Table of Contents
What Causes the Most Car Crashes?
Most crashes in Missouri trace back to a short list of driver choices and conditions. Knowing which one caused yours matters, because it decides what evidence proves the claim and who can be held responsible.
Excessive Speed and Aggressive Driving
Speeding is the most frequent contributing factor in Missouri fatal crashes. Tailgating, weaving through traffic, and running red lights compound the danger.
Distracted Driving
Cell phone use leads this category, along with eating, adjusting navigation, and passenger distractions. It is a common trigger for rear-end and T-bone collisions.
Impaired Driving
Alcohol, prescription medication, and illicit drugs all slow reaction time. These crashes cluster late at night and over weekends, and they tend to be severe.
Failure to Yield
Intersections, on-ramps, and lane merges are where this happens most, which makes it a leading cause of crashes in St. Louis, Kansas City, and other populated areas.
Improper Lane Changes
Drifting, swerving, or moving over without signalling or checking a blind spot. In rural Missouri it often ends as a run-off-road crash or an overcorrection.
Driver Fatigue
Drowsy driving is a significant cause of highway crashes, particularly on long corridors like I-70 and I-44 where drivers lose focus or fall asleep at the wheel.
Weather and Road Conditions
Heavy rain, snow, and ice reduce traction and visibility across Missouri's seasons, leading to loss-of-control crashes and multi-vehicle pileups on slick roads.
Work Zones and Construction
Sudden lane shifts, narrowed shoulders, and stopped traffic make work zones hazardous, and crashes there often involve drivers who never slowed for the posted change.
Which Traffic Laws Do Drivers Break Most Often Before a Crash?
Most crashes trace back to a specific traffic rule the at-fault driver ignored. Pinning down that rule, and the evidence that proves it was broken, is often the fastest way to establish fault. These are the violations we see behind many Missouri and Illinois crashes that are not drunk driving, phone use or rear-end collisions:
| Cause | Missouri rule | Illinois rule | Evidence that often proves it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left turn across oncoming traffic | Turning drivers must yield to oncoming vehicles (RSMo 304.351) | Same duty to yield before turning left (625 ILCS 5/11-902) | Intersection video, signal timing records, vehicle damage locations |
| Running a red light | Drivers must stop at a steady red signal (RSMo 304.281) | Same rule for red signals (625 ILCS 5/11-306) | Traffic and business cameras, witness statements, signal phase data |
| Unsafe lane change | A driver may not leave a lane until it is safe to do so (RSMo 304.015) | Same rule on laned roadways (625 ILCS 5/11-709) | Dashcam footage, sideswipe damage patterns, vehicle event data |
| Speeding in a work zone | Higher fines for speeding and other violations in construction zones (RSMo 304.582) | Reduced speed limits and higher penalties in construction zones (625 ILCS 5/11-605.1) | Work zone signage, contractor traffic control plans, speed data |
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A traffic ticket helps, but it is not required. Even when police do not issue a citation, a broken traffic rule can still be used to show the other driver was careless.
When Can Someone Other Than the Driver Be Responsible?
The cause of a crash also decides who else may share the blame, and that can open up more insurance coverage when the driver's policy is too small:
- Driver fatigue on the job. When a worn-out driver was making deliveries or driving a company vehicle, the employer may be responsible. For commercial trucks, federal hours-of-service rules apply, as explained on our Missouri truck accident lawyer page.
- Work zone crashes. A construction contractor can share fault for missing signs, confusing lane shifts or poorly placed barriers.
- Potholes, broken signals and faded markings. A city, county or state agency may be responsible, but these claims follow special rules. Missouri lets injured drivers bring these claims when a road defect created a dangerous condition (RSMo 537.600), while Illinois gives only one year to sue a city, county or other local agency (745 ILCS 10/8-101).
- Vehicle defects. Failed brakes, tire blowouts or faulty steering can point to a manufacturer or repair shop. See our St. Louis product liability lawyer page.
Where Can You Learn More About Specific Crash Causes?
