The risk of dying on the roadways of Indiana, Illinois, and other parts of this country have officially reached crisis proportions. Last week, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg issued a national statement detailing federal motor vehicle accident death statistics compiled for the first six months of this year with a clear message to every American.
“This is a crisis. More than 20,000 people died on U.S. roads in the first six months of 2021, leaving countless loved ones behind. We cannot and should not accept these fatalities as simply a part of everyday life in America.”
The growing peril everyone on our roadways, whether driver, passenger, occupant, or pedestrian, has been a tremendous concern for safety agencies, such as Illinois’ National Safety Council, as well as advocates for fatal accident victims and their loved ones for many months now.
We have shared these concerns in recent discussions, including:
- NTSB Urges Safe System Approach to Combat Rising Danger of Fatal Motor Vehicle Accident Deaths
- Illinois’ NSC Warns: Escalating Number of Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents
- How Deadly are the Roads of Chicago, Illinois? Unacceptably High Risk of Traffic Deaths in the Windy City.
Crisis Numbers: 2021 Has Biggest Jump in Fatal Traffic Accidents In 46 Years
How can our current traffic risks be considered at crisis levels by the federal head of transportation? Statistics show that the number of traffic fatalities reported during the time period of January – June 2021 was almost twenty percent higher (18.4%) than the first half of the preceding year.
This percentage rise in 2021 accident deaths is the biggest jump in fatalities that has ever been recorded by the federal government (which began collecting traffic fatality data in 1975).
Accordingly, the Transportation Secretary has officially deemed the risk of motor vehicle accidents in this country to be at crisis levels.
For details, read National Center for Statistics and Analysis (2021, October), Early estimate of motor vehicle traffic fatalities for the first half (January–June) of 2021 (Crash•Stats Brief Statistical Summary. Report No. DOT HS 813 199), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)(“2021 Report”).
Causes of Crisis-Level Dangers of Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents
In tandem with the 2021 Report comes the publication by NHTSA of federal research studies into various driver behaviors that are believed to be contributing causes to the crisis levels of traffic deaths seen in 2021. This analysis of fatal accident data seeks to determine the reasons for this rapid escalation in the number of deaths on America’s roadways.
For details, read Office of Behavioral Safety Research. (2021, October). Continuation of research on traffic safety during the COVID19 public health emergency: January – June 2021. (Report No. DOT HS 813 210). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“2021 Behavior Study”).
According to the 2021 Behavior Study, we know the following:
- People are driving more in 2021 than before the Coronavirus Pandemic began in March 2020, but they are still not driving at pre-pandemic levels and there still is less traffic now than before COVID stay-at-home orders began;
- More people are exceeding the speed limit this year; speeding on both urban and rural roadways is more commonplace in 2021;
- Distracted driving caused by the use of cell phones by the driver, or vehicle positioning, appears to be on the increase;
- Fewer drivers and passengers are choosing to use their safety belts while the motor vehicle is being driven;
- More people are suffering severe bodily injuries in motor vehicle accidents in 2021, a trend that began in 2020; and
- There was an increase in the sales of both alcohol and marijuana in 2021 (which is noted by researchers without a direct data correlation to driving death data).
The 2021 Crisis of Motor Vehicle Accident Deaths in Indiana and Illinois
Within the 2021 Report comes a regional breakdown of fatality data during the first six months of 2021, with Indiana and Illinois both categorized within the Report’s Region 5. Report, page 3.
During the first six months of 2021, Indiana and Illinois saw a 19% jump in the number of traffic fatalities reported to the federal government, posing a slightly higher risk than the national average.
Our region poses a much greater risk of death on the roads of Indiana and Illinois than most other parts of the country, where only three other regions reported higher fatality numbers than our local roads.
See, Report, page 3, Figure 2.
Of course, a contributing factor to the risk of a fatal crash on the roads of Indiana and Illinois is due to various factors, including the higher number of semi-trucks and commercial vehicles traveling through our Crossroads of America, and the great number of rural roadways that many drivers and passengers rely upon each day in our local communities.
For more, read:
- Danger of Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois and the 2021 Infrastructure Bill
- Pending Trucking Legislation Before 2021 Indiana Statehouse and the Danger of Fatal Truck Crashes with Faster, Heavier Rigs on our Roads
- Road Quality and Fatal Accidents: the Rural Road Dangers of Indiana and Illinois
- Road Safety Rankings for Illinois and Indiana: the Danger of a Fatal Crash in Our Part of the Country.
Justice for Victims of Fatal Accidents During This Public Safety Crisis
Both Indiana and Illinois have established avenues for justice to anyone who is serious injured or killed in a motor vehicle accident within the state’s jurisdiction. Laws may find liability in a variety of situations, based upon the particular circumstances surrounding the crash, such as:
- Drunk driving liability and dram shop laws;
- Employee drivers and negligent supervision by employers;
- Distracted driving liability;
- Failure of the vehicle due to improper repair, maintenance, or product defect; and
- Speeding by the driver causing the crash.
The reality that motor vehicle accident deaths have reached unacceptably high levels, enough to be considered at crisis levels, is incontrovertible. Current governmental regulations have not succeeded in keeping people safe on the roads, leaving tragedies to be faced by families in Indiana and Illinois, as well as the rest of the nation.
Explains Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety president Cathy Chase:
“This public safety crisis requires decisive action by the U.S. Department of Transportation, where progress on requirements and performance standards for lifesaving vehicle safety technology has been overdue for far too long. Motorists and road users are being killed needlessly while proven solutions are deferred, delayed or dormant.”
For more, read:
- Truck Driver Drug Use in Indiana and Illinois: High Risk of a Fatal Truck Crash Caused by Impaired Trucker
- Liable for Drunk Driving Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Social Party Hosts, Bars, Restaurants
- Trucking Companies Liable for Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois
- Uber Accidents in Chicago: The Growing Danger of Serious Injury in an Uber Rideshare Car Crash
- Millions of Recalls Remain on the Road: NHTSA and Car Makers Come Under Federal Scrutiny
- Unrepaired Recalls in 25% of the Cars on Our Roads Today: Legal Duty of Manufacturer versus Owner of the Vehicle in a Fatal Car Crash
- Speeding Causes Almost Half of All Fatal Car Crashes in Illinois (Around 25% in Indiana).
It is very dangerous to drive on the roadways of Indiana and Illinois today. The risk of a fatal crash has been confirmed to be higher in 2021 than any year since 1975. Please be careful out there!
