Are Illinois Highways More Dangerous Than City Streets For Car Accidents?

When it comes to comparing the danger of car accidents posed by Illinois highways vs. city streets, the question isn’t as simple as “yes” or “no.” Different types of roads pose different risks, and crash severity, traffic volume, speed, and emergency response all influence how likely a crash is to be fatal or result in serious injury. In this blog, we’ll explore the data, dig into the factors that make highways or city streets more, or less, dangerous in Illinois, and explain what this means for car accident victims and families.

“Whether a crash happens on a busy city street or a rural interstate, the real question is not where, but why. At John J. Malm & Associates, we work hard to get our clients the compensation they deserve after a serious crash. We dig into the evidence: speed, driver behavior, road design, emergency response, to uncover why a crash happened and who should be held accountable, to maximize results for our clients.” – John J. Malm, Naperville car crash injury attorney

Illinois Crash Statistics

Crash and Fatality Distributions

According to the 2023 Illinois Crash Facts & Statistics report from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), approximately 66.8% of all crashes occurred on urban (city) roads, while only about 33.0% occurred on rural roads.
When it comes to fatalities, however, the picture shifts slightly: 31.9% of fatal crashes happened on rural roads in 2023, meaning urban roads accounted for the majority, or roughly 68.1%, of fatal crashes.
In earlier Illinois data from 2022, highways, especially state or U.S. routes, accounted for a substantial share of fatal crash totals. For example, city streets saw 419 deaths in Illinois in 2022, while state and U.S. routes saw 466 deaths, and interstate highways accounted for 191 deaths.

These numbers suggest that while most crashes, including injury crashes, happen in city or urban areas, highways and state routes still contribute a significant share of fatal accidents.

Illinois Highway Crash Prevalence

One summary of Illinois roadway crash data notes that highways witness nearly 50% of all auto accidents in Illinois, and highway accidents account for over 30% of auto accident fatalities in the state.
Meanwhile, certain highway stretches have been repeatedly identified as particularly deadly. For instance, I-57 from Exit 353 to Exit 348, and sections of Ashland Avenue and Lake Street in Chicago, have consistently shown higher rates of fatal crashes.

Why Highways Can Be More Deadly

Although more crashes happen in urban settings, highways often produce more severe crashes, those that are fatal or result in catastrophic injuries, due to several interacting risk factors:

Higher speeds: Vehicles traveling on interstate and state highways often travel at speeds of 55 mph, 65 mph, or higher. When crashes occur at high speeds, the energy of the impact increases, and so does the risk of serious injury or death.
Less margin for error: At higher speeds, drivers have less time to react, less space to avoid collisions, and crash dynamics are more violent.
Crash types: Highway crashes often involve head-on collisions, rollovers, or collisions with fixed objects, all of which are more likely to result in serious injury or death.
Delayed emergency response: Crashes on rural highways may occur far from medical facilities or may take longer for emergency responders to reach. These delays can worsen outcomes, especially if victims suffer trauma or head injuries.
Fewer protective elements: Rural highways often lack lighting, guardrails, rumble strips, or other safety infrastructure that help prevent or reduce crash severity.
Speeding and impaired driving: Increased speed and alcohol-impaired driving are often more common on highways, especially rural interstates, which can amplify crash severity.

Nationally, data shows that rural fatality rates per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) have generally been higher than urban fatality rates. One national study found that in 2021, the fatality rate per 100 million VMT was 1.74 in rural areas versus 1.19 in urban areas, about a 1.5× higher rate in rural areas. However, that same study also showed that urban fatality rates have been rising, narrowing the gap over time.

When City Streets Are More Hazardous

Despite the high speeds and crash severity on highways, city streets pose their own significant dangers, including risks that are sometimes underestimated:

Higher traffic density means more opportunities for collisions, including side-impact crashes, rear-end collisions, and crashes involving pedestrians, cyclists, and transit vehicles.
Vulnerable road users: such as pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders, are more common in urban areas, which increases the likelihood of crashes involving people on foot or two wheels.
Frequent stop-and-go traffic can result in rear-end collisions, intersection crashes, and sudden braking situations.
Lower speeds don’t always mean fewer injuries: While crashes at city speeds might not always be fatal, they can still lead to serious injuries, especially when pedestrians or cyclists are involved.
Distraction, congestion, and complex intersection designs in urban areas contribute to high crash volumes.
Infrastructure issues, such as poorly timed traffic signals, street-level parking, and limited visibility, can increase crash risk for drivers and non-drivers alike.

Chicago-specific crash data reinforces this risk. In 2022, city streets and state/U.S. routes logged more fatal crashes than interstates.

