Fatal Car Accident in Chicago, IL

Common Causes of Fatal Car Accidents in Chicago

Though laws and advancements in safety technology and road design have improved immensely since the days of the Model T, cars can still be incredibly dangerous — lethal, even, in the hands of a negligent or reckless motorist. As motorists, we owe everyone around us a duty of care to drive safely and responsibly to avoid inflicting harm. One mistake or lapse in judgment could mean a life is cut tragically short.

Car accidents from all types of causes can become fatal, especially when high speeds and excessive force are involved. After any fatal car accident in Chicago, call (312) 500-HURT right away. Below, our fatal car accident lawyers identify a few of the top causes of fatal car accidents in Chicago and throughout the US.

Distracted Driving

Distracted driving is a major threat to public safety, causing car accidents that result in serious injuries and even fatalities. The CDC identifies three main types of distractions: visual, manual and cognitive. As humans, we naturally overestimate our ability to multitask. Doing anything from that takes your eyes, hands or mind away from the task of driving — eating, grooming, texting, talking on the phone, smoking, looking at something else, trying to grab a moving object in the car or even just daydreaming — can distract a driver. Distracted driving reduces vehicle driver visibility, reaction time and of

A National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration study identified that driver inattention took place within the three seconds before 80% of car crashes, indicating that distracted driving is a major cause of car crashes. Distracted driving is also tied to its fair share of fatal car accidents, causing more than 3,000 deaths in the United States every year, including 3,142 deaths due to fatal car accidents caused by distracted driving incidents.

Speeding

Speed limits exist for a reason. High speed collisions make any car accident more dangerous and likely to cause fatalities. Speeding is a factor in about one third of all car accident fatalities in the United States every year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), equating close to 10,000 deaths. In Illinois, the proportion is even higher. According to the annual Illinois Car Crash Facts and Statistics manual, 39.2% of fatal car accidents in Illinois involved speeding.

Illinois State Police have identified that, in recent months, drivers are speeding at a higher rate in 65 mile per hour zones, increasing the risk of both collision and fatality. While the police and other government agencies have continued to work to discourage speeding and punish drivers who do speed, it is impossible to catch everyone. If your loved one was killed in a speeding accident in Chicago or anywhere in Illinois, call Burger Law's fatal car accident lawyers right away.

Drunk Driving

It is no secret that drunk driving is deadly. Everyone knows that it is dangerous and driving under the influence is never a good idea. It still presents a prevalent public safety threat affecting thousands of people in Illinois and the United States every year, though fortunately fatal car accidents attributed to drunk drivers has decreased nationwide by 45% over the last forty years, since 1982 when the NHTSA began collecting data on alcohol impaired driving.

Despite many public campaigns to highlight the dangers of drunk driving and deter drivers from getting behind the wheel, drunk driving is still a significant contributor to fatal car accidents in Illinois and the US. 28 people a day, or one person every 52 minutes, dies in a drunk driving crash in the United States. Compared to the national rate which comes out to 28% of all car crash fatalities, drunk driving is responsible for 30% of car crash fatalities in the state of Illinois.

Though it is legal to drive with a blood alcohol content of less than .08, a driver's abilities can be compromised with any amount of alcohol in their system. In fact, in 2019 1,775 people were killed in fatal car accidents where the at fault driver had a BAC of between .01-.07, meaning they were under the legal limit.

Regardless of whether or not they broke the law by driving with a BAC over the legal limit, if someone chose to get behind the wheel after drinking and caused the fatal car accident that killed your loved one, they need to be held accountable. Call Burger Law's wrongful death lawyers right away at (312) 500-HURT to help you hold the driver responsible for their reckless, dangerous actions and collect the compensation you and your family need and deserve.

Drowsy Driving

Drowsy driving is a dangerous habit that has not received the amount of attention or alarm it deserves. Historical data from the last ten years shows around 800 drowsiness-related fatal car accident deaths in the United States every year, meaning that drowsiness would account for around 2.5% of car accident fatalities every year. However, studies acknowledge that the data does not accurately reflect the reality, and that the real figure is likely more than 6,000 deaths caused by drowsy driving every year. This is supported based on may other key data points, such as 41% of drivers reporting that they have fallen asleep at the wheel at least once, and 27% of drivers having driven while struggling to keep their eyes open within the past month.

