Madison (Press Release) - Wisconsin ended 2012 with 601
traffic deaths, which was 36 more, or about 6 percent higher, than 2011 and two
more than the previous five-year average, according to preliminary statistics
from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).
Traffic fatalities in
Wisconsin last year also ended four consecutive years of fewer than 600 annual
traffic fatalities. Before the 2008 to 2011 period, the last time the state had
fewer than 600 traffic fatalities for four years in a row was from 1924 to
1927.
The traffic fatalities total
for last year included 101 motorcycle drivers, 13 motorcycle passengers, 44
pedestrians and 10 bicyclists.
Nationally, traffic
fatalities were up about 7 percent for the first nine months of 2012 compared
with 2011, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Besides Wisconsin, preliminary statistics indicate that double-digit increases
in traffic fatalities were experienced in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
Minnesota and Ohio.
Assessing the factors in the
increase of traffic fatalities in Wisconsin last year, State Patrol Maj. Sandra
Huxtable, director of the WisDOT Bureau of Transportation Safety, said,
"Motorcyclists' traffic deaths increased by 29, or approximately 34 percent,
compared with 2011. The 114 motorcylists' fatalities in 2012 were the highest
number since the all-time high of 123 in 1979. The unseasonably warm and dry
weather in most of the state from late winter to late fall, significantly
lengthened the typical motorcycle riding season, which played a role in the
increase. Tragically, more than 80 percent of the motorcyclists who died in
crashes last year were not wearing helmets."
In addition, there was a
dramatic 37 percent increase in fatalities for passengers in automobiles and
light trucks. Major Huxtable said, "The significant increase in passengers'
deaths indicates that there were far too many vehicle occupants who likely died
because they were not wearing safety belts and consequently were ejected from
their vehicle or thrown around violently inside it in crashes."
Wisconsin's safety belt use
rate of approximately 80 percent lags behind the national average of 86 percent
and is far below neighboring states all of which have safety belt use rates of
more than 90 percent.
Major Huxtable said,
"Assessing the devastating effects of traffic fatalities is more than just
numbers and statistics. Each number was a person. And we know all too well that
many of the traffic deaths last year could have been prevented if motorists had
slowed down, paid attention, drove sober and buckled up. We all must do
everything we can to drive and ride responsibly and safely, every trip, every
time, so we can one day reach zero preventable deaths in Wisconsin."
