Chicago, Illinois – Chicago recorded 9,176 car accidents in September 2026, a 5.7 percent increase over September 2025, according to a new analysis by Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. The auto accident lawyers conducted the study using data provided by the City of Chicago. Of those accidents, 1,662 injured at least one person, edging past the previous September high of 1,661 set in 2024.
September reversed the direction set one month earlier, when the firm’s August 2026 auto accident and injury analysis found car accidents falling 7.9 percent to a four-year August low.
“Wet pavement takes longer to stop on, and September showed how quickly that adds up across an entire city,” said Paul Greenberg, managing member and car accident attorney at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. “When the rain starts, the safest thing any driver can do is slow down and leave more room.”
The most serious outcomes moved in a better direction. Six car accidents were fatal, matching September 2025 and less than half the 13 recorded in both 2022 and 2023. Accidents causing a fatal or incapacitating injury totaled 145, down 22.9 percent from 188 in September 2022.
The fastest growing injury category was the hardest to see. Auto accidents where an injury was reported but not visible to the responding officer rose 7.3 percent to 616, and have climbed 46.7 percent since 2022. Across the five year study period, the share of car accidents that injured someone rose from 15.7 percent to 18.1 percent, even though the gross September crash count was essentially unchanged from 2022.
The analysis also found several driver error categories at five year highs. Car accidents blamed on driving skills, knowledge, or experience rose 13.3 percent to 374, improper passing reached 540, and improper backing jumped 17.3 percent to 298. Failing to yield the right of way remained the leading identifiable cause at 1,076 accidents. More than half of all September car accidents, 4,996 in total, occurred at locations with no traffic control device.
Timing patterns held steady at the top and shifted late at night. The 3 PM hour was again the most dangerous of the day with 782 accidents, and the three hours from 3 PM to 6 PM accounted for 23.0 percent of the month’s total. Car accidents rose between 18.2 and 22.2 percent in each hour from 9 PM to midnight.
The full report, including five year injury charts, an hour by hour accident table, contributory cause data, and a complete methodology, is available at https://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/practice-areas/chicago-car-accident-lawyer/reports/september-2026-chicago-car-accident-report-injury-crashes-hit-a-five-year-high-as-rain-drove-crashes-up-5-7-percent/.
The attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers have successfully represented individuals and families who have been injured or lost loved ones as a result of someone’s carelessness or a workplace accident. We have achieved success in thousands of cases, recovering millions of dollars in damages for our clients in a wide variety of cases, including personal injury, car accidents, wrongful death, medical malpractice, pharmacy errors, dog bite injuries, and work injuries.
Briskman Briskman & Greenberg Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers
205 W Randolph St Suite 925 Chicago, IL 60606
1 (312) 313-2414
https://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/practice-areas/chicago-car-accident-lawyer/
Press Contact : Paul Greenberg
Distributed by Law Firm Newswire
