For Chicagoans, the good news is that the danger of dying in a motor vehicle accident is greater in cities like Atlanta or Dallas than it is here in the Chicago metroplex. Chicago did not make it into the Top Ten list for the highest number of car crash deaths in 2023. See, “The 10 cities where you’re most likely to get in a car accident,” written by Melissa Wells and published by Business Insider on November 9, 2023.
Nevertheless, the risk of dying in a traffic accident remains unacceptably high both in Chicagoland as well as the State of Illinois as a whole. For one thing, more people here continue to die in motor vehicle accidents now than they did before the pandemic. Read, “Illinois traffic deaths dip slightly in 2022, but fatalities are still above pre-pandemic levels: ‘Not a cause to celebrate,’” written by Tyler Pasdiak LaRiviere and published by the Chicago Sun-Times on April 12, 2023.
And the risk is undeniably great in Chicagoland. The City of Chicago reports that over three people died as a traffic fatality and another 447 were injured in a roadway crash each week in Chicago during the year 2022.
Three deaths a week in a motor vehicle accident is a horrific reality for our Windy City.
For more, read How Deadly are the Roads of Chicago, Illinois? Unacceptably High Risk of Traffic Deaths in the Windy City.
Vision Zero Chicago
Traffic fatalities in Chicago remain at such an alarming rate that a special municipal effort has been undertaken to try and make things safer on our streets. Instituted in 2012 as “Vision Zero Chicago,” this program is part of a global movement dedicated to end traffic fatalities and injuries, with the perspective that “…[t]raffic crashes are not mere “accidents,” but preventable incidents that can be reduced and eliminated with systemic changes.”
According to data compiled as part of Vision Zero Chicago (VZC), these crash deaths involve all sorts of victims in a variety of vehicular accidents, including:
- Drivers
- Passengers
- Motorcyclists
- Cyclists
- Pedestrians.
Of note, VZC numbers may be considered low by some standards, since its definition of “traffic fatality” is limited as follows:
- The fatality was reported as a suicide based on a police investigation.
- The fatality was reported as a homicide in which the “party at fault” intentionally inflicted serious bodily harm that caused the victim’s death.
- The fatality was caused directly and exclusively by a medical condition or where the fatality was not attributable to road user movement on a public roadway. (Note: If a person driving suffers a medical emergency and consequently hit and kills another road user, the other road user is included although the driver suffering a medical emergency is excluded.)
- The crash did not occur within the public right-of-way.
- The crash involved a train or such mode of transport within their dedicated right-of-way.
- The fatality was on a roadway not under Chicago Police Department jurisdiction, including:
- The fatality occurred on an expressway. The City of Chicago does not have oversight of the expressway system. However, a fatality on expressway ramps occurring within the City’s jurisdiction will be counted in Vision Zero Chicago Traffic Fatalities.
- The fatality occurred outside City limits. Crashes on streets along the City’s boundary may be assigned to another jurisdiction after the investigation if it is determined that the crash started or substantially occurred on the side of the street that is outside the City limits. Jurisdiction of streets along the City’s boundary are split between City and neighboring jurisdictions along the street center line.
- The fatality is not for a person (e.g., an animal).
From the perspective of government regulators, law enforcement, safety agencies, and those advocating for accident victims and their loved ones, the scope of “traffic fatalities” for purposes of criminal prosecution as well as regulatory violations and the pursuit of civil justice claims in a court of law, deaths involved in a motor vehicle crash may have a wider definition that the statistical parameters of the VZC analysis. The danger is much greater for a deadly crash when these data parameters are lifted.
Reasons for Fatal Car Crashes in Chicago
Any grieving family member wanting to know the reasons why a loved one has died in a traffic accident deserves an individual investigation into the event because each situation is unique.
There may be more than one cause for the crash. There may be more than one party who has legal liability for the crash under state or federal law.
No broad brush can provide an adequate response: there is no simple answer to their question. However, some of the core causes of deadly traffic accidents in Chicagoland and Cook County are recognized to be the following, based not only upon research and past claims but things like law enforcement records of traffic fatalities. See, e.g., the Fatal Traffic Crash Reports of the Chicago Police Department. Reasons include:
1. Impaired Drivers: Drunk Driving or Drugged Driving
Driving any motor vehicle on a Chicago roadway, from the smallest scooter to the largest semi-truck or tractor-trailer, requires the driver to be alert and aware of the surroundings, the weather conditions, and the operation of the vehicle itself. Are the brakes slipping? Does snow, ice, or fog demand lower speed and greater concentration? What is the speed limit?
For those who are impaired by alcohol or by the use of drugs, whether they are over-the-counter, prescription, or street drugs, the ability to operate their vehicle is compromised. Fatal accidents involving this driver as well as others can be the result.
For more, read:
- Factors in Drunk Driving Fatal Car Crashes in Indiana and Illinois
- Drunk Driving Accident: Who’s Legally Liable? Answer is Different for Indiana and Illinois
- Dangers of Drug-Impaired Driving Accidents in Indiana and Illinois
- Drug Use Behind the Wheel: 25% Driving Under Influence of Pot or Other Drugs.
