Pedestrian Deaths in Wisconsin Increased 50% From 2021 to 2022

Tuesday, June 27th, 2023 -- 8:00 AM

(By Evan Casey, Wisconsin Public Radio) Pedestrian deaths in Wisconsin increased by 50 percent from 2021 to 2022, according to preliminary data released in a new report.

According t Evan Casey with Wisconsin Public Radio, that report, released last week by the Governors Highway Safety Association, found 7,508 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes across the nation in 2022, the highest number of pedestrian deaths since 1981.

In Wisconsin, 75 pedestrians were killed last year, 25 more deaths than the previous year. The report said dangerous driving, inadequate infrastructure and larger and heavier vehicles are contributing to an average of 20 pedestrians being killed each day.

David Pabst, the director of transportation safety at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, called the increase in pedestrian fatalities "alarming." "As a community we have to be concerned with the number of deaths that we're seeing," Pabst said. "Everybody has a relative and just imagine if they were taken away, just because they were trying to cross the street."

Pabst blamed the increase on reckless and aggressive driving, speeding and drivers not paying attention to the road. "When people are speeding or not paying attention … they're not able to slow down in time and pedestrians lose in that battle whenever they're struck," he said.

He believes the issue of reckless driving has also become worse since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as studies have shown that more drivers are engaging in risky behavior since that time. But Pabst said reckless driving isn't only occurring in bigger cities, but across the whole state and nation as well.

"I do know that if we can get a cultural shift in Wisconsin so that people realize that pedestrians do have the right of way when they enter the intersection, that you need to stop and yield to them, it would go a long way to saving lives as well," he said.

It is believed the increase in cell phone use and more vehicles having video dashboards can also lead to more accidents, putting pedestrians in danger. "That is likely to have some impact on the ability of drivers to detect and stop for pedestrians in the street," he said.

The Governors Highway Safety Association report also found in the last 10 years, the number of pedestrian deaths involving SUVs increased by 120 percent, while deaths involving passenger cars grew 26 percent.

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