How Can We Keep Our Loved Ones Safe from Severe or Deadly Chicago Pedestrian Accidents?
Fatal Chicago pedestrian accidents happen every week here in the Chicagoland area, alongside a corresponding and unacceptable number of deadly pedestrian accidents across the country. For details, read our earlier discussion in Chicago Pedestrian Accidents: How Dangerous Are Chicago Streets?
Why is this happening? And, importantly, how can you and your loved ones avoid being injured or killed in a Chicago pedestrian accident? Consider the following:
Chicago: 4th Most Walkable City with the Deadliest Intersections in the Nation
While the City of Chicago is consistently heralded as one of the “Most Walkable Cities” in the United States, more must be done in making the public aware of how dangerous walking can be here. Redfin reports that “Chicago is the 4th most walkable city in the US….”
Nevertheless, no matter their age or years of experience in urban living, pedestrians are facing shockingly high risks of being killed by a motor vehicle today – here in one of the country’s “most walkable cities.” One reason is Chicago’s dangerous intersections.
As discussed earlier, in a newly published study by Inrix focusing upon the top U.S. metropolitan areas, each with intersection motor vehicle accidents higher than the national average, Chicago ranked first in the country for having the most intersection motor vehicle accidents. Read, Why is Chicago So Deadly for Pedestrians?
The Inrix study warns us that these are the top three most dangerous intersections in Chicago, and people need to know about these danger zones:
- South Rockwell and West Cermak Road;
- North Fairbanks Court and East Erie; and
- West Diversey.
Read “Chicago has most unsafe roads in Inrix five-city report,” written by Tom Stone and published by Traffic Technology Today on October 11, 2022; and “Inrix: City Crash Rates,“ written by Bob Pishue, Transportation Analyst and published in October 2022, page 4.
The risk of pedestrian accidents in Chicago intersections is so high that pedestrian advocacy volunteer groups are working to bring public awareness to these danger zones with advocacy campaigns like “guarding” crosswalks. As one example, learn about a crosswalk guarding by Block Club Chicago of the Lake Shore crosswalk in September 2022.
Chicago Police Not Arresting Most Drivers in Pedestrian Hit-and-Run Accidents
Another real concern that pedestrians in Chicago must understand is that hit-and-run drivers are more likely than not to avoid criminal arrest after fleeing the scene. According to news reporting by NBC-Chicago, there were 37,000 hit-and-run accidents in 2021 compared to 306 arrests. Read, “Chicago Saw 37K Hit-and-Runs in 2021, But Just 306 Arrests. Why Do Police Solve So Few of These Crimes?” written by Phil Rogers, Shelby Bremer and Nathan Halder and published by NBC-Chicago on June 16, 2022.
Using the NBC-Chicago figures means that Chicago hit-and-run drivers have a 99% likelihood of not being charged by law enforcement for leaving the accident scene and failing to render aid.
For more on hit-and-run pedestrian accidents in Chicago, read Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accidents in Chicago and Rising Danger of Pedestrian Accident Deaths: Hit by Motor Vehicle While Walking.
Changing Vehicle Design Creates Greater Risk of Pedestrian Accidents
Safety advocates are also pointing out that vehicles on our roads are changing in design, and as a result it is harder for the driver to see pedestrians in the SUV or truck’s path. The Center for Auto Safety has just warned that the larger and heavier pick-up trucks and SUVs on our roads may be very popular, but they come with an inherent design flaw that undoubtedly contributes to our unprecedented, rising pedestrian fatality rates. Read, “Congress sat back and let trucks become heavier, taller, and deadlier. Now pedestrian fatalities are at a 40-year high,” written by Madison Hall and published by the Center for Auto Safety on March 24, 2023.
Explains Center for Auto Safety CEO Michael Brooks: “…there’s a kind of an inextricable link between the weight of vehicles and the forces in a crash.”
Safety Steps for Pedestrians in Chicago
Given these contributions to the current risks facing anyone choosing to walk on a Chicago roadway, as well as problems like (1) drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or (2) commercial vehicles being driven above the speed limit in order to meet company deadlines or schedules, what can we do to protect ourselves?
How can Chicago pedestrians walk safety in the face of such incontrovertible dangers? There’s lots of advice available online.
The City of Chicago provides suggestions for (1) adults and (2) “mature adults,” based upon pedestrian safety suggestions provided online by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Insurance companies like State Farm, which provide insurance coverage for drivers and want to limit liability exposure in a pedestrian crash, also publish pedestrian safety advice from an insurance perspective.
NHTSA also has several different publications written specifically for parents to keep their children safe as they walk alongside any road or street:
- Prevent Pedestrian Crashes: Parents and Caregivers of Elementary School Children
- Five Tips to Keep Your Children Safe on Their Way to and from School
- A Kid’s Guide to Safe Walking
- Tips for Preteens & Teens: Prevent Pedestrian Crashes.
Each of these lists of safety tips deserves consideration by anyone who walks in Chicago or who has a loved one who is a Chicago pedestrian. It is worth the time to study all of them.
Some of the key takeaways include: never walk while distracted by a smartphone on a Chicagoland street; never assume the driver is aware of others in the roadway or about to cross; and dress to be seen especially at night.
In Chicago, All Walkers Must Proactively Protect Against Pedestrian Accidents
According to statistics from the Department of Transportation, a pedestrian died every 81 minutes in 2020 in this country. And remember, this was during the 2020 Pandemic – more pedestrians are out and about in 2023.
Chicago pedestrians, especially our most vulnerable seniors and youth, must be made aware of how extremely dangerous our streets are for those on foot. It is imperative that every Chicago pedestrian is proactively alert and cautious of how great the risk is that they face.
No pedestrian in the Windy City should assume that any driver on the roadway will do the right thing and comply with the legal duties of safe driving. In these dangerous times, and especially in danger zones like Chicago’s notorious intersections, it is probably wise to assume that drivers will breach those duties.
Whenever the person on foot is a victim of a pedestrian accident in Chicago, there are Illinois state laws that provide avenues for justice to that pedestrian victim and their loved ones. Damages include medical expenses, lost wages, loss of consortium, pain and suffering, and more.
Investigation into the crash may reveal more than one party is legally liable for the accident and its consequences. This may include the driver’s employer, the owner of the motor vehicle, and others.
For more, read:
- Damages Available After a Pedestrian Accident in Chicago
- Blaming the Pedestrian: The Driver’s Defense in Chicago Pedestrian Accidents
- Chicago Pedestrian Accidents with Commercial Vehicles
- Chicago Pedestrian Accidents: Duties of Care in State Statutes and City Codes
- Fight To Stop Fatal Pedestrian Accidents: Federal Government’s Action Plan Begins Immediately.
Chicago pedestrians deserve to walk safely in our communities. Unfortunately, that is not the reality they face. The danger of being the victim of a Chicago pedestrian accident is horrifically high. Every Chicagoland walker needs to proactively protect themselves anytime they are on foot near a roadway. Please be careful out there!
