruple the energy in a collision. 

It is more dangerous to get hit by a Mack Truck than a Ford F-150 going the same speed, but if the Mack truck is only going 15 miles an hour you may just get punched and thrown out of the road.  If, on the other hand you are struck by a for F150 going 50 miles an hour, you are much more likely to be severely injured, not because of the differences in mass, but becuase of the differences in the speed involved.  In such collisions we often see bones crushed and destroyed, rather than clean breaks.  Head injuries bear the same results.  In my experience regardless of helmet use, if the car is going fast enough, you'll suffer a head injury if you strike your head.

Now just to be clear, I'm not suggesting people stop wearing helmets, in fact, I'm a huge advocate of helmet use, and in low speed impacts I think they often make the difference between walking away and being carried away, so don't stop wearing a helmet.  In the city, bicycle/pedestrian accidents are often relatively low speed (the car is not usually going in excess of 30-35 miles per hour in my experience), so I would expect helmet use is extremely effective in reducing injuries in those accidents.  In the suburban areas or downstate, on roads where cars are traveling at speeds in excess of 50 miles an hour, helmet use is probably helpful, but much less effective at preventing injuries.

The single biggest factor to prevent being hit in the first place is to be conspicuous.  If they can see you they'll avoid you, so wear bright and contrasting clothing.  Make sure you have good lights, and you can never have too many reflectors.  First and foremost this will help you to avoid being hit, but also, in the event that you are hit, it will help to allow you when you try to get compensated from the driver for your injuries or damaged bicycle.  You want someone to look stupid when they try to tell the officer they didn't see you.  In an ideal situation the cop would raise his eyebrows and say, "You missed this guy/gal? In the bright orange vest with reflective piping and lights all over the place?  OK...  Here is your ticket."