Safety > Motorists and pedestrians > Driver behaviors > Aggressive driving > Speeding >

Enforcement, education and engineering

Enforcement | Education | Engineering

Enforcement

Enforcement of Wisconsin's traffic laws is a tremendous task for our officers, deputies, and troopers who are out there everyday with the common goal of keeping our roadways safe for everyone. More traffic convictions were reported in 2001 for speeding than for any other single offense:

• 175,389 speeding intermediate convictions
• 91,514 speeding convictions
• 34,645 speeding in excess convictions

Even with this level of enforcement, speed-related crashes continue to seriously injure and kill people. In 2001, 248 people died and 1,482 received incapacitating injuries. Failure to obey traffic sign or signal, failure to yield, and impaired driving are also enforcement priorities because they are high-risk driver behaviors which are often a contributing factor in a crashes causing injuries and fatalities.

Education

People often find empowerment as a result of public information and education. Safe Community coalitions are excellent examples of group empowerment. Individuals with information can and do influence change. Contact your local police department, health department, mayor's office, or county board office to determine if your community is a Safe Community.

Engineering

Roadway engineering can be effective in helping to reduce speed and otherwise improve a driver's behavior. Engineering involves roadway design, function and maintenance. Current examples include signage placement, bike trail inspections, and traffic calming techniques such as speed bumps, roundabouts and other devices that can work to reduce speed.

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Questions about the content of this page:
Patricia Hansen, patricia.hansen@dot.state.wi.us
Last modified: March 8, 2005