(File photo: WRN)
Last month was the deadliest March on Wisconsin roads in the last 8 years, with a total of 36 people killed in traffic crashes. That was the deadliest March on state roads since 2007 when 58 fatalities occurred, according to preliminary statistics from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).
Traffic deaths last month were four more than March of 2014 and six more than the five-year average for March.
As of March 31, a total of 98 people have died in Wisconsin traffic crashes during 2015 including eight pedestrians, two bicyclists and one motorcycle operator. Traffic deaths through the end of March were 13 more than during the same period in 2014 and five more than the five-year average.
With the start of the road construction season, WisDOT is urging drivers to be extremely cautious in work zones. “Workers and equipment must operate within a few feet of traffic in work zones. Although workers are exposed to great danger, approximately three out of four people killed in work zone crashes are motorists,” says David Pabst, director of the WisDOT Bureau of Transportation Safety.
“Work zone crashes are caused primarily by drivers who speed, tailgate, and don’t pay attention to rapidly changing road and traffic conditions. Rear-end collisions are the most frequent type of crash in a work zone. Because of the risks to drivers, passengers and workers, traffic fines are double in work zones,” Pabst said.