Rep. Tom Weber | repweber.com
Rep. Tom Weber | repweber.com
Under legislation proposed by State Rep. Tom Weber (R-Lake Villa) a car "accident" would be described in state laws and literature as a "crash," the legislator said in a news release.
“Most, if not all, motor vehicle collisions are avoidable," the legislator said in a statement. "Many are the result of reckless driving, drinking and driving, or distracted driving. Accidents don’t happen as the result of a person’s willful or negligent actions, crashes do."
He said the word "accident" is offensive to many families whose relatives have been killed in car crashes.
The bill, HB 5496, has passed the House and advanced to the Senate.
"The National Transportation Safety Board, 28 other states, and New York City have already made similar changes in their laws and regulations to stop referring to traffic crashes as mere accidents," the legislator said on his website.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Active Transportation Alliance support the bill, Weber said.
According to the lllinois Department of Transportation, there were 312,988 motor vehicle crashes in 2019, 938 of which were fatal. The Chicago Tribune reported that in 2020, 1,166 Illinoisans died in car crashes.
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