2. Drowsy Driving
Chicago is a busy city; things are always happening here with an energy that makes the metropolis famous around the globe. However, for Chicago drivers there is always the temptation to get behind the wheel, or to continue driving, despite being tired or fatigued.
Of particular concern here are drivers on the road for work, who are driving to meet a deadline or with people depending on them to be at a certain place by a certain time. Commercial truck drivers, for example, are notorious for pushing the edge of the envelope and driving fatigued or as safety experts describe it, driving drowsy.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):
Until recently, attention and research on drowsiness has primarily concentrated on commercial truck drivers, but the problem is far more widespread. In 2014 more than one-third of 444,306 respondents 18 and older in the United States reported sleeping less than 7 hours a day—the minimum sleep duration recommended for optimal well-being (Liu et al., 2016). The 2017 AAA Traffic Safety Culture Index found that more than 40% of 2,613 drivers reported getting less than 6 hours of sleep a night in a typical week (AAAFTS, 2018).
For more, read:
- Daylight Saving Time Fatal Accidents: Sleep Deprivation and Deadly Injuries in Indiana and Illinois
- Drowsy Driving and the Risk of Fatal Traffic Accidents in Indiana and Illinois
- Fatigued, Tired Drivers Said to Cause 20% of All U.S. Traffic Deaths: Drowsy Drivers at Fault?
- Truckers Hate New ELD Automation, But Drowsy Drivers Cause Fatal Crashes.
3. Violation of Traffic Safety Laws: Road Rage, Speeding, Distracted Driving, Ignoring Traffic Lights
The City of Chicago and the municipalities and legal jurisdictions that make up Chicagoland have established traffic regulations designed to help prevent traffic accidents and keep people safe. These include everything from rights-of-way, bikeways, and pedways to stop signs, speed limits, and traffic lights.
Fatal car crashes, as well as deadly pedestrian accidents and motorcyclist injuries can be attributed to things like:
- Aggressive or reckless driving, including road rage;
- Speeding;
- Failure to yield the right of way;
- Distracted driving such as using phones while driving; and
- Running red lights.
When Chicagoland drivers fail to abide by traffic laws, they may dismiss their actions as risking a ticket or fine, but the reality is that fatal traffic accidents are often the result of someone deciding to ignore or disregard traffic safety regulations.
For more, read:
- Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Accidents in Chicago
- Speeding and Serious or Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes in Illinois or Indiana
- Speeding Causes Almost Half of All Fatal Car Crashes in Illinois (Around 25% in Indiana)
- More and More Traffic Cameras in Indiana and Illinois: Does It Mean More Car Accidents?
- Fighting Fatal Distracted Driving Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Law and Technology.
Claims for Justice After Fatal Car Crash in Chicago, Illinois
The risk of dying in a fatal motor vehicle accident is very high in the Chicago area, as well as all of Illinois. It is also part of a national trend that the Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation has labelled a national epidemic. Read, New Safety Report: Epidemic of Roadway Fatalities is “Out of Control” and Public Crisis Declared by DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg as Traffic Fatalities Have Largest Increase Since 1975.
Too many tragedies will continue to happen here in Chicago and Cook County because of preventable accidents where motor vehicle crashes have taken lives. People will die in roadway travesties involving things like rollovers; T-bone crashes; pedestrian hit-and-runs; broadside accidents; and head-on collisions and loved ones will be left to deal with the aftermath. These are, as recognized by Vision Zero Chicago, “…preventable incidents … that can be eliminated.”
Under state and federal law, there will be legal avenues for justice for many of these motor vehicle crashes. Each case must be investigated, and accident reconstruction experts may be needed to determine the causes of the crash. Legally, claims may proceed under things like wrongful death laws; product liability; negligent entrustment; dram shop liability; negligent supervision or hiring; and other things.
Damages may be available for medical costs and funeral expenses as well as pain and suffering; loss of consortium; lost earning capacity; and more.
Also read:
- Fatal Accidents and Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Indiana and Illinois
- Wrongful Death Laws: In Fatal Accidents, Who Should Pay for the Family’s Legal Fees?
- Wrongful Death Damages After Fatal Work Accidents in Illinois or Indiana
- Road Rage Accidents in Illinois and Indiana: Rising Risk of Driver Violence
- Employer Liability for Distracted Driving Accidents in Indiana or Illinois
- Work Accidents and Impaired Workers: Drugs, Alcohol, and Employer’s Duties of Safety and Care.
For more in our Chicago Car Accident / Injury series see:
Hurt in Chicago: The Real Danger of Accident Injuries in Chicagoland and Cook County.
It is a sad and infuriating reality that each year, preventable traffic accidents will take the lives of people here in Chicago and loved ones will be left to grieve an avoidable loss. Things must change and our streets need to be safer. Please be careful out there!
