Fatal Crashes on the Rise in Illinois

Illinois Fatal Car Crashes Number Continue to Climb

A negative statistic for Illinois for the last four consecutive years is the number of fatal crashes. So far in 2018, there have been 272 crashes resulting in 301 fatalities compared to last year at this time, 283 fatalities. At this rate, 2018 is projected to be the most deadly year since seeing a slight decline in 2014.

In 2014, there were 924 fatalities involving 845 crashes. In 2015, the number of crashes was 914, resulting in 998 fatalities. In 2016, there were 1,000 crashes, resulting in 1,078 fatalities, surpassed in 2017 with 1,005 crashes resulting in 1,097 fatalities.

Causes of Motor Vehicle Crashes

According to law enforcement and car crash survivors, the increases in deaths and serious injuries have to stop. The fact that road fatalities continue to climb does and should scare many drivers. Officials say that a large portion of the problem is due to speeding. In addition to speed, distracted driving continues to be problematic. Most of the time when people think “distracted driver“, they immediately think about cell phone usage. While cell phone usage while behind the wheel continues to be a problem, “distracted driving” is any behavior that distracts a driver from their primary function which is DRIVING. Thus, eating while driving, applying makeup and simply daydreaming can lead to distracted driving. Paying attention to what you are doing is critical when driving to avoid collisions.

Inattentiveness

Inattentiveness is still the number one cause of motor vehicle crashes. Inattentiveness includes distracted driving and simply not paying close attention. Drivers can become inattentive in a lot of scenarios and each of us can contribute to the solution by putting down our phones and paying attention. Rear-end collisions are often caused because someone simply wasn’t paying close attention and slammed in to the back of the proceeding car.

Car Crashes are Incidents, Not Accidents

The term “accident” describes a collision as a simple stroke of unfortunate luck. While “incident” and “accident” are common interchangeable words when speaking of a car collision, few actual “accidents” ever really occur. If you’ve been in one of these incidents, you will notice the police report will be titled “Incident Report” not an “Accident Report”. Few crashes are simply misfortune of luck but rather each crash usually has at least one cause. In some crashes, some people will argue multiple causes. As a motor vehicle crash attorney, I have worked through literally thousands of motor vehicle incidents and I can clearly say that they are very, very rarely caused by some “random bad luck”.

Generally, a driver fails to observe a rule which leads to a crash. Cars don’t just “come out of nowhere” and strike you as you are going left at a green light (on a solid green). I have yet in my career ever encountered a situation where a car simple materialized out of nowhere. Maybe someone did not see it, but it did not “appear” out of thin air like in Star Trek!

If You Have Been Hurt in a Motor Vehicle Incident

If you have been hurt in a motor vehicle incident or worse yet, lost a loved one–you will need an attorney. We represent those injured in Illinois and Missouri as well as wrongful death claims.

Our consultations are always free (314) 276-1681