The Sconi

The number of people killed on Wisconsin highways and roads has increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from a national highway and automobile safety organization.

The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety released the 19th annual edition of the Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws in January. It called on the U.S. Department of Transportation and state governments to work harder to curb dangerous driving, noting that an average of 100 people are killed on U.S. roads each day.

The Advocates report 566 people died on Wisconsin roads in 2019, and 5,759 were killed between 2010-19. The annual economic impact of motor vehicle crashes in the state is $5.488 billion, according to the report.

The report gave the state a yellow ranking, advising caution, based on its scores of green, yellow and red in enacting 16 recommended laws to improve safety by increasing occupant protection, child passenger safety, assisting novice teen and young adult drivers, and reducing impaired and distracted driving. Wisconsin, which extended the number of supervised hours for teen and inexperienced drivers to 50, was moved from red to yellow in the latest report.

Seven states, Rhode Island, Washington, Delaware, Maine, Oregon, California and Louisiana, received green, the highest score, while 31 states received yellow ratings.

Eleven states, including Missouri, Wyoming, Montana, Arizona, Florida, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Vermont, Virginia and South Dakota, were given the lowest red rating.

“During the first six months of 2021 more than 20,000 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes, the most during this time period since 2006,” the report states. “This represents a nearly 20% increase in deaths over the same period in 2020 and is the largest such spike ever recorded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System.”

Michael Schwendau, program and policy chief for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Safety, said the state has slightly different totals.

“The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety report appears to use numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data,” Schwendau told The Sconi. “Those numbers can differ from the numbers the Wisconsin Department of Transportation reports, because of the criteria used to define a crash. For example, FARS data includes some ATV and snowmobile crashes that WisDOT does not count.”

He said FARS data has not been released for 2020 and 2021 and that state data on the number of people killed in crashes indicates 551 died in 2019 and 593 in 2020. The preliminary report for 2021, with information collected as of Jan. 31, shows 600 fatalities.

“There are a few pieces of legislation that have been introduced in Wisconsin related to several of the laws Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety suggests revising, including requiring ignition interlock devices for OWI alcohol offenses,” Schwendau said. “Right now it’s required in some cases. Another proposal would require a rear-facing car seat for children under 2. Current law requires rear-facing up to 1 year old.”

He said the Advocates are trying to inform people and reduce the toll on roads, and that’s work the state of Wisconsin supports.

“WisDOT appreciates organizations working to raise awareness of highway safety and seeks to improve state laws that focus on enforcement and education of safe driving,” Schwendau said. “Wisconsin has strong restrictions in place to protect everyone on the roads, including a seat belt requirement, a ban on texting while driving, and the state recently expanded its ban on cellphone use in work zones to include areas where emergency responders are working on the side of the road.

“In addition our safety campaigns inform the public of the laws related to safe driving and the risks that come with violations,” he said. “Awareness campaigns like Buckle Up Phone Down and national enforcement efforts like Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over and Click It or Ticket aim to improve driving behaviors that threaten safety. We encourage all drivers to learn more about the important safety laws in Wisconsin to prevent needless tragedies on the roads.”

That includes the danger for public servants, as law enforcement and other emergency responders can be affected by the dangers on highways and roads. The WisDOT posts photos and videos of crashes involving government vehicles.

The Advocates said certain laws are needed in Wisconsin.

• All-rider motorcycle helmet law.
• Rear-facing seats for children through the age of 2.
• Booster seat law.
• Minimum age 16 for a learner’s permit.
• Stronger nighttime restriction for young drivers.
• Age 18 for unrestricted license.
• Ignition interlocks for all offenders.

The state has these safety laws in place, according to the Advocates.

• Primary enforcement seat belt law for front and backseat passengers.
• Six-month holding period provision for young drivers.
• 50 hours of supervised driving requirement for young drivers.
• Passenger restriction provision for young drivers.
• Cellphone restriction provision for young drivers.
• Child endangerment law.
• Open container law
• All-driver text messaging restriction.

A poll conducted for the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety said although most people are unaware of how dangerous and deadly U.S. roads have become, they want to reduce speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving and lack of seat belt use.

The Advocates reports that although no state has enacted all of its 16 recommended laws, they have made progress. It said a total of 390 laws need to be passed by state governments to reduce the number of deaths and serious crashes.

• Sixteen states need an optimal primary enforcement seat belt law for front seat passengers.
• Thirty states need an optimal primary enforcement seat belt law for rear seat passengers.
• Thirty-two states need an optimal all-rider motorcycle helmet law.
• Thirty-four states need a rear-facing laws through age 2.
• Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia need an optimal booster seat law.
• There are 189 GDL laws that need to be adopted to ensure the safety of novice drivers, no state meets all the criteria recommended in this report.
• Twenty-nine critical impaired driving laws are needed in 27 states.
• Four states need an optimal all-driver text messaging restriction.
• Nineteen states need a GDL cellphone restriction.

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, founded in 1989, is an alliance of public health, safety, consumer and law enforcement organizations, insurers and insurance agents that promotes highway and auto safety through the adoption of safety laws, policies and regulations.