Illinois Looks to Eliminate Fatalities from Roadway Departure Crashes

 Posted on December 00,0000 in Car Accidents

While motor vehicles are an essential, inescapable part of our daily lives, they are also very dangerous. Even though they have plenty of safety features, cars are still large pieces of metal that weigh more than two tons, on average, and travel at high speeds. These factors mean that any collision between a car and a person, object, or other vehicle is likely to result in injuries for anyone involved.

Roadway departure car accidents, which occur when a vehicle leaves the road or crosses the road’s centerline, are some of the most common accidents that take place in Illinois, and account for 33 percent of all fatalities and serious injuries. As part of its plan to reduce the number of fatalities on its roads, Illinois has put several new initiatives into place to reduce the dangers of roadway departure.

The Strategic Highway Safety Plan

The state of Illinois has been working with a number of agencies and partners across the state to implement the Illinois Strategic Highway Safety Plan (ILSHSP), which has a long-term goal of “Zero Fatalities” on public roads in the state. Roadway departure accidents are a high priority of this plan, and the state’s efforts in reducing these types of accidents include:

• Rumble strips - 76 percent of roadway departure crashes are single-vehicle crashes, and 56 percent of these crashes involve fixed objects. The installation of rumble strips at both the shoulder and the centerline of roads helps warn drivers when their vehicle is leaving the roadway.
• Guardrails - The state has improved the engineering of guardrails, and especially guardrail end sections, improving safety for vehicles which leave the road and impact with these barriers.
• Shoulder improvement - The state has identified high-risk locations and is working to improve safety by widening and paving shoulders and eliminating ditches or drop-offs that may result in vehicle rollovers.
• Curve warnings - 30 percent of roadway departure crashes occur on curves. The state is working to install chevron signs and other warning signs that provide better guidance through curves, especially at night.
• Median cable rail - Median crossover crashes, in which a vehicle crosses the median of a divided highway and collides with another vehicle head-on, are some of the deadliest roadway departure crashes. With the installation of safety cable rails on interstate highways, the state hopes to significantly reduce the number of these types of crashes.

Contact a Waukegan Personal Injury Attorney

While Illinois’ efforts to reduce fatalities are welcome, the number of car accidents on our roads is still far from zero. If you have been injured in a car crash, the skilled, knowledgeable attorneys of Salvi & Maher, LLP can help you receive the compensation you deserve for your damages. Contact a Lake County car accident injury lawyer at 847-662-330 to schedule a free initial consultation.

Sources:

http://www.idot.illinois.gov/transportation-system/safety/roadway/index

http://www.idot.illinois.gov/Assets/uploads/files/Transportation-System/Reports/Safety/SHSP/SHSP_2017.pdf#page=17