It was the deadliest month this year, according to DOT
With 69 traffic fatalities, August was the deadliest month on Wisconsin roads so far this year, according to officials with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
Traffic fatalities last month also were four more than August 2013 and seven more than the five-year average for the month of August, according to preliminary statistics compiled by the DOT.
During the Labor Day holiday period, six people died in crashes compared with 10 deaths last year.
“In the last five years, August on average has been the worst month for traffic fatalities,” said David Pabst, director of the DOT Bureau of Transportation Safety. “August 1969 remains the all-time deadliest month on Wisconsin roads with 154 traffic fatalities.”
June was the second highest traffic fatality month this year 2014 with 50 deaths.
Pabst said although traffic fatalities increased last month, overall for 2014 they are still down significantly compared with the same period in 2013 and the five-year average.
As of Aug. 31, a total of 320 people have died in Wisconsin traffic crashes in 2014, including 51 motorcycle drivers, five motorcycle passengers, 22 pedestrians and three bicyclists. Traffic deaths through the end of August were 28 fewer than during the same period in 2013 and 44 fewer than the five-year average.
Pabst cautioned drivers to be especially wary of motorcycles during the fall.
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