July was Deadliest Month on Wisconsin Roads in 2016

In July, 60 people were killed in traffic crashes in Wisconsin, according to preliminary statistics from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. It was the deadliest month on Wisconsin roads so far this year.

Traffic fatalities last month were 21 more than July 2015 and six more than the five-year average for the month of July.

Although traffic deaths last month were higher than the three previous years, it still was the eighth safest month of July in terms of traffic deaths since the end of World War II. Wisconsin’s safest month of July was in 2015 with 39 fatalities. The deadliest months of July occurred in 1966 and 1971 with 140 fatalities.

As of July 31, a total of 338 people have died in Wisconsin traffic crashes in 2016, including 42 motorcycle operators, four motorcycle passengers, 24 pedestrians and nine bicyclists. Traffic deaths through July were 48 more than during the same period in 2015 and 48 more than the five-year average.

Drunken driving continues to kill and injure people at an alarming rate, according to David Pabst, director of the WisDOT Bureau of Transportation Safety.

"To save lives and prevent injuries, law enforcement agencies throughout Wisconsin will be out in force to combat drunken driving during the annual Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign from August 19 to September 5," Pabst says. "Tragically, drunken driving is still prevalent and deadly in Wisconsin. It also is entirely preventable. Last year in Wisconsin, 190 people were killed and nearly 2,900 were injured in alcohol-related traffic crashes."