Wisconsin traffic crashes claimed 68 lives in July

August 2, 2012

Sixty-eight people died in 60 traffic crashes in Wisconsin during July. Traffic fatalities last month were nine more than in July 2011 and eight more than the five-year average for the month of July, according to preliminary statistics from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT). 

In terms of traffic deaths, the safest month of July since World War II occurred in 2009 with 46 fatalities, and the months of July in 1966 and 1971 were the deadliest with 140 fatalities.

Three people died in traffic crashes during the Fourth of July holiday period. Last year, five people died during the holiday period.

As of July 31, a total of 333 people have died in Wisconsin traffic crashes in 2012, including 54 motorcycle drivers, eight motorcycle passengers, 23 pedestrians and four bicyclists. Traffic deaths through July were 44 more than during the same period in 2011 and eight more than the five-year average.

“We’re experiencing the all too predictable – and tragic – summer surge in serious crashes. This also is the time of year when we see a significant increase in crashes in road construction and maintenance work zones,” says Wisconsin State Patrol Maj. Sandra Huxtable, director of the Bureau of Transportation Safety. “Driving through a work zone is always challenging, but your reaction time and margin for error are dangerously reduced if you speed, tailgate or don’t pay attention to rapidly changing traffic situations, such as vehicles slowing down or stopping. Rear-end collisions are the most frequent type of crash in a work zone. In work zones, workers and equipment often are operating within a few feet of traffic. Although construction workers are at a great risk of being hit, about three out of four people killed in work zone crashes are motorists. Because of the risks to motorists and workers, fines for traffic violations are double in work zones”

For more information, contact:
State Patrol Major Sandra Huxtable
(608) 266-3048, sandra.huxtable@dot.wi.gov