Chicago Accident Lawyer Blog
Written and reviewed by Peter Zneimer, Zneimer & Zneimer P.C.
The number of fatal or serious injury crashes in some Chicago neighborhoods is shocking and would be surprising to people living in those neighborhoods. According to the Chicago Department of Transportation’s annual traffic crashes report, there were an astounding 135 serious or fatal traffic crashes in the Austin neighborhood, 56 in Belmont Cragin, 50 in Portage Park. Jefferson Park had only 8 and Hermosa and Forest Glen had 12. According to Chicago statistics, 84% of the traffic fatality cases in 2023 involved reckless or egregious driving behavior. From personal experience, the personal injury lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. can attest that many of the cases we handle involve defendants who caused accidents by driving recklessly, by driving at excessive speeds, by testing and driving or other such dangerous driving practices.
Reckless driving can include various dangerous behaviors, including excessive speeding, aggressive lane changes, running red lights, and driving under the influence. In Chicago, with the dense traffic conditions and the presence of pedestrians, such driving is much more likely to lead serious injuries.
To combat the problem of reckless driving, Chicago has pursued many projects aimed at reducing traffic accidents and improving road safety.
- Automated Speed Enforcement: Chicago has expanded its use of speed cameras in high-risk areas such as school zones and pedestrian-heavy corridors. These cameras have been shown to reduce speeding by over 40% in areas where they are installed. Many motorists in Chicago have probably been made aware of these speed cameras after receiving tickets in the mail.
- Vision Zero Program: The city adopted the Vision Zero plan with the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities by 2030. Chicago has been busy redesigning streets to prioritize safety, including installing protected bike lanes, pedestrian islands, and curb bump-outs, roundabouts and other infrastructure improvements to slow traffic.
- Complete Streets Approach: Chicago has been busy building “Complete Streets”. This design philosophy seeks to ensure that roads are safe and accessible. The improvements include narrowing traffic lanes, adding crosswalks with high-visibility markings, and improving lighting to increase driver awareness of pedestrians, adding bump-outs and adding round-abouts.
- Police Crackdowns and Public Awareness Campaigns: The Chicago Police Department times conduct enforcement operations to ticket reckless drivers. Also, by keeping statistics and reporting them, people are made aware of the dangers of reckless driving and people are encouraged to drive safety.
The personal injury lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer applaud the infrastructure improvements on Western Ave. and on streets all across the city of Chicago in an effort to make the city safer for pedestrians and motorists. However the city can only do so much. All motorists have a duty to drive safety to avoid injuries to others.