Illinois Fatal Bus Accident Statistics
For the year 2015, Illinois reported 103 fatalities involving large trucks and buses, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). These deaths occurred in 93 crashes, which is down from 102 for the previous year. A total of 105 large vehicles were involved, which includes 16 single-vehicle accidents. The other 77 were multiple-vehicle crashes. According to statistics, most vehicle crashes involving buses and big rigs involve two vehicles.
A bus is defined as any vehicle that can transport nine or more passengers, counting the driver. This category includes school buses, intercity buses, transit buses and van-buses. The number of buses registered in the United States has almost doubled from over 462,000 in 1975 to more than 872,000 in 2014. At the same time, the fatality rate per one million miles driven has decreased significantly from 5.75 in 1975 to 1.77 in 2014.
The majority of accidents involving large vehicles occur on rural roads with almost none happening in work zones. Most accidents happen during daytime hours on weekdays with clear weather and dry pavement. The average fatality rate per one million people in Illinois was 7.23 in 2015, which is well below the national average of 11.19. It is also down slightly from the 7.79 reported in 2010.
Most of the counties in Illinois reported either zero fatalities for 2015 or between one and five. The one exception is in the northeastern portion of the state where three counties had higher numbers. These three counties are Cook, DuPage and Will. Will County reported six fatalities which is a significant drop from 2014 when there were 17. Cook reported 15 for the year, which was a drop of just one from the prior year. DuPage County also reported six fatalities, but this was an increase from one for 2014.