Chicago Personal Injury Statistics
The number of motor vehicle accidents in Chicago is not a small one. Certainly, the costs are big, whether those accidents mean property damage, injuries, lost wages, divorces, medical bills, foreclosures, therapy and rehabilitation charges, re-education tuition, unemployment benefits, stress and emotional trauma, or lost lives.
Learning about these numbers may cause a driver to operate a little bit more carefully next time within Chicago’s streets. This could mean remembering the three pedestrians killed in 2007 and not exceeding the speed limit, handing the keys over to a friend after drinking or giving the tractor trailer or cyclist just a little bit more space.
Here are some statistics according to the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Traffic Safety Statistics (2007):
- In greater Chicago, there were 120,892 motor vehicle crashes involving, predictably, almost twice as many vehicles (240,397)
- Drivers in 103,090 of these 2007 accidents reported property damage to the Illinois DOT
- The total number of ground transportation injuries in Chicago in 2007 was 24,612; nearly 3000 were extremely serious
- Crashes described as "fatal" numbered 164 in Chicago in 2007. There were 191 human lives lost in those crashes.
- 162,664 of accidents involved passenger vehicles - most occurred on city streets (65,751) or unmarked urban highways (32,457)
- Most Chicago motor vehicle accidents in 2007 involved people between 25-29 years (10,348 female; 14, 535 male). The US Center for Disease Control counts automobile accidents as the primary cause of accidental death among young men. Chicago accident statistics follow that trend: Most fatal accidents involved men ages 22 through 39
Although these statistics are from a couple of years ago, the numbers have not likely changed much. As the population in Chicago grows, more people will mean more cars, which unfortunately means more accidents. And even if the numbers have changed, there can never be a "good" number for the amount of wrecks. Any one injury is enough to matter. One death as a result of a motor vehicle accident is unacceptable.
Experienced Chicago personal injury attorneys can help answer any questions you may have about auto accident injuries, personal injury law or how to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Copyright © 2011 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.