The Chicago metropolitan area known as “Chicagoland” may mean different things to different people (the term is not copyrighted) but for many it includes not only a huge amount of the State of Illinois but overlaps into Indiana (Lake County) and Wisconsin (Kenosha County). See, “There’s no ‘New Yorkland’ or ‘Bostonland,’ so why ‘Chicagoland’?” written by Marie Mendoza for NPR and published by WBEZ-Chicago on July 28, 2023.
The geographical variety of roads, streets, highways, rural routes, freeways, and interstates that crisscross our huge metropolis brings with it a unique set of driving hazards, of course. Add to this all the different types of motor vehicles (think semis, rideshares, minivans, SUVs, etc.); all the various drivers on our roadways at any time, for work or for personal reasons; the current extensive road construction projects involved in Project Rebuild Illinois, and the risk of serious or deadly accidents intensifies.
Drivers in our Chicago metro area face dangers that drivers in other parts of the country simply do not. Chicagoland is one-of-a-kind. For this reason, among others, the need to address distracted driving in Chicagoland is very important.
Whether someone is distracted while driving a parcel truck on a rural road in the outskirts of Chicagoland or driving a semi-truck or tractor-trailer in the midst of traffic on the I-90, the tragedy of a distracted driving accident ending in death or permanent bodily injury remains the same.
What is Distracted Driving?
Anything that pulls the driver away from full attention to the road ahead and the operating of the motor vehicle can be considered a distraction. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”):
Distracted driving is doing another activity that takes the driver’s attention away from driving. Distracted driving can increase the chance of a motor vehicle crash. There are three main types of distraction:
- Visual: taking your eyes off the road
- Manual: taking your hands off the wheel
- Cognitive: taking your mind off driving.
These types identified by the CDC are not mutually exclusive; texting while driving is a distraction that is visual, manual, and cognitive, for instance.
Driver Distraction Examples
Examples of distracted driving that may cause a serious or fatal motor vehicle accident include:
- Talking on the phone while driving
- Texting while on the phone while driving
- Using a smartphone in any way while driving (including checking maps/gps)
- Chatting with passengers
- Self-talk (preparing for an exam, presentation, etc.)
- Pets in the vehicle (even if confined or secured)
- Unsecured items in the vehicle that may move or fall (insulated tumblers; backpacks; briefcases; purses; etc.)
- Grooming (combing hair; adjusting collar; putting on tie; putting on makeup; etc.)
- Audio entertainment (music; podcasts; audiobooks; etc.)
- Adjusting devices (from mirrors or heating, to speaker volume)
- Grabbing things (like a candy bar or a tissue in the center console)
- Rubbernecking (slowing down and checking out nearby stalled cars, wrecks, etc.)
- Eating while driving (fast food meals, breakfast on the run, etc.)
- Drinking while driving (coffee, etc.).
“Using a mobile device while driving is the ultimate form of distraction, but distraction comes in many forms. You need to just drive when you’re behind the wheel; it doesn’t matter if you’re talking on speaker phone, mentally preoccupied, or eating breakfast on your way to work, it’s distracting and puts you and others in danger while you’re driving. It’s unnecessary and not worth the risk.”
For more on distracted driving, read: Fatal Distracted Driving Accidents: How Much at Risk are You Here in Indiana and Illinois? and Distracted Driving, Cognitive Brain Function, and Motor Vehicle Accidents.
State of Illinois’ New Coordinated Fight Against Distracted Driving Accidents
Recognizing the dangers that face everyone on the roads in Chicagoland and throughout the Land of Lincoln, the Secretary of State together with the Illinois State Police and the Illinois Department of Transportation announced a new state-wide safety campaign targeting driver distractions in October 2024.
Called “One Road. One Focus,” the interagency efforts include educational videos for teen drivers as well as identifying and targeting what will be known as “Distracted Driver Corridors” throughout Illinois.
From Secretary Alexi Giannoulias:
“Decisions made behind the wheel impact all road users, whether that’s other drivers, passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists or the families waiting at home for their loved one’s safe arrival. The mentality of valuing a text message over lives is completely unacceptable. We’re committed to changing behaviors to make Illinois roads safer and to save lives.”
The extent of these “Distracted Driver Corridors” remains in the planning states today; however, it is to be expected that many, if not most, of these danger zones for distracted drivers will lie within the boundaries of the greater Chicago metro area, aka Chicagoland. For more, read “Illinois launches push to combat distracted driving,” written by Davis Gianglulio and published by IPM News on October 22, 2024.
Claims for Justice After Chicagoland Distracted Driving Accident
Distracted driving is the cause of too many serious injuries or fatal accidents in this country. According to the CDC, nine (9) people die each day in the United States in a preventable accident caused by driver distraction.
For all of us on the roads of Chicagoland each day, it is vital to understand the risks we undertake as we motor alongside so many vehicles whose drivers may be distracted in so many ways. It is imperative to be vigilant, since the likelihood that one or more of the neighboring cars, pickups, minivans, or semis may not be operated by a driver who is fully alert and aware of what they are doing because they are distracted by their phone, or their food, or their kids.
For anyone who suffers harm in a Chicagoland motor vehicle accident today, it is important to understand that distracted driving may be a contributing factor in the crash. Determining the extent of the distractions and potential liabilities that result from it will involve an independent and thorough investigation of the accident itself with possible reconstruction of the event by experts.
Damages may be available to drivers, passengers, and pedestrians involved in a Chicago crash caused by distracted driving. They include: medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, lost earning capacity, and more.
For more on damages, read:
- 10 Types of Injury Damages That May Be Awarded to Accident Victims
- Catastrophic Injuries in an Accident: Damages for the Loss of a Normal Life
- Damages Available After a Pedestrian Accident in Chicago
- Pain Awareness: Claims to Cover an Accident Victim’s Pain Damages
- Loss of Earning Capacity Damages After Accident in Illinois or Indiana.
Chicagoland traffic is complicated; it is different and dangerous. The probability that you, or someone you love, will be driving near someone who is distracted from proper operation of their vehicle is very high. In time, we may be helped by the designation of specific Distracted Driving Corridors here in Illinois. Please be careful out there!
