Illinois Accident Lawyer Blasts State's Move to Raise Speed Limits for Truckers

Patrick A. Salvi of the Illinois personal injury law firm of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C., says new 65 mph speeds for trucks are sure to lead to increased injuries and fatalities.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) August 02, 2011

Chicago personal injury attorney Patrick A. Salvi today decried the state's recent move to increase the speed limit for semi-trailer trucks to 65 mph on many state highways.

Gov. Pat Quinn signed several bills regulating trucking in the state at the end of July. One bill increased the speed limit from 55 mph to 65 mph on four-lane divided highways that are not interstates. Previous legislation increased speed limits to 65 mph on interstate highways outside of Cook and several other upstate counties.

“It's an old saying, but it is indisputably true: Speed kills,” said Salvi, managing equity partner of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C. , an Illinois personal injury law firm with offices in Lake and Cook counties.

“This is a shortsighted move. Any perceived benefits of truckers getting to their destinations sooner are far outweighed by the costs of the injuries and deaths that are a certainty with higher speeds.”

Salvi cited a 2009 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that estimated that 12,545 deaths were attributed to increases in speed limits across the U.S. between 1995 and 2005. Previous IIHS studies found that deaths on rural interstates increased 25 to 30 percent when states began increasing speed limits from 55 to 65 mph in 1987.

Congress effectively established a national speed limit of 55 mph in the mid-1970s by withholding funds from states that exceeded it. The requirement was loosened for rural interstates in 1987 and completely repealed in 1995.

“Besides statistics, there's plenty of anecdotal evidence that catastrophic injury and wrongful death are caused by the trucker's excessive speed,” said Salvi, whose firm has represented trucking accident victims in legal claims across Illinois, including Chicago, Cook County and Lake County.

A person injured in a collision or another type of wreck involving a semi truck, whether they are another driver or a pedestrian, may have the legal right to compensation for their losses from the truck driver or the business that employs the trucker, Salvi said. If a person dies because of his or her injuries, his or her survivors may have the right to pursue a wrongful death claim.

“If you've been hurt in an accident caused by a reckless or negligent trucker, you need to protect your rights,” Salvi said. “The lawyers of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard have been standing up for the victims of trucking accidents for 30 years, and we'll continue to work to see to it that the laws and protections of the state of Illinois are applied properly on behalf of the victims in these cases.”

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 $585 million on behalf of its clients in personal injury and wrongful death cases, including 160 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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