Personal Injury Law

Illinois car accident deaths and personal injuries plummet in 2009

The Chicago personal injury lawyers at Levin & Perconti are happy to report good news: recent reports show that fatalities have dropped almost 10% from 2008 as the number of traffic-related deaths dip to their lowest point since 1950. Although Americans drove slightly more in 2009 than 2008, traffic-related deaths were down 9.7% in 2009 and at their lowest number since 1950. Illinois traffic deaths were reported to be down 13%. The Chicago Tribune reported that the number and rate of personal injuries were the lowest recorded deaths since 1988, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration first began estimating personal injury data. Additionally, motorcycle fatalities also declined for the first time in eleven years.

Alcohol-related fatalities also dropped 7.4%, but drunk driving was still a factor in almost a third of more than 30,000 traffic deaths every year. One individual from the advocacy group Public Citizen said that the poor economy may explain the lower death and personal injury rates related to automobile accidents. They say that when the economy is down, discretionary driving stops substantially. The people who are driving, according to Public Citizen, states that the drivers are more serious and more careful. Another factor may be improvements in car designs. Manufacturers now build SUVs that are lower to the ground, making them more resistant to rollovers, which are extremely deadly.

Follow the link to the Chicago Tribune to read more about the decrease in car accident injuries.

Full post as published by Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog on September 12, 2010 (boomark / email).