State has lowest number of traffic deaths in November since World War II

December 4, 2008

Last month, 39 people died in 37 Wisconsin traffic crashes, which made it the safest month of November in terms of traffic deaths since World War II, according to preliminary statistics from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT). The deadliest November was in 1973 with 110 fatalities.

Traffic fatalities in November also were 16 fewer than in November of last year when 55 people died and 26 fewer than the five-year average of 65 deaths during the month of November. Seven people died on Wisconsin roads during the Thanksgiving holiday period from Wednesday night, Nov. 26, to midnight on Sunday, Nov. 30. Last year, 16 people died in traffic crashes during the Thanksgiving period.

Traffic deaths through November were down 148 - about a 22 percent reduction - compared with the same period in 2007 and down 173 compared with the five-year average. As of the end of November, 543 people have died in Wisconsin traffic crashes, including 80 motorcycle drivers, 10 motorcycle passengers, 46 pedestrians and nine bicyclists.

"Wisconsin could end the year with the lowest number of traffic deaths in decades," says Dennis Hughes, chief of safety programs for the WisDOT Bureau of Transportation Safety. "To help reach this goal, approximately 200 law enforcement agencies around the state will intensify their enforcement of safety belt and impaired driving laws during the Booze and Belts mobilization from Dec. 8 to 15. The participating agencies are not seeking to write more safety belt tickets or arrest more drunken drivers. They are striving to stop people from injuring and killing themselves and others in traffic crashes."

For more information, contact:
Dennis Hughes, Bureau of Transportation Safety
(608) 267-9075, dennis.hughes@wisconsin.gov

Don Hagen, Transportation Safety Programs
(608) 267-7520, donald.hagen@wisconsin.gov