Some causes are common enough that we have written separate guides on them:
- Drunk driving crashes: blood alcohol limits, dram shop claims and punitive damages
- Texting while driving crashes: Missouri and Illinois hands-free laws and how phone records are obtained
- Rear-end crashes: following too closely and who is usually at fault
For help with a claim, visit our St. Louis car accident lawyer, Columbia car accident lawyer or Illinois car accident lawyer pages.
Award-Winning Missouri and Illinois Car Accident Lawyer
Tyson Mutrux has recovered millions for personal injury victims across Columbia, St. Louis, and throughout Missouri and Illinois. Tyson Mutrux served one year on the executive board of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis Young Lawyers Division. Later, he served as a Representative and as a Delegate to the American Bar Association.
Tyson Mutrux has spent his career fighting for people hurt in car crashes across Missouri and Illinois. Whether a crash was caused by a distracted, speeding, drunk or drowsy driver, he investigates what really happened and who is responsible, for clients in St. Louis, Columbia, the Metro East and communities across both states. Learn more on our St. Louis car accident lawyer, Missouri car accident lawyer and Illinois car accident lawyer pages.
A former State Farm claims representative, he knows how insurers argue about what caused a crash to shift the blame onto you, and how to fight back.
Recognition for Tyson Mutrux
- 2024–2026Selected for Super LawyersSuper Lawyers
- 2026Best Car Accident Lawyer in Columbia, MissouriExpertise.com
- 2025Best Injury Lawyer in ColumbiaInside Columbia Magazine
- 2024Top 10 Car Accident Lawyers in ColumbiaTrust Analytica
- 2015Nation's Top One Percent of AttorneysNational Association of Distinguished Counsel
- 2014Top 100 and Top 40 Under 40The National Trial Lawyers
- 2012Superb 10/10 RatingAvvo
- U.S. ArmyArmy Commendation MedalMilitary service
Personal Injury Lawyers in the Community
High-Speed Car Crashes in Missouri and Illinois
When a car crash occurs at a high rate of speed, the injuries are often catastrophic. The force of a high-speed collision dramatically increases the risk of traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, internal bleeding, and fatalities compared to lower-speed crashes. The higher the speed, the less time a driver has to react and the less effective safety systems like airbags and seatbelts become.
From a legal standpoint, high-speed crashes open the door to additional compensation that standard crashes may not. When a driver was speeding excessively or racing at the time of the crash, a Missouri car accident lawyer can pursue punitive damages in addition to standard compensation. Punitive damages are designed to punish especially reckless conduct and can significantly increase the total recovery for victims.
Proving the other driver was speeding typically requires gathering evidence such as police reports noting a speeding citation, dashcam or traffic camera footage showing vehicle speed, electronic data recorder or black box data from the vehicle, witness statements, and in complex cases, analysis from an accident reconstruction professional. While reconstruction adds cost to a case, it often results in significantly stronger evidence and higher settlements.
How Do You Prove What Caused Your Crash?
Knowing why a crash happened is one thing. Proving it is another, and the proof depends entirely on the cause. A distracted driver is shown by phone records, a speeding driver by the data in their own car, a blown tire by the tire itself. Each of those disappears on its own schedule, which is why the cause has to be identified early.
At the Scene
- 01
Get medical help. Be seen the same day, even if you feel able to walk away. Adrenaline hides pain, and head, neck, and internal injuries often surface a day or two later.
- 02
Photograph the cause, not just the damage. Most people photograph the dented panels and stop there. Capture the skid marks, the debris field, the pothole or missing sign, the blown tire, and where each vehicle ended up.
- 03
Make sure the cause reaches the report. If the other driver was on a phone, smelled of alcohol, or ran the light, say so to the responding officer. A citation or a note in the report is the first independent record of why it happened.
- 04
Ask witnesses what they saw them doing. Not just how the crash looked, but whether the driver was looking down, weaving, or speeding beforehand. That detail is what turns an accident into someone's fault.
In the Days After
- 05
Do not let your vehicle be repaired or scrapped yet. Its event data recorder holds speed, braking, and steering in the seconds before impact, and a failed tire or part is proof you cannot recreate once the car is gone.
- 06
Follow your treatment plan. Keep every bill, record, and receipt. A gap in treatment is the first thing an adjuster points to when arguing your injuries were minor.
