Happy Memorial Day.  We honor all Veterans today but are especially mindful of Gary Lillie who died last August 4 when he was struck and killed by an vehicle while walking on Marshall Road, Scio Township, Michigan, near his home.  See Ann Arbor News Article that appeared in Sunday's paper:   http://www.annarbor.com/news/gary-lillie-remembered-for-his-kindness-generosity-in-wake-of-fatal-crash/

Speed Limits on Ann Arbor's Main Roads

Ann Arbor needs to re-assess posted speed limits on it's main roads.  In 2006, the Michigan Legislature passed Public Law 85 which revised the Michigan Vehicle Code.  This law created a new method under which city officials determine the safest and most accurate speed limits along main roads.  It is based on using a sliding scale of access points (driveways and intersections).


In addition, the State of Michigan has previously adopted the State Police Uniform Traffic Code which in conjunction with Public Law 85 helps to establish how the state determines what speed limits to post and where.  This code identifies that the safest speed limit to post is one which occurs at the 85th percentile traffic speed.  This percentile establishes the majority of people (85%) as legal so that police can focus their enforcement on the small majority who are speeding.


As James C. Walker wrote in his recent op-ed at AnnArbor.com, "The Ann Arbor City Council and Project Management Department do not follow either method under state law."  Walker notes that instead the city is posting unrealistically low speed limits, not taking into account the State Police Uniform Traffic Code or Public Law 85.  Since 2006 when Public Law 85 was adopted the city has done nothing to change its main road speed limits and should be held accountable.  This non-compliance results in speed limits that can be unsafe to all drivers and cause many different types of accidents.

Ending Distracted Driving

Help EndDD.org and Commit to Ending Distracted Driving Year Long

• "One text or call could wreck it all." Four million crashes per year in North America are caused by driver distraction.

• Faces of Distracted Driving: Casey Feldman Age 21. Produced by her father, attorney Joel Feldman 
  • Casey Feldman Video

Promoting Life and Preserving Safety

• The core mission of EndDD.org (End Distracted Driving) is to preserve life and promote safety on a on a large scale through advocacy, education, and action to eliminate distracted driving.  EndDD.org is sponsored by the Casey Feldman Foundation, which was established by attorney Joel Feldman, in memory of his daughter, who was killed by a distracted driver in 2009 when she was 21 years old.

Shocking Statistics About Distracted Driving

• 80% of all collisions and 65% of near-crashes are caused by some form of driver inattention
• Cell phone use is attributed to 18% of fatalities in distraction-related crashes. Talking on a cell phone makes a driver 4 times more likely to have a crash or near-crash event. 
• Texting slows driver reaction time even more than alcohol.

 Distracted Driving Videos Demonstrate This Far Reaching Issue

• Employers: Are your employees distracted drivers?  Watch this video taken by a bus passenger using his cell phone.  STO Gatineau Bus Driver
• Not only teenagers are distracted drivers.  Lisa Mendiola Chapa describes her sister Anna, an adult texting-while-driving, who left behind adult children and a new grandchild.  Sister of Texting While Driving Victim Supports McAllen Ban

Dram Shop Lawsuits in Michigan

Michigan businesses that serve alcohol are subject to liability if they serve a minor or a visibly intoxicated person and then that person causes property damage, personal injury, or wrongful death of another.  Lawsuits for this cause of action must be brought within 2 years of when the damages, injury, or death occurs.  Both the bar and the person causing the damage must be named as Defendants in the lawsuit.  Most often these cases are brought when a drunk driver causes an accident after being over-served at a Michigan bar or restaurant.  These lawsuits are called Dram Shop cases because a "dram" is a Old English word meaning a small shot of an intoxicating liquor like brandy.