Fatal motor vehicle accidents rose 4.6% in the first nine months of 2020 in comparison to the same time period in 2019, despite COVID quarantines and stay-at-home orders, according to the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA). See, Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for the First 9 Months (Jan–Sep) of 2020, published by NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts in December 2020.
While authorities and safety advocates presumed the pandemic would result in less traffic fatalities due to an unprecedented reduction in the need to drive for many Americans, the sad reality is that motor vehicle accident fatality rates increased in the past year.
For more, read our discussion in Coronavirus and Fatal Car Crashes: Fatality Rates Jump Despite Emptier Roads.
While driver error is often the cause of many of these traffic deaths, there are other reasons for deadly crashes on the roads of Indiana, Illinois, and the rest of the country that extend past individuals to broader causes for these fatalities. These include the failure of governmental authorities to do things like maintaining roadways and infrastructure. Read, “NHTSA Blames Everyone but Itself for Crash Spike,” written by Kea Wilson and published by StreetsBlogUSA on January 14, 2021.
Deadly Accidents and Neglected Infrastructure in Our Country
The definition of infrastructure provided by Merriam Webster is “…the system of public works of a country, state, or region,” which includes the streets, roads, freeways, and interstates that network through Illinois, Indiana, and the nation. Drivers of all types of vehicles, from large trucks and buses to motorcycles and small cars, depend upon roadways to be safe for public use.
The failure of governmental authorities to repair, maintain, and update or expand roads and bridges is a recognized cause of fatal motor vehicle accidents. Neglected road infrastructure can be deadly.
For more, read our discussion in Deadly Roads and Bridges: Dangerous Infrastructure in Indiana and Illinois.
This is an issue for federal, state, and local government. Meeting the changing infrastructure needs of our communities must be addressed at every level in order to make our roads safer for all drivers. At the state level, for instance, Governor Eric Holcomb committed $1 Billion to a State of Indiana Infrastructure Investment Plan in September 2018. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced a $45 Billion Infrastructure Plan for the State of Illinois in October 2019.
White House Infrastructure Plan
On March 31, 2021, the White House released its Fact Sheet related to the American Jobs Plan where $621 Billion is allotted to repair, maintain, or expand our country’s roads and bridges, as well as developing infrastructure tailored to electric vehicles and an inter-city rail system.
The Fact Sheet explains that President Biden’s plan will:
Fix highways, rebuild bridges, upgrade ports, airports and transit systems. The President’s plan will modernize 20,000 miles of highways, roads, and main-streets. It will fix the ten most economically significant bridges in the country in need of reconstruction. It also will repair the worst 10,000 smaller bridges, providing critical linkages to communities. And, it will replace thousands of buses and rail cars, repair hundreds of stations, renew airports, and expand transit and rail into new communities.
Outdated Routes for Trucks and Other Traffic in Illinois and Indiana
One example of how roadway infrastructure impacts motor vehicle accident risks is the failure to expand routes and roadways to meet changing public needs. Things like growing communities with populations shifting from rural to urban as well as increased demands for cargo and freight truck transportation (due in no small part to the pandemic’s increasing e-commerce marketplace) mean that roads must adapt to meet changing traffic needs. See, e.g., “Lessons learned from 2020: Trucking industry analysts on what’s ahead,” published by DAT Freight and Analytics on February 16, 2021.
An obvious example of the failure of infrastructure to keep up with public traffic needs is the bottleneck, where traffic crawls or comes to a stop due to the roadway’s inability to serve the traffic volume. According to the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), Chicago’s I-290 at I-90/I-94 ranks as the 6th most congested bottleneck for commercial truck traffic in the country.
Top 100 Traffic Bottlenecks in the Country: Eight in Illinois and Indiana
According to ATRI, the following are the most congested bottlenecked truck traffic roadways in our part of the country. All of these bottlenecks rank within the Top 100 Trucking Bottlenecks in the United States.
Illinois
According to ATRI, infrastructure failures cause the following four notorious bottlenecks in the State of Illinois as reported by the trucking industry:
- Chicago: I-290 at I-90/I-94 (rank: 6 of 100)
- Chicago: I-90 at I-94 (South) (rank: 19 of 100)
- Chicago: I-80 at I-94 (rank: 42 of 100)
- Chicago: I-90 at I-94 (North) (rank: 49 of 100).
Indiana
According to ATRI, infrastructure failures cause the following notorious bottlenecks in the State of Indiana as reported by the trucking industry:
- Indianapolis: I-65 at I-70 (North) (rank: 36 of 100)
- Gary: I-65 at I-80 (rank: 48 of 100)
- Indianapolis: I-465 at I-69 (rank: 96 of 100)
- Indianapolis: I-65 at I-70 (South) (rank: 99 of 100).
Traffic Congestion Causes Fatal Crashes and Serious Accidents
Research has confirmed that traffic congestion increases the likelihood of a serious or fatal roadway accident. Frustration builds with the drivers, not only as they sit and move slowly through a congested route, but afterward as studies show drivers become more aggressive for a significant period of time after moving away from the congested area. Read, Li G, Lai W, Sui X, Li X, Qu X, Zhang T, Li Y. “Influence of Traffic Congestion on Driver Behavior n Post-Congestion Driving,” Accid Anal Prev. 2020 Apr 22;141:105508. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2020.105508. PMID: 32334153.
Aggressive driving as a result of frustration built during bottleneck delays is one important cause of fatal motor vehicle accidents caused by failing infrastructure.
For more on aggressive driving and crashes, read: Road Rage Accidents in Illinois and Indiana: Rising Risk of Driver Violence and Road Safety Rankings for Illinois and Indiana: the Danger of a Fatal Crash in Our Part of the Country.
Road Infrastructure as a Factor in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents and Truck Crashes
Outdated or ill-repaired roads alone can combine with driver behaviors in a deadly mix of factors that can result in a tragic fatality. Congested routes and bottlenecks result in frustrated drivers, who operate their trucks, cars, or sedans aggressively leading to unsafe driving behaviors that may cause a fatal crash.
Road construction during the process of fixing road infrastructure issues can also result in unsafe driving behaviors with tragic consequences. See, e.g., Indianapolis I-69 Construction Serves as Good Reminder of the Real Dangers of Road Work Hazards to Workers and Drivers.
Accident victims in truck crashes and auto accidents on the roads of Indiana and Illinois that result in severe bodily injuries or death deserve to have their cases investigated thoroughly by experts to determine all the factors that came into play, culminating in the crash. While government entities are immune from legal liability as a general rule (since the damages would be paid by taxpayer dollars, among other reasons), there are instances where an exception may apply here to hold those responsible for the roadway itself (and its repair and maintenance) responsible for the accident’s consequences, alongside the driver who was at fault.
For more, read:
- Deadly Roads and Bridges: Dangerous Infrastructure in Indiana and Illinois
- Road Quality and Fatal Accidents: the Rural Road Dangers of Indiana and Illinois
- Illinois Highway Accidents: Increasing Risk Because of Budget Crisis
- Fault for A Winter Traffic Accident: Government Liability for Winter Weather Car Crash
- Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse, Explosion at Illinois Plant: Who Is Responsible for Serious Personal Injury and Death Under the Law?
The roads of Indiana and Illinois may increase the risk of a serious or deadly crash involving a car or minivan, as well as a large commercial vehicle (big rig, semi-truck, tractor-trailer, 18-wheeler). Please be careful out there!
