Rural roads see higher number of fatalities

Troy Pritchard is more aware of his driving habits these days after seeing childhood friends Blake Denton and Jeff Malewig killed in December 2008 when their car hit a tree along an icy Harter Road while driving to Kaneland High School.

"You have to be aware of the situation you are in when you are driving," Pritchard said. "It is not worth the risk of losing your life."

Denton and Malewig were among several Kaneland students who have died in car crashes on rural roads in the last few years. According to the latest study done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 56 percent of the 37,261 traffic deaths in the United States in 2008 occurred on rural roads, though only about 23 percent of the population lives in rural areas.

A Kane County coroner's jury had ruled the crash was an accident. Officials who investigated the crash said Denton's car might have hit an icy patch.

The speed limit on that stretch of Harter Road is 55 mph and Denton's car was going about 60 mph at the time of the crash, said Lt. Pat Gengler, of the Kane County Sheriff's Office.

Gengler was not surprised by the figures in the traffic safety study.

"Speed is an issue," Gengler said. "You get in these open areas, and people get comfortable with driving at a certain speed. There is not as much traffic as in the city. Speed limits are in place for a reason. The faster you go, the worse the impact can be."

And unfortunately, he said, the sheriff's office does not have the manpower to make sure the speed limits are being followed.

"We have a large county with a lot of country roads," Gengler said. "We do not have the ability to patrol all of them all of the time."

From 2005 to 2008, there were 32 fatal crashes on the 310 centerline miles of road the Kane County Division of Transportation maintains, according to county transportation director Carl Schoedel.

Of that number, 16 of them occurred on roads in the rural areas of the county, Schoedel said. Ten of those cases involved impaired drivers, he said.

"It backs up the national study, the fact that rural areas do represent some of the more severe accidents," he said.

The intersection of Route 38 and Meredith Road near Kaneland High School saw several major crashes, including three that resulted in deaths, before the intersection in December 2007 became a four-way stop with flashing lights.

"Things like signage and flashing lights can do a great deal in improving safety in a rural area," Schoedel said.

Gengler said the improvements have reduced the number of accidents at the intersection, although he did not have specific numbers.

The sheriff's office does not designate any single road or intersection as being dangerous, Gengler said.

"Most of the time it is the person who decides to violate the traffic laws who creates the dangerous situation," Gengler said. "There are numerous reasons for fatal crashes, but speed mixed with alcohol seems to be a common theme in many of the crashes."

Sugar Grove Police Detective John Sizer said speed is a factor in about 30 percent of fatal accidents.

"We see that a lot with these rural road crashes," Sizer said. "If we can get these kids to slow down and do the speed limit, we will save some lives."

Sizer is trying to do just that as an instructor for the "Alive At 25" National Safety Council's driver's safety course being taught to Kaneland High School students at Waubonsee Community College.

Since the program was implemented in 2008, about 300 Kaneland High School students have participated in it on a voluntary basis. "Alive at 25" is a national program that is mandatory for all young drivers if they have received a citation or been involved in a crash.

As an accident reconstruction specialist, Batavia police officer Dennis Harper said he has seen many accidents that could have been avoided.

"It takes 1.5 seconds to register in one's mind that there is a hazard, and then to apply the brakes takes another 1.5 to 2 seconds," Harper said. "It is more efficient to go around an object rather than trying to stop."

Harper, who also teaches defensive driving to police officers, recently started the Drive Home Safe Driving School in Geneva with Elmhurst police officer Robert Kopczynski in part because of the number of fatal accidents in rural Kane County involving Kaneland students. Harper is a Sugar Grove resident.

"Our passion is to teach and save lives," Harper said. "People aren't prepared mentally for a hazard when they are driving in a rural area. They think it is free and easy. You are out there going as fast as your free will allows you."

Tips to avoid an accident

• Obey the speed limit.

• Give driving your full attention.

• If you can't see oncoming traffic, do not turn until you know it is safe.

• Make sure you are in a legal passing zone before passing another vehicle.

• Use turn signals at least 100 feet before the turn or intersection and when changing lanes.

• Make sure your vehicle is in the proper lane for turning. Do not cross over into another lane of traffic.

Source: Illinois Department of Transportation