Car accidents happen every day all over the U.S., especially in busy and populated cities like Chicago. With millions of individuals living in and visiting the city, negligent drivers are bound to cause collisions.
If you’re in a car accident in Chicago, do not hesitate to consult a local car accident attorney. A knowledgeable lawyer can provide skilled advice and representation and protect your right to fair compensation for injuries and losses.
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Why Are Traffic Accidents So Common in Chicago?
Chicago is the country’s third largest city, with over 2 million residents and countless visitors yearly.
So many residents and visitors mean more street traffic and more accidents.
Accidents don’t just involve two vehicles, as they also commonly involve bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians. Anyone operating a vehicle or bike or walking the streets can cause an accident with negligent actions.
Where Car Accidents Occur Most in Chicago
Collisions can happen anywhere in Chicago where vehicles drive, but accidents tend to happen in the following areas.
Intersections
Intersections tend to be dangerous places, as accidents most often occur here.
However, certain intersections around Chicago tend to be more prone to seeing crashes, including the following:
- Stony Island Avenue and South Chicago Avenue
- Lincoln and Clark
- Western Avenue and Peterson Avenue
- Cicero Avenue and 127th Street
- Kedzie Avenue and Belmont Avenue
These are only some of the intersections where traffic accidents tend to happen most, as there is either heavy traffic or the intersections are challenging to navigate. Chicago is a large grid city with many intersecting streets and opportunities for collisions. Many angle streets cut through the grid, forming confusing six-way intersections where drivers can make terrible mistakes that cause crashes.
Interstates and Highways
Highways don’t see as many accidents as streets and intersections. Still, dangerous driving behaviors are more likely to occur on highways due to higher speeds.
Chicago’s highways are quite busy, especially during rush hour traffic time. This can result in road rage and reckless driving.
The city contains seven major interstates, including the Dan Ryan, Eisenhower, Edens, Tri-State, Stevenson, and Kennedy. Accidents are bound to happen with so many vehicles on the highways at any given moment.
Residential Neighborhoods
Residential neighborhoods should see less traffic and drivers driving at lower speeds, but that’s not always the case. Studies show that crashes are often more likely to happen within a five-mile radius of a person’s home. Drivers may let their guards down as they drive through familiar streets.
Additionally, you’ll find more pedestrians and bicyclists through some of Chicago’s best neighborhoods, including Gold Coast and Old Town. Less vigilant drivers and more people on the street are often a recipe for disaster.
Construction Sites
It’s not uncommon to see more construction areas in busy cities like Chicago as the city constantly grows and improves. These construction zones can endanger drivers, especially if negligent workers fail to exhibit warning signs and allow debris to remain on the roads.
For construction area accidents, those involved in the construction, like companies and their crew, can leave themselves open to liability in an accident.
Parking Lots and Garages
Parking lots and garages are particularly busy and hectic places. This is especially true on weekends and during large events.
Even though lots and garages require low speeds, many drivers disregard the rules. Speeding through these areas can easily result in unnecessary collisions.
Additionally, inattentive drivers looking for parking spaces are more likely to collide with other vehicles and hit innocent pedestrians walking through. Remaining safe and alert is key in parking areas, and sometimes many drivers fail to do so.
What Causes Car Accidents?
Car accidents can happen for many reasons, depending on the circumstances. In most cases, collisions arise due to the negligent or intentional actions of other parties, especially other drivers on the road.
The following are some of the most common causes of vehicle accidents.
Aggressive Driving
Aggressive driving refers to:
- Cutting other drivers off
- Tailgating (following the vehicle in front too closely)
- Weaving in and out of traffic
- Changing lanes suddenly without using turn signals
- Blocking cars attempting to merge or change lanes
Almost every driver, at some point or another, has exhibited aggressive driving behaviors, often called road rage. Running behind schedule and frustration with traffic are some of the main reasons drivers turn to aggressive driving while on the road.
While common, aggressive driving can easily and quickly cause serious collisions.
Speeding
Along the same lines, speeding is the most common kind of aggressive driving behavior. In a recent year, speeding was a contributing factor in 29 percent of traffic fatalities in the U.S.
Speeding means driving over the speed limit or too fast for current road conditions, like the rain or Chicago’s legendary snowstorms. Although many drivers don’t think much of speeding, it can endanger the speeding driver’s life and others sharing the road, including other drivers and pedestrians.
Speeding is dangerous for many reasons. Accidents caused by speeding are usually more severe, as the impact is more substantial, resulting in serious injury and property damage.
Reckless Driving
Like aggressive driving, reckless driving encompasses several risky behaviors but is usually worse.
Reckless driving is illegal. Under the law, an individual is guilty of reckless driving if they drive a vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of other individuals and property or use inclines in the roadway, like hills, to cause their vehicle to become airborne.
Driving recklessly is never acceptable. It puts others at risk and leaves the driver open to legal trouble.
Distracted Driving
Distracted driving means a driver is not giving their full attention to the task at hand.
