Statewide Traffic Fatalities On Pace With 2016

12/28/17 – With just a couple days left in 2017, the Wisconsin State Patrol is reporting that the state’s traffic fatality count is almost the same as last year.  A total of 584 people have died on Wisconsin roads, four fewer than 2016.  It has been a bad year for pedestrians.  Sixty-two have been killed this year, an increase of more than 26-percent. The State Patrol is in the middle of its “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign for the holiday period.  Troopers are trying to prevent the fatality rate from surpassing last year’s. In Dodge County, there have been 18 traffic deaths to date, seven more than the five-year average.  With the high death totals, the Dodge County Sheriff Department has begun its own crash reduction effort to target hotspot areas such as Highway’s 151, 33, and 16/60. Sheriff’s Captain Scott Mittelstadt says it is important for motorists to come to complete stops at stop signs, avoid distracted driving like use of cell phones and never drive impaired on alcohol or drugs including legal medications. In neighboring Jefferson County, there has been 12 fatalities while Fond du Lac County has had 11 traffic-related deaths. Washington County is at seven and Columbia County has had six.