CTA Union Asks for Independent Review of Collisions

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the the CTA driver's Union is calling for there to be an independent investigation of CTA bus crashes. The Union claims that its motivation is for the public to know that investigations are handled objectively. An independent review of bus vs. bicycle collisions would be extremely helpful in the prosecution of claims against the CTA for when their drivers are at fault.

Oftentimes the drivers of the bus involved in a collision give a self-serving statement to the responding police officer. The inclination for the police officer is often to give the bus driver the "benefit of the doubt" when there aren't witnesses or physical evidence that supports one side of the story over the other. If there was a truly independent review then there would be a chance that there was documentation to support an injured cyclist's claim that doesn't currently exist.

According to records compiled for the Tribune by the Federal Transit Administration, in the past two years CTA buses have been involved in more collisions than any other system in the 10 largest public bus systems in the United States.

The CTA has a history of making claims against it very difficult. Until the law was recently changed, a person injured in an collision involving the CTA had only 6 months to provide very specific notice to the CTA of the facts surrounding the incident. If that person or their attorney failed to provide the notice and file the case within one year then the whole case could be dismissed. These tactics illustrate the importance of receiving experienced legal advice when involved in a collision with a CTA bus.

If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com. All initial consultations are confidential and free.