Chicago ABC affiliate seeks out Patrick A. Salvi of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. for a lawyer’s view of a proposal intended to promote safer driving.
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) October 31, 2011
Salvi, an experienced litigator of reckless driving cases, was among several individuals interviewed by ABC 7 Chicago about the proposal, which would make it illegal to eat, drink, apply makeup and talk on the phone while driving in Oak Park.
Salvi told the news station that he supports a properly drawn eating-while-driving ban.
"I don’t think that it would be contemplated that, let’s say someone is on a three-hour drive, that it would be a violation of the law if they got hungry and wanted to take a bite out of an energy bar," Salvi told the reporter.
The ABC 7 Chicago story referred to a Lake Zurich woman who died in 2009 when she was struck on her motorcycle by a driver who was painting her fingernails. The dead woman’s son, Greg Zaffke, leads a group pushing distracted-driving bans, the story said.
According to the report, federal studies suggest that eating and drinking while driving may cause more car accidents than drunk driving, cell phone use or texting while driving.
Salvi said in a separate interview that distracted driving of all types represents a serious hazard on Cook County and Lake County-area roads.
“Cell phones and texting come to mind immediately, but distracted driving includes anything that takes a driver’s eyes off of the road, their hands off the wheel or their mind off of what they are doing,” Salvi said. “Eating, applying makeup, fiddling with an iPod, anything but conscientiously operating the motor vehicle represents a risk for causing a crash and serious personal injury or death.
“At our law firm, we support thoroughly considered ordinances that address this problem and provide strict penalties for violations,” Salvi continued. “Banning cell phone use and texting while driving is a logical first step, and a ban on eating behind the wheel should be studied.”
Oak Park leaders said they expect the Chicago suburb’s proposed ordinance to come to a vote in January, ABC 7 said. If adopted, it would be the first of its kind in Illinois and the U.S.
Salvi, an adjunct law professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School and a former president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, founded Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard in Waukegan in 1982. He and his team of 10 attorneys have won more than 175 multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of clients in personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuits.
Salvi said anyone, including pedestrians, injured in a collision involving a car or truck, or the loved ones of anyone killed in such an incident, should protect their right to recover compensation for their losses by consulting with an experienced personal injury attorney.
“If a driver harms another person because they were not paying attention to what they were doing, that is not an accident,” Salvi said. “Distracted driving is negligence, and those who destroy others’ lives, property and well-being through their negligence should be held accountable.”
About Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C.
Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. is a leading Illinois personal injury law firm with offices in Chicago and Waukegan. In addition to representing clients in catastrophic personal injury, medical malpractice, aviation and product liability cases, the firm focuses on car and truck accidents, airplane and train accidents, construction injuries, birth injuries, brain injuries, unsafe properties and animal attacks. The firm has obtained more than $620 million on behalf of its clients in personal injury and wrongful death cases, including 175 multi-million dollar verdicts or settlements. For more information, call (312) 372-1227 or use the firm’s online contact form.
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Christina Solomon
Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C.
(312) 372-1227
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