10 deaths on Wisconsin roads this year, 12 in 2011
By Andrew Hellpap
spindailynews@gmail.com
Dane County had the highest concentration of the state's 10
bicycle rider fatalities in 2012.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) recently
released statistics on traffic fatalities in the state compared to 2011.
Dane County had two bicycle rider fatalities 2012, according
to the DOT numbers, and each occurred within five days. The first death occurred
Oct. 3, the second Oct. 8.
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| Source: Wisconsin Department of Transportation |
In 2011, both Milwaukee and Waukesha counties had two
deaths.
Of the 10 fatalities in 2012, most were male, seven, while
three were female.
There was no discernable pattern as to where and what time
of day the deaths occurred, according to the data.
The first traffic fatality in
2012 took place at 11:03 a.m., May 23, on Highway KK in Marathon County in
central Wisconsin, the data said.
Six of the deaths took place on
urban roads, while four were in rural regions, the DOT numbers show.
The state couldn't provide
details on who was determined to be at fault in the incidents, said Larry Corsi,
state program manager for the DOT's Bureau of Transportation Safety.
If determined, that information
is made at the local level by area law enforcement, he said.
The bureau is active in providing
safety awareness for drivers and pedestrians, Corsi said.
The agency holds Teaching Safe
Bicycling (TSB) courses each spring in about five locations around the state,
he said. The TSB course teaches people how to instruct safe bicycling to
elementary-aged children.
The bureau is currently working
on a project called Share and Be Aware, with the Wisconsin Bicycle Federation,
Corsi said.
"This project provides
ambassadors in a number of areas around the state, assisting with both bicycle
and pedestrian training, information and assistance to local groups and
organizations," he said.
The agency also plans to hold a
couple of Designing for Pedestrian Safety workshops each year, educating
engineers, planners and advocates on pedestrian safety and design, he said.
"This information covered in
this two-day course also increases safety for bicyclists," Corsi said.
Share and Be Aware
The Bicycle Federation of
Wisconsin started the Share and Be Aware campaign in 2011, according to the
federation's website.
The general mission of the
program is as a safety education program not only for bicyclists and
pedestrians, but also the driving public, according to the Share and Be Aware
campaign's 2011 annual report.
The program trained six
ambassadors, which Corsi mentioned, and created educational materials.
The ambassadors worked in half of
the state's 72 counties, the report said.
Part of the plan of Share and Be
Aware campaign is putting the federation's message in front of the public
through media outlets and advertising.
In 2011, more than two million
media impressions were made, and 11,891 people were individually educated, the
report showed.
The federation's team devoted to
the Share and Be Aware program anticipates meeting its goals for 2012,
according to the report.
A brief amount of development
time in 2011 meant the federation couldn't develop all its law enforcement
training materials, but in 2012 "the materials needed to meet these goals
have either been created or are in production," the report said.
