Connect the dots, since WisDOT won't:
* Wisconsin raised its freeway speed limits against the 2015 urgings of the experts, and an increase in crash deaths was predicted.
* A jump in deaths was tracked by state officials in orly 2016.
* And year-end data showed an overall increase, but state officials, did not cite the speed limit increase as a factor:
* Wisconsin raised its freeway speed limits against the 2015 urgings of the experts, and an increase in crash deaths was predicted.
* A jump in deaths was tracked by state officials in orly 2016.
* And year-end data showed an overall increase, but state officials, did not cite the speed limit increase as a factor:
"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. An increase in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) can also increase the risks for crashes," says David Pabst, director of the WisDOT Bureau of Transportation Safety.
"The 2016 VMT will not be available for several more months. However, VMT in 2015 was up nearly 2.1 billion miles compared with the previous year and that was the largest statewide increase in 17 years. It seems likely that VMT in 2016 was high as well," Pabst says.
He emphasizes that about 90 percent of crashes are caused at least in part by bad decisions and dangerous habits by drivers. In addition, multiple behavioral factors may be involved in a crash.
"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."