According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, state traffic deaths increased by nearly 6 percent in 2016.
#WI traffic deaths increased by nearly 6% in 2016. Learn more about the #2017 safety initiatives. https://t.co/nB9ywqjNIT pic.twitter.com/omGnkbmVJl
— Wisconsin DOT (@WisconsinDOT) January 3, 2017
WisDOT reports there were 588 traffic fatalities in 2016, which is 33 more fatalities than in 2015 and 40 more fatalities than the five-year average.
"Low gas prices and an improving economy in 2016 likely contributed to an increase in the number of vehicles on the road and the miles they traveled," said David Pabst, director of the WisDOT Bureau of Transportation Safety. "An increase in vehicle miles traveled can also increase the risks for crashes."
Pabst also emphasized that approximately 90 percent of crashes are caused at least in part by bad decisions and dangerous driving habits.
"Speeding, impaired driving and lack of safety belt use have for many years been frequent factors in fatal crashes," Pabst says. "In recent years, there’s been an increase in distracted driving including the use of cell phones behind the wheel. The dangers of distracted driving, also known as inattentive driving, are not exaggerated. During the last five years, an average of 97 people were killed and more than 10,000 were injured annually in crashes in which at least one driver was listed as driving inattentively. Because distracted driving greatly increases the risk of causing a crash or failing to avoid one, people always need to pay attention to traffic and road conditions."
