Forty-four persons lost their lives in 1,770 Dane County injury-related motor vehicle crashes last year, according to preliminary data from the Traffic Safety Commission (TSC), which reviews county crash data reported by police departments and the WI State Patrol. The number of crashes with injuries decreased 22% from 2021 but the number of fatalities increased 24%. “This is an alarming trend,” said Cheryl Wittke, executive director of Safe Communities of Madison-Dane County and TSC co-chair. “It should be a wake-up call to everyone to think about how to stay safer when using Dane County streets and highways to ensure this trend doesn’t continue.” In 2022, Dane County experienced 8,914 total motor vehicle crashes, of which 20% involved injuries or deaths.
One positive trend from 2022 data reported at the recent TSC meeting was a significant decrease in injuries and deaths from motorcycle crashes. “Last year, two persons died in motorcycle crashes, compared to a five-year average of six. This bucks a national trend of increasing motorcyclist fatalities,” noted TSC member Randy Wiessinger, Law Enforcement Liaison/Consultant with Wisconsin Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Safety. Non-fatal injuries from motorcycle crashes were down 41%.
The 48-member Dane County Traffic Safety Commission conducts crash reviews quarterly. For October – December 2022, most fatal traffic crashes were outside Madison, consistent with the entire year. Four were in the City of Madison, and the others in the City of Verona, Village of Maple Bluff, and Towns of Sun Prairie, Burke, Roxbury, Deerfield, Rutland, Dunn and Dunkirk.
One notable quarterly trend was that an increasing number of Dane County drivers were killed in crashes when there was rain, snow, slush, or ice on the roads. Deaths also increased from driver failure to stop at red lights and stop signs. Nearly half (6) of the thirteen Dane County crashes resulting in fatalities last quarter involved poor weather-related road conditions or running a red light or stop sign. Wittke noted this increase is consistent with a trend in all of 2022. “Last year, thirteen people lost their lives in crashes when weather had negatively affected road conditions, compared to a previous five-year average of seven. Six died in crashes when a driver failed to stop at a stop sign or red light, significantly higher than the previous five-year average of one, and the highest number since 2016,” Wittke said.
Trends on running red lights in Dane County mirror those cited in a recent national survey from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, showing drivers self-reporting a 12% increase in red-light running from 2020 to 2021.
“Running a red light or stop sign is a driver’s choice,” noted Wittke. “And so is driving too fast around an icy curve or not fully cleaning snow off windshields and mirrors. We can control what we do as drivers, but we cannot control the behavior of others. This all points to the need for more defensive driving by each of us.” Wittke said in the 13 fatal crashes this past quarter, four of the deaths were of persons who were pedestrians or riding in a vehicle other than the one causing a crash. “Whether driving, running or walking, we need to be extra vigilant during inclement weather and at intersections.” She noted that in a previous traffic count at a busy Madison intersection, motorists ran red lights once every 30 seconds.
“Dane County TSC members are collaborating with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Bureau of Traffic Safety on new county-wide strategies to be announced shortly,” Wittke said. “By working together, we can have even a stronger impact.”
