Colts Game Day in Indianapolis: What to Know if You’re Hurt in Downtown Traffic

Roughly eight to ten times a year, nearly seventy thousand people converge on a few square blocks of downtown Indianapolis to watch the Indianapolis Colts play home games, and Lucas Oil Stadium sits right in the middle of it.

If you live or work anywhere near Capitol Avenue, Illinois Street, or the West Street corridor, you already know what a Colts Sunday does to the city. Streets flip to one-way, ramps are subject to traffic control, parking lots fill a mile out, and thousands of pedestrians are crossing mid-street and at intersections that handle a fraction of that foot traffic on a normal day.

Despite all the activity, most Colts games begin and end without serious incident to fans or visitors. Still, when a collision does happen, the circumstances are often different from a routine car accident, and so is the legal game plan you need to protect yourself.

Attorney Matt Boulton put together this information to help Colts fans, drivers, and pedestrians understand the increased game day risks as well as what Indiana law says if you’re involved in an accident and sustain an injury.

Why Game Days Change the Traffic Scene

Lucas Oil Stadium sits at 500 South Capitol Avenue, a few blocks off both I-65 and I-70, a leading factor in why the area is so busy on home game dates. The Colts organization itself advises fans to give themselves a three-hour buffer before kickoff just to get parked, which signals how much the traffic pattern shifts once game day arrives.

A few things are true for almost every Colts home game:

• Streets around the stadium convert to one-way flow and close outright in stretches, often with short-term and occasional long-term construction closures layered on top.
• I-70 exits at West Street, Illinois Street, and Meridian Street become congested after the final whistle, sometimes requiring assistance from IMPD to help manage the outgoing traffic, which then pushes a wave of vehicles and pedestrians onto surface streets all at once.
• Rideshare pickup is funneled into a single corridor on Illinois Street, creating a steady stream of Uber and Lyft drivers stopping, merging, and pulling away in a tight space for hours before and after the game.

 

None of what we’re covering in this blog is a criticism of how the city of Indianapolis or the Colts manage the crowd. It’s simply a different traffic environment than most drivers are used to, and the introduction of unfamiliar patterns is when mistakes and accidents happen.

For example, drivers traveling to or from the game can easily become unsure which lane just became one-way or where the rideshare lane cuts across foot traffic and waves of pedestrians. Temporary changes like these lead to drivers who are more likely to make split-second errors that turn into a collision.

Alcohol and Fatigue Are Part of the Picture

It doesn’t do anyone justice to pretend alcohol isn’t part of NFL Sundays, including during Colts’ home games. If you’ve been downtown on game day, you’ve surely seen the tailgating scene around Lucas Oil and in parking areas well beyond the stadium’s immediate vicinity. It starts hours before kickoff, and for many fans it doesn’t stop when the final whistle blows.

Research by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board found that 40% of individuals consumed alcohol while attending a football game, with spectators under 35 having nearly eight times the odds of having a BAC over 0.08%.

And if it’s a late afternoon or evening kickoff, you add the risk of tired drivers navigating unfamiliar traffic patterns in the dark on top of everything else. It’s a dangerous combination that raises the odds of a game day crash for everyone, including those taking all the appropriate safety precautions.

Types of Accidents Boulton Law Group Sees on Game Days

Having investigated serious Indiana accidents for over 30 years, attorney Boulton has seen collisions of every size and manner; however, there are a few types of accidents that show up more often than others near downtown on game days:

Stop-and-go collisions on the way to the stadium and during the exit

Bumper-to-bumper traffic on West Street or around the White River State Park corridor means rear-end collisions are common, especially in the hour before kickoff and the rush that occurs right after the final play.

Pedestrian accidents

Thousands of fans are walking between parking garages, hotels, Circle Centre, and the stadium gates. They’re also continually crossing streets and stepping off curbs mid-block. Drivers focused on finding a parking spot, merging into a closed lane, or otherwise distracted can lead to a serious pedestrian accident in the blink of an eye.

Rideshare zone incidents

The concentrated pickup and drop-off area on Illinois Street means a lot of Uber and Lyft vehicles are stopping short, cutting across lanes, or pulling out into moving traffic in areas with little open space, increasing the chance of a rideshare accident.

Parking garage and lot crashes

Downtown garages and surface lots fill fast on game day, and tight turns combined with drivers circling for a spot make low-speed collisions and backing incidents common.

Bicycle and scooter accidents

Despite fall and winter temperatures that backdrop the football season, some people will use bicycles and scooters to help them navigate the crowd. Unsuspecting drivers may fail to see or give the right of way to those using this mode of transportation, leading to a collision and serious injury.

