Michael Coogan Argues That Rural Intersections Should Be Safer

Chicago, IL, August 17, 2015 (Newswire.com) - A recent fatal accident on a rural Illinois road has brought fresh attention to safety standards among the state's most secluded intersections. The accident happened on July 16 in Iroquois County. Two vehicles went through a rural intersection at the same time, both without stopping. The 24-year-old driver of one of the vehicles was killed in the accident.

Chicago wrongful death attorney Michael Cogan of Cogan and Power, P.C. says that enhanced safety standards could prevent such deaths. "Once you get out of the city, you have a lot rural areas where the corn is high and there isn't much visibility," he explained. "And some of these intersections aren't even marked by stop signs or speed limit markers. To me, that's a recipe for disaster."

According to government officials, townships are responsible for the safety markers in their areas. In an effort to save money, many townships opt to not install stop signs at intersections that get little traffic volume.

Mr. Cogan, a wrongful death attorney in Chicago, explains that some townships may also be trying to avoid liability. "Once they put a stop sign up, they're responsible for maintaining it and some townships just don't have the financial ability to do that," he argued. "The problem is that if they don't maintain the sign and there's a fatal accident, the township could be liable. The combination of installation costs and liability means that a lot of townships just go without signs on these rural roads."

Mr. Cogan argues that the state needs to do something to help townships out. "In this day and age, to have intersections without stop signs is just crazy. Surely, as a state, we can do something about this."