Personal Injury Law

Study of Suburban Chicago Area Reveals Pedestrian Accident Rates

A study released this week of the suburban Chicago area lists the towns with the highest pedestrian accident rates. Among the findings (the rate is equivalent to the number of pedestrian accidents/1000 crash residents):

Hopkins Park: 4.22
Oakbrook Terrace: 1.31
Harvey: 1.12
Markham: 1.03
Countryside: 1.0
Oak Park: 0.06
Rosemont: 0.95
Summit: 0.94
Calumet Park: 0.04
Midlothian: 0.91

The city of Chicago was not part of the study, but is considered to have one of the highest pedestrian accident rates in the US. Information about the number of Chicago pedestrian deaths can be found in this blog post that we published earlier this month on our Web site.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, 1,000 pedestrians were injured and 170 others were killed in Illinois pedestrian accidents in 2007. 6,000 pedestrians got hit while in crosswalks. Aside from crosswalks, common sites for pedestrian accidents include residential areas, school zones, and parking lots.

While pedestrians should exercise the proper safety precautions when crossing the street and drivers must sure that they watch out for pedestrians and refrain from engaging in negligent driving, it is up to government and transportation officials to make sure that conditions on the roads that could pose a pedestrian hazard don't exist or are remedied, such as:

? Not enough sidewalks or trails.
? The sidewalks are too narrow and crowded.
? Uneven or broken or debris-lined sidewalks that can result in slip and fall accidents or accidents in which the pedestrian ends up falling in the street and into the path of a moving motor vehicle.
? Insufficient space between the road and the sidewalk.
? Sidewalks that are blocked by vegetation, garbage cans, or mailboxes.
? Lack of pedestrian signals or median crossings that make crossing the street a challenge.
? Inadequate street lighting.

Pedestrian danger zones: Kankakee County town posts highest per-capita traffic accident rate in greater suburban Chicago area, Chicago Tribune, March 27, 2009

Suburban Pedestrian Crash Rate Analysis, Activetrans.org, March 2009 (PDF)
Types of Pedestrian Problems, FHWA Safety

Related Web Resources:
Number of Chicago Pedestrian Deaths on the Rise, Law Offices of Steven J Malman & Associates, PC, March 10, 2009

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Full post as published by Chicago Injury Attorney Blog on March 27, 2009 (boomark / email).