Highway death toll lowest in over 60 years
Wisconsin ended 2009 with 545 traffic fatalities, the lowest annual total since 1944, when 526 people died in traffic crashes, according to preliminary statistics from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT).
State traffic deaths in 2009 also were down 42 — approximately a 7 percent reduction — from 2008 when 587 people died and 131 fewer than the five-year average of 676 deaths.
Traffic fatalities were down last year in every category, including motorcyclists and pedestrians as well as drivers and passengers.
“There is no single factor we can identify as the primary reason for this significant reduction in traffic fatalities,” Dennis Hughes, chief of safety programs for the DOT Bureau of Transportation Safety, said in a press release announcing the figures. “It would be easy to attribute the decline to the economic recession, which reduced vehicle miles traveled. But that’s certainly not the whole story. For instance, in 2008 the number of fatalities from alcohol-related crashes declined 30 percent from the previous year. When the final 2009 crash statistics are issued this spring, we expect to see yet another decline in fatalities from alcoholrelated crashes. Most crashes are caused by bad driving habits and irresponsible decisions, so motorists deserve a great deal of credit for saving their own lives and lives of others by slowing down, paying attention, buckling up and driving sober.”
Hughes is cautiously optimistic that the decline in fatalities will continue in 2010. “Everyone involved in traffic safety is encouraged but certainly not satisfied with the reduction in fatalities. In 2010, we will continue our efforts to prevent crashes through effective law enforcement and educational efforts that promote traffic safety. Last year, record numbers of law enforcement agencies throughout Wisconsin participated in intensified traffic safety enforcement efforts, like the annual Click It or Ticket safety belt mobilization. We’re looking forward to record-setting participation again this year. We’ve also had great success with the Zero In Wisconsin traffic safety education campaign, which was launched in January 2009, with the goal of reducing the number of preventable traffic deaths to zero in Wisconsin. We will always remember that 545 people died in crashes last year, and many of those deaths could have been prevented.”
