Wisconsin Car Accident Laws and Statistics – Interesting Info

From 2003-2007, there were an average of 125, 535 car accidents, resulting in an average of 695 fatalities and over 37, 000 injuries in Wisconsin. The lowest incidence was in 2006, with a little over 117,000 car accidents. In 2008, there were over 125, 000 total crashes in Wisconsin.

Fatalities

From 2007 to 2008, fatalities due to traffic accidents in the state slightly decreased overall. There were 542 fatalities and over 33, 000 injuries in 2008 in Wisconsin. The counties that saw increases in traffic accident fatalities were Adams, Calumet, Crawford, Dodge, Dunn, Eau Claire, Forest, Jackson, Kenosha, Lafayette, Polk, Price, Racine, Rusk, Shawano, Trempealeau, Vilas, and Waushara. All other Wisconsin counties saw a decrease in fatalities.

Reasons

The top reasons for car accidents in Wisconsin are drunken driving, speed, and crashes involving deer and large trucks.

Wisconsin has the highest drunken driving rate compared to any other state. Drunken driving resulted in the deaths of 234 people in 2008 and was responsible for 40% of the total traffic fatalities, and 50% of the motorcycle fatalities. Over 42, 000 individuals were convicted of drunken driving in Wisconsin in 2008.

Speeding, another major reason for traffic fatalities and injuries in Wisconsin, with over 27, 000 crashes that killed 187 people and injured 11,000 in 2008. 15, 821 car accidents resulted involved deer crashing into vehicles. There were over 7000 car accidents involved large trucks.

1,295 pedestrians were involved in car crashes in Wisconsin and over 1, 000 bicycles were involved in crashes. Other reasons that resulted in car accidents in Wisconsin were aggressive driving, tailgating, weaving back and forth in heavy traffic, not paying attention on the road, driving while drowsy, running red lights, and not yielding to the right of way.

Wearing seat belts is also a problem in with Wisconsin with an average compliance rate of 74%, which ranks them 44th out of the 50 states. The rate varies around the state of Wisconsin; with Green Bay and Appleton have compliance rates of 79.2% and Madison with a rate of 72. 4 Michigan and Illinois have compliance rates greater than 90%.

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