May has been declared Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month in Illinois, in order to bring needed attention to the dangers motorcyclists face on the roads. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, 2015 saw an increase in motorcycle-related car accidents by about 24 percent. Overall, on average, motorcycle accidents account for about 15 percent of traffic accidents annually.

When sharing the road with motorcycles, drivers should take care to avoid serious or fatal traffic accidents with motorcyclists. Motorcycles can be difficult to see when drivers are distracted and not paying attention for them. However, there are tips and precautions that drivers can take in order to avoid accidents with motorcyclists. Drivers should remember that motorcycles may appear further away when viewed in vehicle mirrors because of the motorcycles' sizes. This may cause a driver who cannot gauge how closely a motorcycle is traveling to be involved in an accident. Drivers should find ways to better judge the distance between them and a motorcycle, for example by counting the time it takes the motorcycle to pass a standing object.

Drivers should also routinely check their blind spots before changing lanes or making other traffic maneuvers. This would also help avoid accidents with other cars in the blind spots. Relying solely on side mirrors to check the blind spots can cause a driver to fail to spot a hidden motorcyclist. If safe to do so, it is best for the driver to turn his head to check the blind spot.

Although having auto insurance is mandatory in Illinois, not every driver on the road abides by the law. A driver who is injured or suffered property damage in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured driver can find himself or herself in trouble unless properly protected through his or her own insurance. Although the injured driver may not be able to recover directly from the uninsured or underinsured driver, he or she does not have to bear the cost of the loss of the accident.

Most insurance carriers offer auto insurance policies that cover drivers for accidents with uninsured or underinsured drivers. A driver can be underinsured if he or she carries minimum coverage on the vehicle and the coverage does not meet the damages or injuries caused. Illinois law requires drivers to be insured at the following minimums:

• $25,000 for injury or death of one person in an accident;
• $50,000 for injury or death of more than one person in an accident; and
• $20,000 for damage to property of another person.

Therefore, it is advisable for a driver to carry uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance coverage.

Texting and driving is a practice that has been responsible for numerous accidents across the United States, some of which have included fatalities. According to the United States Department of Transportation, a driver using a hand-held device while driving is four times more likely to get in a car accident.

When traveling at certain speeds, the time it takes to read a text can take the average driver's eyes off the road for the length of a football field. This is why texting while driving causes so many accidents—texting and driving is distracted driving and can be just a dangerous as drunk driving.

Illinois Law on Using Cell Phones While Driving 

Waiting to seek medical attention following a car accident can be disadvantageous for several reasons. Sometimes if an accident is considered a minor accident by a driver, he or she may delay or not worry about seeking medical attention. For example, injuries are sometimes ignored after an accident because there are no immediate symptoms. However, even when medical injuries do not manifest immediately, they may do so later on and cost the injured a lot of money in medical care.

In addition to the obvious medical disadvantages of not seeing a doctor immediately following an accident, there may be negative consequences to a future settlement on the accident with the driver who caused the accident or the driver's insurance company.

Delayed treatment could indicate that the injured driver who later seeks compensation was not really injured in the accident. The driver who caused the accident or the insurance company could claim that the driver should receive less of a settlement because his or her injuries were made worse by their own choice not to seek medical care, or that the injuries were actually caused by something else that happened after the accident. Seeing a doctor as soon as possible can help take away some of the doubt as to the cause of the injuries after the accident.

After a car accident, there are several steps that a driver should take depending on the circumstances of the accident. The driver may have to check on the other party to the accident, call the police, and seek emergency medical assistance if required. On the other hand, there are certain things that a driver involved in an accident should not do following the accident, including admitting to liability.

For some drivers, apologizing may be a natural action to take, even when they are not truly at fault. This may be the case especially when the other party to the accident is injured. However, apologizing for the accident, or admitting to violating a traffic offense that you believe is the cause of the accident, can have serious consequences later.

Although Illinois courts compare the parties' degrees of fault in an accident, under Illinois law, the person who is determined to be wholly responsible for causing the car accident is responsible for paying the damages to the other party's vehicle and any resulting injuries. Admissions of fault can be important in proving a person's liability.