A new report finds fewer accidents in Wisconsin are being caused by drunk drivers.
Dennis Hughes, who heads the State Patrol’s safety program, says final figures are in from 2009 and they show far fewer accidents and injuries resulting from people being drunk behind the wheel.
Overall, there were about 6,400 crashes last year where they driver was intoxicated. Hughes says that’s down about 11-percent from 2008.
Injuries from drunk driving crashes dropped 14-percent last year, compared to the year before. Hughes says that’s a 34-percent decline from the average over the past five years.
Hughes says there are some suspected reasons for the decline, with the economy perhaps playing a big role in the change. He says national data suggests that more people are drinking at home, rather than in bars, because money is tighter. As a result, fewer people are getting on the roads since they no longer have to drive home.
AUDIO: Dennis Hughes, Wisconsin State Patrol (:22)
WIBA’s John Colbert contributed this report.