3 crashes causing injury or death happen every hour in Milwaukee Co. Here's the newest plan to curb the number

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Despite being preventable, motor vehicle collisions are one of Milwaukee County's greatest concerns.

Over the last decade, fatal crashes in Milwaukee have not only increased, but they've also grown at higher rates than the rest of the country.

According to area officials, about three vehicle accidents causing injury or death happen every hour in the county, which equates to more than 25,000 crashes each year.

Those alarming statistics are why on Monday morning, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and other experts revealed their latest attempt to curb the numbers.

“Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, it needs to stop. Intentional, reckless, and careless driving throughout our community absolutely needs to stop," Crowley said. 

It's called the "Motor Vehicle Collision Dashboard," and it uses data from law enforcement to provide a clear picture of the hotspots where crashes happen, like on Capitol Drive and 76th St., as well as who is most impacted. 

“Our Black population is at nearly three times greater risk of being injured in a motor vehicle collision," said Dr. Ben Weston, the chief health policy advisor for Milwaukee County. “We see that fatal crashes are far and away the most common in the early hours of Sunday while Tuesday afternoons are the most dangerous time for bicycle riders.”

While the dashboard isn't updated in real time, officials said it is currently up to date and will continuously be checked.

“Having a tool at our fingertips that easily captures, filters and displays the overwhelming amount of crash data in our county is the best way to start understanding how, where, when and why these crashes are happening," said Donna Brown-Martin, the director for the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation. 

Crowley agreed, adding that he and others are "committed" to creating safe roads using "comprehensive data-driven solutions."

The dashboard also marks the first step in a three-year plan of improving traffic safety, with an overall goal of having zero crash deaths in the county.

The next two steps will be identifying more hotspots and then making informed policy recommendations.

“This will also help us in the future, in measuring our effectiveness of those interventions," said Milwaukee Department of Public Works City Engineer Kevin Muhs. "So, it’s a now thing and it’s also a future thing.”

To view the dashboard, click here.