Scientific studies have likened the effects of fatigue or lack of sleep to being inebriated — causing slowed reaction times, diminished alertness and impaired decision-making abilities. Driving after 20 consecutive hours of being awake is functionally equivalent to driving with a blood alcohol content of .08, the legal limit, and the numbers quickly go up from there. Even driving slightly tired, such as getting only five or six hours of sleep the night before, is also undeniably dangerous.

Advances in technology like crash avoidance technologies in newer, smarter cars as well as community interventions and education propelled by nonprofit organizations and activist groups have worked toward reducing the impact of drowsy driving and other forms of impaired driving on the Chicago area community and the country as a whole. You can do your part to protect others from suffering death or the loss of a loved one in a drowsy driving fatal car accident in Chicago by bringing a wrongful death claim against the driver who drove fatigued and killed your loved one. Burger Law's wrongful death attorneys in Chicago will help you win maximum compensation in your fatal car accident claim. Learn more at (312) 500-HURT.

Aggressive Driving

Reckless driving, careless driving, aggressive driving — whatever you want to call it, it is a big deal. According to the NTSHA, aggressive driving plays a role in 56% of fatal car crashes. This number comes despite the fact that it is considerably difficult to quantify and measure the full extent of aggressive driving occurrences. A study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that 87% of drivers admitted to risky behavior while driving at least once in the past month.

What does aggressive driving look like? Reckless, aggressive driving comes in all sorts of appalling behaviors. A few examples of reckless driving include racing, passing in areas where passing is not permitted or safe, swerving, weaving in and out of traffic, failure to yield the right of way, and disobeying traffic signals. The act of running red lights alone killed 846 people in 2019 in the United States.

When a driver gets a bad case of road rage, is running late, wants to evade the police, or is under the delusion that they are invincible and can do anything they want without being hurt, and makes the decision to drive aggressively, they put everyone around them in grave danger. If you lost a loved one in fatal car accident in Illinois due to an aggressive driver, Burger Law's wrongful death lawyers in Illinois demand justice. It is a senseless tragedy that could have been prevented, and aggressive drivers must pay for the harm they cause. Call (312) 500-HURT now to discuss your fatal car accident case in Illinois and get your family justice.

Common Types of Fatal Collisions | Fatal Car Accident Lawyers in Chicago

• Head-On Collisions: motor vehicle crashes where vehicles traveling in opposite directions meet each other and collide head-on, or into the front of both vehicles. Head-on collisions can often be fatal, especially when they occur at high speeds. These car accidents are commonly caused by distracted drivers, fatigued drivers or drivers who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• Rollover Accidents: when a vehicle rotates to the point that the side or roof of the vehicle meets the ground. Rollover crashes are caused by loss of control over the vehicle, often due to swerving to avoid an obstacle or to overcorrect the vehicle’s direction. Rollover car accidents can be dangerous and even fatal, as passengers in the vehicle can be struck by loose objects or can sustain head and spine injuries if the roof of the car caves in.
• Pedestrian Accidents: a vehicle crashing into or otherwise causing harm to someone who is not in a vehicle, typically on foot. Pedestrian car crashes can be fatal for pedestrian victims because they are exposed and do not have the protection of a vehicle around them. A human body is no match for a large, fast-moving modern vehicle.
• T-bone Accidents: a type of crash where one vehicle runs head-first into the side of another vehicle. T-bone car wrecks happen when a driver ignores traffic signals, runs a red light or misjudges the speed and distance of an oncoming vehicle. T-bone collisions often become fatal car accidents for those in the vehicle situated on the side where it was impacted by the other vehicle.

Any kind of motor vehicle collision can be fatal, especially when one or more of the vehicles involved are traveling at high speeds at the time of the impact. If you or a loved one are seriously injured or killed in a car accident in Chicago or elsewhere in Illinois, contact a Chicago fatal car accident lawyer right away.

Our team of passionate litigators and trial lawyers are dedicated to standing up for the vulnerable and making the negligent pay for the harm they have caused. When a car accident in Illinois becomes fatal, Burger Law’s fatal car accident lawyers demand justice and a maximum recovery for you. Get a free review with an experienced car accident wrongful death lawyer in Chicago at (312) 500-HURT.