What causes motorcycle crashes in Lombard and throughout DuPage County? Understanding the reasons for motorcycle accidents can help riders and motorists alike to take preventive measures. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released a Motorcycle Crash Causation Study (MCCS), which addresses some of the underlying reasons for motorcycle collisions on major roads and smaller streets across the country. After considering the causes for these crashes, motorcyclists and automobile drivers should think carefully about safety, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides an extensive pamphlet on motorcycle safety tips for anyone on the road.

Get the Facts About the Motorcycle Crash Causation Study

There are nearly 4,500 motorcycle crash deaths each year, and that number has been rising almost every year since 1997. Congress mandated the MCCS in order to determine what causes most severe and deadly motorcycle crashes, and ultimately to consider new ways to prevent these accidents from happening in the first place. How did the researchers gather information? Several different investigation and analytical tools were used, including but not limited to:

Hit-and-run accidents have been a serious problem in DuPage County, Cook County, and throughout the Chicago area for quite some time now. According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, the problem may be getting worse.

Indeed, a new study highlights that deadly hit-and-run crashes are at a historical high. For Chicagoland residents, that news is particularly devastating given the recent string of hit-and-run collisions that have injured and killed motorists and pedestrians alike. For example, last summer a police officer and a civilian suffered injuries in a hit-and-run accident, and a pedestrian was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while attempting to cross the street last month.

What should pedestrians and motorists alike know about the rising rates of hit-and-run crashes?

Truck accidents often result in fatal injuries in DuPage County and throughout Illinois. As the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) explains, when big rigs are involved in collisions with smaller passenger vehicles, those passenger vehicle occupants often suffer life-threatening or fatal injuries since trucks weigh anywhere from twenty to thirty times as much as a smaller passenger vehicle and have a greater ground clearance.

Truck collisions often occur because of driver error—as a result of negligent driving, which often involves drowsy driving—and can also happen if a truck is not properly maintained or is improperly loaded.

According to a recent article in the Belleville News-Democrat, Illinois State Police have been focusing on semi-truck safety by making random stops to check the truck and its driver for any safety concerns.

How frequently do trucking crashes occur in DuPage County, and do current laws and regulations have any impact on the rate of truck collisions in the state of Illinois? 

A change to Illinois’s truck inspection laws took effect on January 1, 2018, and some safety advocates argue that it could lessen roadway safety in the state. Oppositely, regulators are moving to do away with side-view mirrors on large trucks and to replace them with more advanced technology to help truckers stay safe on the road.

If new inspection laws are in fact resulting in more collisions, could changes to side-mirror regulations help to reduce the overall rate of crashes? 

How often are elderly drivers involved in auto accidents in DuPage County? And are older drivers more often the cause of serious traffic collisions than younger adult drivers? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of 2015 there were approximately 40 million drivers on the road aged 65 and older across the United States. While the CDC emphasizes that retaining a driver’s license can help a senior to “stay independent and mobile,” there are also downsides. To be sure, the risk of being hurt or killed in a motor vehicle crash increases as you get older.

What should Lombard drivers know about aging and age-related car accident risks?

Getting the Facts About Older Adults and Traffic Collisions