While Chicago is not actually the gustiest city in the United States, there are days where it displays that it rightfully earns the “Windy City” title. With just a few months until winter, the wind is starting to pick up to an average of about 12 miles per hour.
This means that the especially windy days in the city will be more perilous to drivers who lack the experience or knowledge to deal with this type of climate. Traffic is inevitable in this large city, but there are areas you should try to avoid going through if possible to avoid a potential vehicular catastrophe. If these obstacles are on your daily commute to work or home, it may be time to take a detour.
Tree heavy neighborhoods
Some days, the winds in Chicago are strong enough to pull heavily rooted trees out of the ground and cause them to fall onto unsuspected passengers. If drivers spot heavy movement or bending of nearby trees, they need to get as much distance from them as they can. Last December, a man miraculously survived a tree falling on his windshield near an area with trees loose enough to be cut down. The weight of the tree and the impact of the car makes it a very small chance that workers can escape with minimal injuries.
Loose power lines
Broken power lines are always dangerous to encounter on the road no matter if it is raining or not. If you see a severed line on the road, take an alternate route. Do not try to drive around it or through it with your car. If you are unfortunate enough to have one fall on you, stay in the car and call 911 to get emergency assistance in removing it from your vehicle. An Ohio teen earlier this year proved that the best action to take in this scenario is to stay in your car until it is safe.
Roads with large trucks and buses
Large trucks and buses have a more difficult time navigating through Chicago’s high winds than you do. They are difficult vehicles to control to begin with, but now they must steer even more carefully and try to get on a street where the winds will not tip them over on their sides. In 2015, several large trucks in Indiana were banned from going on the road when high winds were picking up in the area, so imagine being close to one on a crowded Chicago highway.
Even if you manage to avoid all of these hazards, unfortunately you may still receive injuries from negligent Windy City motorists who cannot adjust to the wind. Should you find yourself in a crash caused by someone else, a personal injury attorney can assist you in gaining compensation for the incident.
