Engaging in safe driving practices is one of the keys to helping ensure our roadways are safer for everyone. Some things that will help to keep the roadways safer for all include adhering to the speed limit, not using ones cellphone while driving, not engaging in other distracted driving practices and wearing seat belts. Unfortunately, it seems as though many Wisconsinites have not been engaging in safe driving practices resulting in a high volume of traffic violations in the state.
Overall, there were 738,110 convictions for traffic violations in 2017. This number does not account for many cases that have not yet concluded. Of the top ten traffic citations in 2017, three of them were for speeding. In total, 160,000 of the traffic convictions were speeding. Of these 160,000 speeding convictions around 43,000 were for speeding 1-10 miles per hour over the speed limit, around 88,000 convictions were for speeding 11-19 miles per hour over the speed limit and around 27,000 convictions were for speeding 20 miles per hour or more over the speed limit. The speeding convictions account for 22 percent of the total traffic violations within the state.
Besides speeding, some of the other common traffic convictions were for driving with a suspended license, driving without insurance, not having proof of insurance when stopped by an officer and failure to wear a seat belt. Unfortunately, the 10th highest traffic violation in the state was for driving while intoxicated with over 24,000 people being convicted of it in 2017.
Some of the top traffic violations such as speeding, failure to wear a seat belt and driving while intoxicated greatly increase the chances of being involved in an accident and/or sustaining injuries in the event of an accident. Speeding and driving while intoxicated make it more difficult to have a good reaction time and be able to stop fast when needed. Speeding and failure to wear a seat belt increase the likelihood that one will sustain an injury if involved in an accident.
We should work to reduce the number of traffic violations in Wisconsin. By engaging in safe driving practices we can make the roadways safer for everyone.