Fatal Pedestrian Accidents in Illinois
Illinois is one of the most highly populated states in the United States of America. During 2015, the recorded population of the state was 12,859,995 people. Having such a high population you would expect the number of people in the state to grow significantly over the years, but that is not the case in Illinois. The population of Illinois in 2005 was 12,763,371 people, and 5 years later in 2010 the population was recorded at 12,830,632 people. When you compare these statistics, you will see that Illinois’ population has not even increased by 100,000 people in the past 10 years.
As you can see in the table below, the number of deadly car crashes began to drop from 2005 and has remained reasonably consistent since 2007/2008. So even though the population had been slowly but surely increasing the number of accidents and deaths are not following the same trend.
Year | # Of Accidents | # Of Deaths | Deaths Per 100,000 People |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | 1,230 | 1,361 | 10.7 |
2006 | 1,136 | 1,254 | 9.8 |
2007 | 1,127 | 1,249 | 9.7 |
2008 | 950 | 1,043 | 8.1 |
2009 | 832 | 911 | 7.1 |
2010 | 858 | 927 | 7.2 |
2011 | 835 | 918 | 7.1 |
2012 | 886 | 956 | 7.4 |
2013 | 895 | 991 | 7.7 |
2014 | 845 | 924 | 7.2 |
2015 | 914 | 998 | 7.8 |
When a traffic accident occurs, pedestrians often face the highest risk of severe injury or death. In 2015, 150 people lost their lives while they were walking, jogging, and even sitting at a bus stop waiting. These 150 deaths translate to 15 percent of the total number of people killed in crashes. The national average of pedestrian deaths in 2015 was also 15%. During 2010, the numbers were lower, with 115 pedestrians killed, accounting for 12 percent of the total number of traffic deaths. Five years prior, about 164 people or 12 percent of the total number of traffic deaths were pedestrians. As the number of pedestrians being killed in Illinois has remained stubborn, it is obvious the state needs to do more to protect the lives of all road users.