3/10/10 - VEHICLE CRASH WHILE DRIVING ON I80 NEAR CHICAGO, IL. BRAKES, WHEN APPLIED HARD, DID NOT STOP IN TIME TO AVOID HITTING A CAR IN FRONT. IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AT 7:45 AM ON I80/I94 WB, CARS WERE SLOWING DOWN TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE SPACE BETWEEN CARS. THERE WAS AT LEAST ONE CAR LENGTH BETWEEN MY CAR (CAR 1) AND THE IMMEDIATE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. THE FRONT CAR (CAR 2) WAS TRAVELING AT 45 MPH IN CONSTRUCTION ZONE, AND SLOWING. CAR 2 STOPPED ABRUPTLY, BRAKES WERE APPLIED ON CAR 1, BUT DID NOT STOP IN TIME TO AVOID THE REAR-END CRASH. BRAKES WERE APPLIED WITH BOTH FEET APPLYING ENERGY. I COULD FEEL THAT THE BRAKES BOTTOMED OUT NEAR FIREWALL, BUT VEHICLE DIDN'T STOP. *TR