Fiction vs. Fact: Safety

          Illinois 336 proponents claim that automotive travel in Western Illinois will be safer if a four-lane highway from Peoria to Macomb is built. Bruce Biagini (Eagle Midweek, Feb. 3, 2005) states that four-lane highways are unquestionably safer. This is a claim that, even if it were supported by data comparing all four-lane highways with all two-lane highways, probably has little to do with local driving conditions. Accident rates in Fulton and McDonough Counties are already quite low. Many of those accidents are urban, and would not be affected by a new rural four-lane highway. Many accidents involve collisions with deer, and would be made worse by “interstate” speeds. People will continue to drink and drive.
          The belief that a four-lane highway will lower accident rates locally only makes sense if one assumes large amounts of new through traffic on an east-west four-lane. This “improvement through dilution” solution to a nonexistent problem has little or no bearing on the safety of those who now live and drive in Western Illinois. In short, the assertion that a new four-lane highway through Western Illinois would reduce accidents is pure speculation, and cannot be supported by relevant highway statistics.   

Transportation Necessity

Social and Environmental Costs

Fact Versus Fiction

 

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