- 07
Match the cause to the evidence that proves it. Phone records for a distracted driver, bar and restaurant receipts for a drunk one, maintenance records for a company vehicle, and road complaints for a known hazard. Each has to be requested before it is purged.
- 08
Be careful with the adjuster. You are not required to give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement, and anything you say in one can be used to shift the cause back onto you.
- 09
Talk to a lawyer before you settle. The cause decides who pays. A driver on the clock brings in their employer, a defective part brings in the manufacturer, and a dangerous road brings in a public entity with a far shorter notice deadline.
Don't settle for less
The first offer is where insurers start. It is not where we finish.
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The insurer opened at $65,000 and later called $101,000 its top offer. Working closely with our client, we proved significant lost wages and settled for $400,000.
Figures are actual recoveries. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Collisions Caused by Drunk Drivers
If a car accident in St. Louis County involves a drunk driver, this can change the complexity of the case completely. This is because the defendant is typically charged with a crime which prevents an attorney’s access to that driver tremendously.
The benefits of having a drunk driver involved in a crash is that police officers would probably have arrived on the scene and filed a police report regarding the details of the accident and the inebriated state of the at-fault driver. As a result, the plaintiff may be able to collect a lot of information they not have not been able to get.
How have Missouri traffic fatality rates changed over recent years?
After a sharp rise that peaked in 2022, traffic deaths in Missouri have fallen for three straight years. According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, the state recorded 911 roadway deaths in 2025 (preliminary), down 5 percent from 955 in 2024 and about 14 percent below the 2022 peak, when 1,057 people died, the most since 2006.
| Year | Missouri roadway deaths | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1,057 | Highest total since 2006 |
| 2023 | 989 | Preliminary MoDOT figure; about a 6% drop |
| 2024 | 955 | Second straight yearly decline |
| 2025 | 911 | Preliminary; third straight yearly decline |
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Sources: MoDOT (January 2026), MoDOT (February 2025), KFVS12 (February 2024). Preliminary figures may change slightly when final data is released.
The overall decline hides some troubling trends. MoDOT reported a record 148 pedestrian deaths in 2024, and more than 100 people have died in distracted driving crashes in each of the last few years, most of them not the distracted driver. Speeding, impaired driving and not wearing a seat belt remain among the biggest factors in fatal crashes.
Why Are Nighttime Crashes Harder to Investigate?
Crashes after dark are often more serious, and the evidence is harder to capture. Low light makes it difficult for officers to photograph the scene, measure skid marks and yaw marks, and spot debris that shows where the impact happened. Witnesses are fewer, and the vehicles are often towed before anyone documents the scene in daylight.
That evidence matters, because tire marks and the final resting positions of the vehicles help an accident reconstruction expert calculate speed and show who caused the crash. If you were hurt in a nighttime crash, a lawyer can return to the scene quickly, request police body camera and dashcam video, and look for nearby business cameras before the footage is recorded over.
How Common Are Car Crashes in Illinois?
Illinois roads present their own significant safety challenges. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois recorded over 300,000 traffic crashes in recent years resulting in thousands of serious injuries and hundreds of fatalities annually. Cook County, which includes Chicago, accounts for a disproportionate share of Illinois car accident fatalities due to the high volume of traffic and urban driving conditions.
Key Illinois car accident statistics:
- Failure to yield is consistently among the top causes of Illinois crashes
- Distracted driving contributes to tens of thousands of Illinois crashes annually
- Drunk driving fatalities in Illinois typically account for 30 to 35 percent of all traffic deaths
- I-90, I-94, and the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago are among the most dangerous roads in the state.
Injured in a Car Accident in Missouri or Illinois? Mutrux Firm Injury Lawyers are Ready to Fight.
Whether your car accident happened on I-70 in St. Louis, I-90 in Chicago, Highway 63 in Columbia, or any road across Missouri or Illinois, the cause matters. Understanding why the crash happened is essential to proving the other driver’s negligence and recovering the full compensation you deserve.
Mutrux Firm Injury Lawyers investigates every car accident case thoroughly, gathers the evidence needed to prove fault, and fights for maximum compensation across both states.
No fees unless we win. Call (888) 550-4026 for a free case review today.
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