Road conditions, traffic laws and driving behaviors can vary between state to state. Because of these changes between states, accidents may be more likely in one state than another. Recently, AutoInsurance.org completed a study in which they analyzed data from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration in which they computed safety indicators for each state. Using the data they computed, they came up with a list ranking the roadways in each state from safest to most dangerous.

A somewhat surprising find in this study was that the more rural a state is, the more dangerous the roads tend to be. Even though urban area roadways often have busy intersections, many pedestrians and high volumes of traffic, the study found that these roadways are in fact safer than their rural counterparts. In 2016, the amount of traffic fatalities that occurred on rural was higher than the amount of traffic fatalities that occurred on urban roadways. The study also found that the fatality rate per vehicle mile driven is about three times higher than on urban roads. The more miles that are driven on rural roads in a state, the higher that state is on the list of most dangerous states for driving.

So where does Wisconsin rank on this list? Wisconsin has been ranked 33rd most dangerous state for driving. Wisconsin’s road fatalities per 100,000 is 10.6. In 2016, Wisconsin had 544 motor vehicle accidents that resulted in a fatality. Of the 544 fatal crashes, 32% of them involved alcohol and 18% involved a distracted driver.

These statistics show that Wisconsin has room for improvement in making our roadways safer for everyone. Two very important things that we can to help reduce accidents are work to eliminate both distracted driving and driving under the influence. Both of these activities greatly increase the chances of being involved in an accident. By never driving under the influence or engaging in distracted driving, we can help to reduce accidents and traffic fatalities.