The three recognized driver distractions include:
- Visual distractions: Visual distractions cause you to take your eyes off the road, including texting and sending emails on your phone.
- Manual distractions: Manual distractions lead to using your hands for other things than steering, like eating, putting on makeup, or adjusting the stereo.
- Cognitive distractions: Becoming distracted cognitively means taking your mind off the road, often while daydreaming or driving while tired.
Everyone, at some point or another, engages in distracted driving. Still, driving while distracted is often the cause of many vehicular collisions.
Driving Under the Influence
Driving under the influence means the driver is operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It is a significant problem for drivers of all ages, especially younger drivers unaware of their level of impairment.
Not only is driving under the influence dangerous for the driver and all others on the road, but it is also illegal. Drunk drivers risk substantial legal trouble.
Failure to Obey Traffic Signs and Laws
Without traffic signs, lights, and laws chaos and accidents would increase even further.
Unfortunately, some drivers see traffic signs and lights as more of a suggestion rather than a requirement. When drivers fail to obey street signs and legal procedures, like running stop signs and red lights, they leave themselves open to legal repercussions and causing collisions.
Failure to Yield
Yield to other vehicles and pedestrians to keep everyone safe.
To yield means to give another person or vehicle the right of way. For example, drivers must yield to other vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians crossing the road under certain circumstances.
When drivers fail to yield and give individuals and vehicles no chance to proceed, they’re more likely to cause accidents, especially when the other person or driver expects them to yield.
Fatigued Driving
Fatigued driving is a substantial issue for many drivers. When drivers operate a vehicle while fatigued, also called drowsy driving, they are too tired to take to the road safely.
Surprisingly, fatigued driving affects a driver, similar to driving under the influence. When a person operates a vehicle after going 20 or more hours without sleep, their body reacts similarly to a driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent, the legal limit in the U.S.
Driving while drowsy or tired causes a person’s awareness and reaction times to slow, significantly contributing to traffic accidents
Common Types of Collisions
Collisions usually depend on the cause of the accident.
Common accidents include:
- Rear-end collision: A rear-end collision results when a driver runs into the vehicle’s back end in front of them.
- Front-end accidents: Opposite to rear-end accidents, a front-end collision results from a head-on crash hitting the front of a vehicle.
- Sideswipe collisions: A sideswipe accident occurs when the side of one vehicle hits or scrapes the side of another vehicle.
- T-Bone accidents: A t-bone collision gets its name from how the cars look; the responsible driver typically hits the other vehicle on the side, resulting in a T shape.
- Rollover collisions: A rollover accident typically occurs when a driver hits another vehicle with such force that it causes the victim’s car to roll over.
Regardless of the type of accident you experience, any kind of collision can result in severe injury and damage to property.
Car Crashes Often Result in Injury
Not all accidents end in injuries. However, many victims experience some level of physical harm.
Injuries vary greatly, depending on the kind of accident you experience and the severity of the crash.
Some common accident-related injuries include:
- Facial injuries
- Cuts and lacerations
- Burns
- Head and neck injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Fractures and broken bones
- Soft tissue injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Internal injuries
Many people recover fully from car accident injuries with proper treatment and time, but sometimes, total recovery is impossible. Catastrophic injuries can require extensive medical care, even into the future, and leave victims facing unfortunate consequences, including cognitive impairments, paralysis, and amputations.
Permanent injuries can affect almost every aspect of your life in costly ways – physically, emotionally, and financially.
Even seemingly minor physical injuries can be costly due to the high prices of medical care. Getting compensation for your medical bills is one of the primary reasons to file a claim and seek monetary recovery, as you should not have to cover these expenses if someone else caused your crash.
What to Do if You Suffer Injuries in a Collision in Chicago
Regardless of where your accident happens, you may have legal rights and options to pursue compensation. However, it’s essential to understand your rights and take the necessary steps to protect them.
Seek Medical Help
Your physical health and well-being should always be a top priority. For this reason, if you suffer harm in a collision, get medical attention immediately. Whether you call 911 and get emergency care or visit a hospital emergency room, treating your injuries as soon as possible is vital to prevent potential complications.
Collect Evidence
If possible, begin gathering evidence as soon as you can.
Evidence can include:
- Photos and videos of the scene
- Contact information for involved parties
- Witness contact information
Evidence can help strengthen your future collision claim and assist with obtaining the best possible result. Your accident attorney can request and obtain further evidence as it becomes available, including police reports and medical records.
Consult a Local Car Accident Lawyer
Hiring a car accident attorney is one of the best things you can do for your case. A lawyer can handle every case-related task and fight aggressively to help ensure you get the desired result.
When You Suffer Injuries in a Car Wreck, Contact a Chicago Car Accident Firm
As much as you try to avoid accidents in Chicago, sometimes, they are unavoidable. If you’ve suffered harm in a collision, consult a local personal injury attorney to begin working on your claim as soon as possible. You have important legal rights and you need the right law firm to uphold them and fight for the compensation you deserve.