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Illinois Department of Transportation

Share the Road

One of IDOT’s top priorities is Driving Zero Fatalities to a Reality in Illinois. Through safety education and outreach programs, IDOT provides the motoring public with the information necessary to make life-saving decisions when traveling on Illinois roadways. Illinois’ immense roadway system welcomes a variety of travelers. Our roadways feel the impact of motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, roadway workers, cars, trucks, semi-trucks, farm equipment, heavy equipment, and more.

It is our duty and yours, to make sure we share the road responsibly.

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Safe Motorists Always Respect Trucks (SMART) is an effort to reduce fatal crashes between trucks and other vehicles, a study was conducted by IDOT's Division of Traffic Safety, now the Division of Transportation Safety, to identify when most of these fatalities are occurring and under what circumstances. Below are the results of that study.

In Illinois, fatal crashes between trucks and other vehicles most often occur:

  • On Tuesday through Friday, between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., when the weather is clear and the road is dry.
  • Due to speed or improper lane use.
  • When the truck driver is between 28-43 years old and the driver of the other vehicle is between 20-30 years old.
  • When the driver (of the truck OR the other vehicle) has fallen asleep or has been drinking.

Resources

Share the road with trucks

Share the road with motorcyclists (printable).  For more information on motorcycle safety, visit the Start Seeing Motorcycles website.

Bicycling, both recreationally and for daily commutes, is quite popular throughout Illinois.

Take the Bicycle Safety Quiz!

View the Secretary of State’s Rules of the Road

View the Illinois State Police’s Bicycle Safety Brochure

Bicycle Safety

Bicyclists are roadway users at greatest risk to injury and death if hit by a vehicle and are considered vulnerable users in the Illinois SHSP. It is important for motorists to be aware of these roadway users and use caution. It is equally important for bicyclists to obey the Rules of the Road.

Pedestrian travel, such as walking or jogging, is a common option for many people across Illinois – from rural to urban communities.

Pedestrian Safety

Drivers and pedestrians both are responsible for traffic safety. Drivers should always be prepared to yield the right-of-way and should not drive unnecessarily close to pedestrians.

When approaching a pedestrian with a disability who is utilizing a guide dog, a white cane, a wheelchair or other assistive device on a sidewalk or roadway, the pedestrian has the right-of-way and is granted the same rights as any pedestrian.

A driver must come to a complete stop (and yield):

  • When a pedestrian is in a marked crosswalk.
  • On school days, when children are in close proximity to a school zone crosswalk.
  • A driver must yield to a pedestrian.
  • When a pedestrian is in an unmarked crosswalk on the driver's side of the roadway and there are no traffic control signals.
  • When making a turn at any intersection.
  • When making a lawful turn on a red light after coming to a complete stop.
  • After coming to a complete stop at a stop sign or flashing red signal at an intersection.
  • When a pedestrian enters a crosswalk before the traffic light changed.
  • When a pedestrian is walking with a green light, to a walking person symbol or a walk signal.
  • When a pedestrian is leaving or entering a street or highway from an alley, building, private road or driveway.
  • When a pedestrian is entering an intersection with a flashing yellow arrow.

For more information, please see the Rules of the Road.

For more information on pedestrian studies by traffic safety partners, visit the Traffic Records Coordinating Committee website.

IDOT Intersection Pedestrian Fatalities Map

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is required under 20 ILCS 2705/2710-210 to conduct a traffic study following any crash involving a pedestrian fatality that occurs at an intersection with a state highway. Each study considers alternative geometric design improvements, traffic control devices, and other improvements IDOT may deem necessary. This section of the website reflects the result of the mandated studies.

The studies are conducted for the purpose of safety improvements and may be protected by 23 USC 407 (formally 23 USC 409). Therefore, the information contained on this web page shall not be subject to discovery or introduced as evidence in any applicable legal proceeding. The State of Illinois does not waive any rights under 23 USC 407 (formally 23 USC 409) by publishing this information.

IDOT Intersection Pedestrian Fatalities Map.