Report: Illinois commutes rated among America’s safest

By Andrew Rice
The Center Square

Illinois ranked among the top 10 safest states to commute in America despite recording one of the nation’s highest average crash rates, according to a new report.

Beck and Beck, a car accident law firm, analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine which states had the safest commutes in the country. The analysis reviewed rush-hour fatal crash data across all 50 U.S. states from 2020 to 2024.

Illinois ranked number 10 of safest commutes in the whole country. Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York claimed the top three spots respectively.

Illinois had an average fatal crash rate of 263.6 per year, according to the report. The data anlyzed fatal crashes during the morning and evening rush hours. Illinois accounted for 2.08 fatal crashes per 100,000, below the national average of 3.06.

The report classified morning rush hour as Monday to Friday between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. whereas evening rush hour was from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“Despite recording one of the nation’s highest totals of rush-hour fatal crashes, Illinois’s large population keeps its per-capita risk among the lowest in the country,” the report reads.

Rhode Island reported a 1.16 fatal crash rate per 100,000 residents, followed by Massachusetts with 1.20 and New York with a rate of 1.34. Rhode Island had an average of 12.8 annual crashes, comapred to Massachusetts with 84 and New York with 265.8.

On the other hand, Mississippi ranked 50th in terms of commuter safety with an average rush hour fatal crash rate of 6.07 per 100,000 residents and 178.8 average annual crashes.

South Carolina, Arkansas, New Mexico and South Carolina. Each state had an average of fewer than 250 annual crashes.

“Illinois’s rush-hour fatal crash rate is more than twice as low as South Carolina’s and New Mexico’s, nearly two and a half times lower than Arkansas’s, and almost three times lower than Mississippi’s,” the report read.

South Carolina had an average annual fatal crash rate of 4.54 per 100,000 residents, followed by New Mexico with 4.66 and Arkansas with 5.16 per 100,000.

The report highlighted that states with larger populations are insulated from having a poor commuter safety rating.

“Although Illinois records significantly more rush-hour fatal crashes than the national average in absolute terms, its large population reduces the per-capita risk substantially,” the report reads.