Key Illinois Car Crash Trends and Takeaways

From the data, several key observations emerge about crash risk on Illinois highways versus city streets:

More crashes happen in city areas, but highways, especially rural or interstate highways, tend to show higher fatality risks per crash.
Illinois state and U.S. routes regularly report high fatality numbers, sometimes outpacing interstates. For example, in 2022, Illinois state/U.S. routes recorded 466 deaths, compared with 419 city street deaths and 191 interstate deaths.
Rural highways can be especially dangerous due to speed, emergency response times, and crash severity. But urban highways and major state routes are not immune from serious crashes, particularly in areas where congestion, merging traffic, or design issues create hazards.
Crash severity is a critical factor: A crash at 65 mph on a rural interstate can be catastrophic, while a crash at 25 mph in a city might result in damage but not necessarily a fatality. But that same low-speed crash can be devastating if it involves a pedestrian or bicyclist.
Time of crash matters: Nighttime crashes, drunk driving, and fatigue are more common contributors on highways. Intersection and congestion-related crashes are more typical in city areas.

What This Means for Injury Victims and Legal Claims

Whether a crash happened on a highway or a city street has serious implications for victims, insurers, and legal claims. Some of the most important factors include:

Severity of injuries: Highway crashes often result in more serious injuries, such as traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, or internal trauma, due to high-speed impacts or rollovers. These injuries typically require more intensive medical treatment, longer recovery times, and higher economic losses.
Liability and fault issues: On highways, questions of speed, following distance, driver fatigue, or impairment often dominate liability arguments. In city crashes, fault may hinge on signal timing, failure to yield, pedestrian behavior, or intersection design. These different contexts can affect how fault is determined and how insurance companies evaluate claims.
Insurance coverage challenges: Highway crashes, especially multi-vehicle pileups or crashes involving commercial trucks, can raise issues of policy limits, stacking, and uninsured or underinsured motorists. City crashes that involve pedestrians, bicyclists, or transit vehicles may raise additional theories of liability (such as municipal liability or design defects).
Emergency response and evidence preservation: Highway crashes may occur in remote areas, making evidence collection, surveillance, or witness testimony more difficult. City crashes, while more densely witnessed, may have issues around traffic congestion, scene preservation, or prompt medical care that impact how injuries are treated.
Statute of limitations and investigation timing: Regardless of location, crash victims must act quickly to preserve evidence, obtain medical records, and begin investigations. This is especially true for highway crashes, where skid marks, vehicle damage, and road conditions can change rapidly or be disturbed.

Frequently Asked Questions About Car Accidents

Q: Are highways always more dangerous than city streets?
A: Not always. While highways can lead to more severe crashes due to higher speeds and crash forces, city streets typically see more crashes overall and especially more collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists. Hazard severity and crash context determine actual risk.

Q: How do crash fatality rates compare between urban and rural roads in Illinois?
A: Illinois data shows that a larger share of fatal crashes occur on urban roads simply because more crashes take place there. However, fatal crash rates per mile traveled (especially in rural areas) can be higher due to speed and emergency response factors. Illinois state and U.S. routes, often rural or semi-urban, account for a significant share of fatal crashes in several years.

Q: If I was injured in a car accident on a highway, does that make my case stronger or weaker?
A: It depends. Highway crashes often produce more serious injuries, which can lead to greater damages, but they also raise issues of driver speed, impairment, or following distance, which insurance companies often scrutinize. Highway crashes may offer strong evidence of severity, but they also require detailed investigation into speed, causation, and liability.

Q: What if my accident happened on a busy city avenue? Are those cases more complicated?
A: City-avenue crashes frequently involve different liability issues, such as signal timing, failure to yield, crosswalk usage, pedestrian behavior, or municipal design factors. There’s often more witness testimony in city crashes, but also more complicated questions of who is at fault, which can include drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and road planners.

Q: Does the time of day affect the risk of highway vs. city street crashes?
A: Yes. Highway crashes often occur at night, or during hours when fatigue and impaired driving are more common, which increases crash severity. City crashes are more common during daylight and commuting hours, but congestion, distraction, and pedestrian activity are higher, increasing crash volume and complexity.

Q: How should I act after a highway or city crash to protect my legal rights?
A: Regardless of location, you should seek medical attention immediately, document your injuries, photograph the scene and vehicle damage, gather witness names and statements if possible, keep medical and repair records, and contact an experienced Illinois car accident attorney to preserve evidence and develop your case. Responding quickly is critical.

Contact the Award-Winning Illinois Car Accident Lawyers at John J. Malm & Associates

If you’ve been injured in a crash, whether it happened on a rural interstate, an urban highway, or a congested city street, it’s important to have experienced legal counsel by your side. At John J. Malm & Associates, our Naperville car accident attorneys have a proven track record of investigating crashes across all types of roadways, working with accident reconstruction experts, and advocating for accident victims in Illinois. If you or a loved one has been hurt, contact our office for a free consultation. We will evaluate the circumstances of your crash, explain your rights, and help you build a strong claim for compensation.