Illinois Injury Law Blog

According to Illinois State Police, alcohol is to blame for a recent car accident in Illinois that killed four people. The crash happened as a vehicle was heading the wrong way on Interstate 80 when it slammed into an oncoming vehicle at about 2:30 a.m. Both vehicles burst into flames upon collision. Officials report this was the second wrong-way, alcohol-related accident within a week.

A 31-year-old from Chicago, a passenger in the wrong-way vehicle, was the only one to survive the accident. He was last listed in stable condition at the Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Three people in their late 20s who were in the wrong-way vehicle were killed. The 35-year-old driver of the vehicle that was hit was also killed in the accident. Everyone was reportedly wearing a seat belt when the accident happened. Traffic was backed up from the Tri-State Tollway all the way to Kedzie. The congestion lasted till nearly 9 a.m.

Our Illinois drunk driving car accident attorneys understand the dangers posed by drivers who are under the influence of alcohol. These irresponsible drivers cause thousands of deaths every year. As a matter of fact, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) reports that about 30 percent of all Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related accident at least once in their lifetime. Every year, nearly 10 percent of all police-reported accidents are alcohol-related. In 2002, there were nearly 52,000 people arrested for driving drunk in the state of Illinois. Alcohol-related accidents are more likely to happen at night than during the day.

In the U.S., it's estimated that more than 300,000 people are injured in alcohol-related car accidents annually. This means that someone in injured in this type of accident every 2 minutes.

Some drivers are more likely than others to cause an alcohol-related accident. IDOT reports that drivers between the ages of 16 and 24 account for about 15.5 percent of the driving population, but are responsible for nearly 40 percent of all fatal, alcohol-related crashes.

In 2002, there were nearly 225 young drivers ages 16 to 24 who were killed in U.S. car accidents. Of these fatal accidents, nearly 100 of them involved a driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or higher. This means that nearly 35 percent of all of those teen drivers who were killed in these accidents were drinking just before the accident.

Back in 1995, the state of Illinois enacted a zero-tolerance law. This means that drivers who are busted drinking and driving will be arrested, without exception. Since then, there have been about 3,000 zero-tolerance violations recorded every year.