How Indiana Law Applies When Fault Is in Dispute

Indiana is a fault-based state, which means the driver who caused the crash, and their insurance company, is responsible for the resulting medical bills, vehicle damage, and other losses. It sounds simple, until it isn’t, which can often be the case with game day accidents.

Given the congestion, erratic traffic patterns, and raised BAC’s that accompany Colts’ home games, it’s not uncommon for disputed or shared liability to be a component of these incidents. To help assign the appropriate level of fault to such an accident, Indiana also uses what’s called modified comparative fault.

As an injured victim, if you’re found partly responsible for the accident, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, and if you’re found more than 50 percent at fault, you can’t recover anything at all. That makes the early details of a claim paramount, since insurance adjusters representing the other driver are looking for anything that shifts even a small percentage of blame back onto you, and if they can use game day behavior as an excuse, they will.

You also have a limited window to act. Under Indiana law, you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury or property damage claim. Two years can feel like plenty of time right after an accident, but evidence tied to a specific game day, traffic camera footage, temporary signage, witness contact information for someone who drove in from out of state, doesn’t last nearly that long. The sooner that evidence is preserved, the stronger your position later. Attorney Boulton can help you determine the statute of limitations date for your specific case at no cost to you.

What to Do if You’re in a Crash Near Lucas Oil Stadium

• Call 911 and get a police report on record. IMPD has a heavy presence downtown on game days, and an officer’s documentation of the scene, including any temporary traffic patterns in place, matters.
• Take photos before the scene changes. One-way conversions and lane closures get reversed within hours, so a picture of the actual conditions at the time of the crash is often the only record of it.
• Get names and numbers from anyone who saw it happen. Fans disperse fast after a game, and a witness you could reach in the parking lot is much harder to track down the next day.
• Don’t give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company before you’ve talked to someone who represents your interests. You’re allowed to decline, and it costs you nothing to ask first.
• Get checked out by a doctor even if you feel okay in the moment. Adrenaline masks a lot of potential pain and conditions in the first hours after a wreck, sometimes not fully appearing until days or weeks later.

Common Questions About Game Day Accidents

If I’m hit while walking to my car after the game, does it matter that it was dark and everyone was rushing?

Depending on the circumstances, it can prove to be a significant part of the liability equation. Visibility, crowd density, and whether a driver was navigating an unfamiliar closure can all factor into how fault gets assigned. Those conditions don’t excuse a driver’s responsibility to watch for pedestrians, but they’re part of the full picture attorney Boulton will account for when building a client’s case.

The other driver was from out of state. Does that change anything?

Not really. If the accident happened here, Indiana law applies regardless of where the other driver lives or where their insurance is based. You still file against their policy, and Indiana’s fault rules still govern the claim.

What if it’s determined the other driver had been drinking?

That is a significant liability factor. A driver operating under the influence has violated Indiana traffic law, and that can support a stronger negligence claim. In certain cases, it may even open the door to additional damages depending on how reckless the conduct was. Attorney Boulton can help you determine how a driver’s BAC will figure into your specific case.

Do I really need a lawyer for what seems like a minor fender bender?

To be clear, not every car accident case requires an attorney, and attorney Boulton will give you his honest opinion based on the facts of your case and your injury status. But game day crashes tend to involve more disputed facts than a typical accident, and that’s exactly the kind of case where a second set of eyes on the details helps.

Injured on Colts Game Day? Get Treated Like Family

Boulton Law Group is a top-rated Indiana personal injury firm that focuses exclusively on helping injured Hoosiers recover maximum compensation following a serious accident.

Led by award-winning attorney Matt Boulton, the firm is sought after by victims and families throughout the state. In addition to his track record of success, attorney Boulton handles every facet of his clients’ cases from start to finish. This means your case is never handed off or managed by a legal assistant or junior associate.

Additionally, Boulton Law Group’s clients receive a Zero Fee Guarantee. This promise means you will never pay for a legal consultation, and there is never a fee unless compensation is recovered on your behalf. This arrangement helps ensure everyone, no matter their personal circumstances, can obtain legal assistance. It’s yet another way we work to help ensure you Get Treated Like Family.

If you were hurt near Lucas Oil Stadium or anywhere else in Indianapolis on a Colts game day, attorney Boulton is happy to talk through what happened and provide you with a better understanding of what your options look like.

To reach attorney Boulton directly, you can call 317-350-2680 anytime, or you can send the details of your game day accident to us by using the firm’s confidential, free contact form.