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* WCIA TV…
In 2018, there were eight car accidents involving Illinois State Police officers. So far in 2019, there have been 14.
Governor J.B. Pritzker joined Illinois State Police Acting Director Brendan Kelly and a group of state police officers on Monday to call on the people of Illinois to be more responsible on the roads.
“Our state troopers are putting their lives on the line every single day,” Pritzker said. “They are our heroes and first responders, keeping people safe. No driver needs to get to their destination so quickly that they need to put a trooper’s life at risk. No one’s time or convenience is worth more than the lives of our state’s heroes.”
* Tribune…
The increased attention to Scott’s Law violations comes as State Police experience a recent spike in these crashes, one of which led to the January death of Trooper Christopher Lambert, 34, on Interstate 294 near Northbrook. State Police have recorded 14 such crashes just in the first three months of this year. Previous years saw far fewer cases, with eight in 2018, 12 in 2017 and five in 2016.
Pritzker called the statistics staggering and held the news conference, in part, to provide more awareness about the law. He recalled the condolence call he made to Lambert’s family in urging all motorists to do their part to keep troopers safe on the roadway.
“That call to his family that I made is a call that I never want to have to make again,” Pritzker said, flanked by dozens of troopers. “Not for this. Not because a driver was in too big a hurry to obey the law and keep our troopers safe.” […]
In a news release, State Police said that anyone who is issued a violation of Scott’s Law must appear in court and is subject to a fine between $100 and $10,000. Motorists can lose their driver’s licenses if a violation leads to injury.
Seems to me the penalties should be higher than that.
* And there’s no clear pattern…
Kelly said police looked at time, date, location and weather and found “no common denominator” in this year’s crashes involving troopers.
“This year is frankly unprecedented when looking at all statistics. So this is an increasingly great risk for the troopers that are on the side for the road just doing their job, doing traffic enforcement, DUI enforcement, doing criminal patrol duty for drugs and guns,” Kelly said. “So, this is a new level of disregard that we’re seeing by some driving members of the public.”
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 10:28 am
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ISUgrad, it’s unlikely there was a change of policy or training since 2018, so I doubt that would be driving the spike. Also, the cops are supposed to park in riskier spots. When they pull someone over they are trained to park closer to the road to help protect the vehicle they pulled over. Or the one pic Rich had, where a pole had fallen over and the cop car was in the middle of the road to stop cars from plowing into the pole, and a semi hit it. There wasn’t much choice besides parking in the middle of the road for that.
Comment by Perrid Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 10:39 am
Pretty sure the common denominator is inattentive, negligent drivers on the road who can’t see squad lights a half-mile ahead. These stories make me so upset, we’re not even a quarter of the way through the year.
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 10:42 am
There are far to many people behind the wheel that should have their driving privileges removed.
Comment by A Voter Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 10:53 am
Was on I355 yesterday, going around a curve, a tollway tow truck was parked on inside shoulder, no flashing lights, had no place to go in heavy traffic. Did slow down to pass.
It isn’t just cops we should be moving over for. Anyone on the shoulder.
Comment by Huh? Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 10:58 am
Some people simply are unaware of the law (not a valid excuse), but one would think that common sense would prevail and that these people would pull over. How much effort does that take? Perhaps an ad campaign like the ones they did for seatbelts would be useful—it may appear to be a waste of tax dollars, but if it saves lives, the expenditure of money is well worth it.
Comment by Bourbon Street Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:17 am
It seems to me that motorists are ignoring red and blue emergency lighting because emergency lighting is being used for non-emergencies on interstates in construction zones to get people to slow down. I’m not saying it’s ok, people need to slow down and move over. I applaud more enforcement of Scott’s Law.
Comment by Kayak Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:21 am
I realize that I am likely different from most drivers on out on Interstates. I always set my cruise control between 65 -70, and stay in the outside lane. Rarely will I get behind someone driving slower than me, but many cars and especially the big trucks pass me like I am standing still.
Slow down people and you might make your destination safely.
Comment by illini Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:32 am
==Kelly said police looked at time, date, location and weather and found “no common denominator” in this year’s crashes involving troopers.==
I bet there is a common denominator. The police just haven’t found it yet. Like people being too sleepy. Once they’ve crashed they’ve woken up, so they’re no longer sleepy.
Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:35 am
I’d look at texting and phone usage as a potential common denominator.
Surely law enforcement has some other theories that could be tested against the crashes to-date.
It’s a really frustrating story, especially to not have answers to the why.
Comment by Hamilton Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:47 am
Scott’s Law is named for a Chicago firefighter, Scott Gillen, who was killed by a drunk driver on 12/23/2000 while responding to a traffic crash on the Dan Ryan expressway.
The original law was passed in 2002. It was amended in 2017 to cover all vehicles with flashing emergency lights.
Comment by Huh? Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:59 am
Perhaps the State Police could also adopt a slightly less subtle color scheme for its cruisers. Perhaps one you could see from space.
Comment by Springfieldish Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 12:02 pm
==Perhaps the State Police could also adopt a slightly less subtle color scheme for its cruisers. Perhaps one you could see from space.==
Very interesting comment. I think you may be right that the subtle color scheme that allows state police cars to blend into the woodwork to catch speeders, etc. may have the opposite effect and contribute to cruisers being more easily overlooked when the officer is performing roadside assistance and safety checks. Unintended consequences again?
Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 12:17 pm
Time to increase penalties on these sorts of incidents.
Using a phone while driving should be much more of a severe penalty.
Comment by Yosemite Sam Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 12:42 pm
Firefighters have also had an increase in accidents while working on the roadways this year. Like with the troopers, the exact reasons are hard to identify. Sure, phones are a distraction, but those have been around for years. This is also happening despite a concerted effort to train first responders on the dangers.
Comment by Pelonski Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 1:20 pm
I think it is also important to recognize that the troopers are not just doing traffic stops on the roadways. They are often the first one on the scene when there is an accident and the first one to provide medical care.
Comment by Pelonski Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 1:25 pm
illini- You are not alone. I, too, practice legal driving and get “bullied” by many of my fellow drivers on interstates. Yesterday, in a miles long work zone, a semi driver repeatedly flashed his lights at me and tailgated because the work zone speed limit of 55 was just not fast enough for him. He wanted me to close the gap between me and the cars ahead. Once we cleared the zone, he blared his horn at me and flipped me off. Unfortunately, no troopers or sheriff deputies were around that afternoon to pull him over, and I really wish the weight station had been open so he would have had to stop and cool off. It’s these kinds of driving types that end up causing incidents. These are not accidents, because in most cases, with common sense and adherence to common laws, these incidents can be prevented.
Comment by Anon221 Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 3:06 pm
@Anon221 - Thank you for the affirmation that I am not the only one experiencing these kinds of incidents. Are there any more out there that believe in defensive driving and following the speed limits and the posted signage?
Comment by illini Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 4:50 pm
ISP should also be looking to see if other states have seen the same increase recently. If it’s only Illinois it could just be a tragic blip but if other places are also seeing it that’s a different story.
Comment by formerGOPer Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 7:44 pm
more distractions in vehicles these days , gps, music players, cell phones etc..
Comment by foster brooks Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 9:44 pm