MADISON, Wis. — Preliminary data from the Traffic Safety Commission shows 44 people died in 1,770 motor vehicle injury-related crashes last year in Dane County.

What You Need To Know

  • The number of fatalities increased 24% between 2022 and 2021, but crashes with injuries decreased 22%

  • In 2022, there were a total of 8,914 vehicle crashes, and 20% of them involved injuries or deaths

  • Deaths increased in crashes that involved weather-related conditions as well as drivers failing to stop at red lights

The number of fatalities increased 24% between 2022 and 2021, but crashes with injuries decreased 22%, according to the data. 

"This is an alarming trend," said Cheryl Wittke, executive director of Safe Communities of Madison-Dane County and TSC co-chair. “It should be a wake-up call to everyone to think about how to stay safer when using Dane County streets and highways to ensure this trend doesn’t continue.”

In 2022, there were a total of 8,914 vehicle crashes, and 20% of them involved injuries or deaths. 

However, the data also shows there was a significant decrease in injuries and deaths among motorcycle crashes.

“Last year, two persons died in motorcycle crashes, compared to a five-year average of six. This bucks a national trend of increasing motorcyclist fatalities,” said TSC member Randy Wiessinger, law enforcement liaison/consultant with Wisconsin Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Safety.

The Dane County Traffic Commission reviews crashes every quarter. Between October to Dec. 2022, most fatal crashes were outside of Madison. Four of them where in the City of Madison, and others took place in Verona, Maple Bluff, Towns of Sun Prarie, Burke, Roxbury, Deerfield, Rutland, Dunn and Dunkirk.

Within that same quarter, half of the deaths were because of weather-related conditions, such as rain, snow, slush, sleet or ice. Deaths also rose from drivers failing to stop at stoplights. 

“Last year, 13 people lost their lives in crashes when weather had negatively affected road conditions, compared to a previous five-year average of seven. Six died in crashes when a driver failed to stop at a stop sign or red light, significantly higher than the previous five-year average of one, and the highest number since 2016,” Wittke said.