Likelihood of Fatal Rideshare Car Crash Is Rising Yearly Trend
Ridesharing is a popular way to get around Chicago, Indianapolis, and other cities in Illinois and Indiana with the most popular ridesharing services provided by Uber and Lyft. For more on the evolution of our local rideshares and their potential accident liabilities, read:
- Ridesharing Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Uber and Lyft Injury Claims; and
- Uber or Lyft Crashes: Liability in Ridesharing Accidents.
Today, Uber (along with Lyft and other ridesharing services) may be a trendy and innovative approach to our local transportation needs, but with that innovation comes a rising danger of serious injury or death of which many people in Illinois and Indiana are not aware.
Ridesharing with Uber (or Lyft, etc.) in Chicago or other metropolitan areas in our part of the country contributes to the growing danger of a severe or fatal car crash where the driver, passenger, or pedestrian dies in the ridesharing accident.
University of Chicago Study: Traffic Fatalities Rising Each Year Due to Ridesharing
Consider the warning from researchers at the respected Becker-Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago: using data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, ridesharing has been confirmed to be responsible for a steady annual increase in serious and deadly traffic accidents of 3% each year. Read, Barrios, John Manuel, Yael V. Hochberg, and Hanyi Yi. “The cost of convenience: Ridesharing and traffic fatalities.” Available at SSRN 3271975 (2018)(“Ridesharing”).
While the ability to easily hail a ride through a smartphone app has undoubtedly increased convenience for people seeking transportation and flexible employment, critics increasingly argue that ridesharing creates offsetting negative effects …[that] can be measured in human lives— specifically, in increased rates of major traffic accidents and traffic fatalities. Using the staggered introduction of ridesharing across U.S. cities, we show that its introduction in a metropolitan area leads to an economically meaningful increase in overall motor vehicle fatalities.
Uber in Chicago: Regulated Transportation Network Provider
Uber is the most popular ridesharing app in Chicago, with “”rideshare” or “ride hail” or “ride app” being defined by the City of Chicago as a “…transportation network service as used in maps, illustrations, notices, and documents posted at City of Chicago websites or disseminated by the City,” and considered as a “Transportation Network Provider” (“TNP”) in the Windy City’s municipal regulations. See, e.g., TNP Ordinance in Chapter 9-115 of the Municipal Code of Chicago.
The City of Chicago’s TNP Ordinance is intended to help provide safe rides for everyone involved in the rideshare, and includes provisions that require Uber to do things like conduct background checks on its drivers; inspect the rideshare vehicles; and provide accident insurance coverage.
Uber is regulated by the city. Uber, as a Chicago TNP company, must be licensed by the city each year, and each Uber vehicle in operation within the Chicago city limits must display a TNP Vehicle Registration Emblem on its dashboard.
However, the reality today for Chicago and other parts of the country is that ridesharing continues to contribute to a growing danger of fatal car crashes which current governmental oversight has been unable to curtail or prevent.
What is Causing These Deadly Ridesharing Accidents?
As with other types of motor vehicle accidents, each incident must be investigated carefully to determine those factors that contributed to the event. For instance, not only the Uber driver but the driver of any other vehicle involved in the collision should be investigated for negligence that can include things like:
- Speeding;
- Drowsy driving;
- Driving while distracted; or
- Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs.
For more on driver negligence and fatal car crashes, read:
- Drugged Drivers Cause More Fatal Crashes in Indiana than Drunk Drivers: New Indiana University Study
- Speeding Causes Almost Half of All Fatal Car Crashes in Illinois (Around 25% in Indiana)
- Ridesharing and Traffic Fatalities: Driver Fatigue and Drowsy Driving as a Public Safety Risk.
The ridesharing service itself must be investigated for contributing to the fatal crash, as well. Particularly in Chicago, where municipal regulations help to define the ridesharing company’s duties in operating a business within the city limits, Uber (and Lyft, etc.) may be legally liable for the deadly ridesharing accident because of things like:
- Failure to perform a background check on the driver;
- Failure to respond to past complaints regarding the driver;
- Failure to confirm that the ridesharing vehicle meets Uber and/or city requirements;
- Failure to inspect ridesharing vehicle as required by city regulations; or
- Failure to make sure the ridesharing driver has completed necessary requirements (e.g., chauffeur’s license in Chicago) before undertaking ridesharing with Uber (Lyft, etc.).
Who Can Be Victims of a Chicago Uber Accident?
Ridesharing accidents in Chicago and elsewhere in Illinois and Indiana can cause the tragic deaths of not only the Uber driver (or Lyft, etc.) but a number of other accident victims. These include:
- the rideshare passenger(s);
- the driver of any other motor vehicle involved in the Uber accident;
- the occupants of any other motor vehicle involved in the Uber accident; and
- pedestrian(s) who were hit during the Uber crash.
Chicago Uber Car Crash: Justice for Rideshare Accident Victims under Illinois Law
Under the laws of the State of Illinois, victims of a ridesharing accident such as a Chicago Uber car crash and their loved ones may have avenues for justice provided through claims of driver negligence (involving any and all drivers in the accident), as well as negligent supervision (on the part of Uber (or Lyft, etc.)), product liability, wrongful death, and more.
Chicago Uber accident victims may be able to seek claims for relief from more than one legally liable party with coverage being provided from a number of insurance sources such as the driver(s)’s insurance policy; Uber’s insurance coverage; and the insurance coverage of others involved in the crash.
Each Chicago Uber car crash must be analyzed on its own particular circumstances to assess legal liabilities, particularly since personal injury jurisprudence is still addressing nuances of this new transportation service. See, Crespo, Yanelys. “Uber v. Regulation:’Ride-Sharing’Creates a Legal Gray Area.” U. Miami Bus. L. Rev. 25 (2016): 79.
The ridesharing accident victim must be prepared for a legal skirmish on liability issues, as well as the scope of damage, not only because ridesharing claims are an evolving area of the law but because there can be a number of insurance adjusters and defense counsel banded together to fight against responsibility for the Uber crash and its aftermath.
Anyone who has suffered serious injury in an Uber Accident or other ridesharing crash in Chicago, the State of Illinois, or the State of Indiana, may have legal claims for injuries that can be asserted against Uber (or Lyft, etc.) as well as others who may share responsibility under the law for the ridesharing crash and its consequences.
Legal advocates with experience in advocating for motor vehicle accident victims and their families, particularly those involving ridesharing services like Uber in Chicago, can help investigate and assess the possible claims for damages that can be pursued against those who caused the tragic fatal accident.
For more on fatal car crashes, read:
- Road Safety Rankings for Illinois and Indiana: the Danger of a Fatal Crash in Our Part of the Country
- Unrepaired Recalls in 25% of the Cars on Our Roads Today: Legal Duty of Manufacturer versus Owner of the Vehicle in a Fatal Car Crash
- The Older the Vehicle, the Higher the Risk of a Fatal Car Crash
- Car Crashes and Automated Car Technology: The Changing Focus of Auto Accident Claims in Illinois and Indiana
- Bad Faith: When an Accident Victim is Victimized a Second Time by the Insurance Company.
Ridesharing services are understandably popular in Illinois and Indiana, and using Uber in Chicago is almost commonplace these days. However, the risks of a serious or deadly ridesharing accident must be understood by those using Uber and other rideshare apps, as well as their loved ones. Please be careful out there!
