Column: Fury Road?

Dear Readers:

It’s definitely out of our regular coverage area, but I can’t help but wonder (and I know that a lot of people in our readership are wondering too), what exactly is going on with all the crashes on the Interstates this summer?

I don’t have a log of all the emails I’ve received from the Illinois State Police – mainly because if they aren’t in this area and they don’t involve people from this area, I won’t print it. That said, it sure feels like there is one major crash a day happening on I-64, I-57, I-70 or I-24…or at least five a week.

Again, that’s an unscientific guess at how many are happening, but I think I can say a good bit more accurately, it’s a whole heck of a lot.

So readers, what do you think?

Is this really a lot of accidents compared to any other year, or is just a perception that there’s a lot more?

Does it seem like more because through the Internet and social media, we’re just finding out about more of them, more quickly?

If it is more accidents than a normal year (and again, it’s my personal opinion that it is crazy out there, and this is a lot more accidents than a normal year), then what do you think the cause it?

I think that our readers love to hear from those who have worked on the Interstate system, particularly those in construction, transportation and trucking, or in law enforcement.

For those who are in one of those careers, are you more worried for your safety than you have been in the past? How do these crashes change your job?

Finally, what can we, collectively, do to slow or stop these crashes? What should government be seeking to do to address the issue?

I am afraid that I don’t have any real answers for this issue – and frankly, I would guess that whatever needs to be done, it’s probably going to be a complex “all of the above” approach to improving safety on these roadways.

I do have a suggestion though, for what you, our readers can do: be careful, be vigilant, drive defensively, and just plain stay safe if you’re on those roads.

Let’s keep it so that I only am writing about this on the opinion page – not on page A2.

–Alex Haglund, Managing Editor