2021 Wisconsin Car Accident Death Statistics

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Deaths per fatal accident in Wisconsin - Get the stats

Most fatal accidents result in only one death. Of the 524 fatal crashes reported in Wisconsin in 2016, there were a total of 588 deaths. This rate of 1.12 deaths per fatal crash was slightly higher than the national average.

Reported Wisconsin car accidents that resulted in at least one injury (31,066) had a 1.7% chance at resulting in at least one death (524 crashes, 588 deaths).

Learn more about Wisconsin car accident laws if you were affected by a fatal car crash.

How likely are you to die in a car accident in Wisconsin?

_{Quarterly Wisconsin vehicle death statistics from the Wisconsin DOT.}

In the decade before 2020, car accidents were one of the leading causes of death in Wisconsinites between 1 and 45 years old. 129,051 car accidents were reported in 2016 (the most recent year with car accident statistics available). 31,066 of those crashes resulted in at least one injury (24%). 524 of those crashes were fatal (0.4%), resulting in 588 persons killed. At least 450 people have died per year since 2014: 451 in 2014, 513 in 2015, and 524 in 2016. The statistics of car accident fatalities in Wisconsin make clear that despite improvements in safety technology, car accidents are still a real risk for every Wisconsin driver.

The ugly truth about injury claims in Wisconsin

The most alarming 2020 statistics on car accident deaths in Wisconsin (and anywhere) revolve around the resources invested in denying, deferring and defending against your injury claims. In 2017 there were 5,954 insurance companies in the US, pulling in 1.2 trillion in premiums. According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, 328,700 people worked as claims adjusters in 2016 with a median pay of $65,670 per year. Senior claims adjusters (like insurance company actuaries) often pull upwards of $100,000 per year. Insurance companies pay big money to protect themselves from wrongful death attorneys.

Locations of deadly car wrecks - Get the stats

48 percent of Wisconsin car accident deaths were concentrated in 10 counties:

• Milwaukee: 73
• Dane: 38
• Waukesha: 27
• Rock: 23
• Walworth: 23
• Columbia: 20
• Brown: 18
• Kenosha: 18
• Racine: 17
• Outagamie: 14

How many people die in motorcycle accidents in Wisconsin? 

In 2016 in Wisconsin, motorcycles were involved in 2,250 reported crashes, resulting in 82 motorcyclists killed. That's 1 motorcyclist death per 27 reported accidents. Compare that to non-motorcycle crashes – 126,801 car accidents resulting in 506 deaths of non-motorcyclists means 1 death per 251 per reported accidents.  This makes motorcycle accidents are 9 times more fatal than non-motorcycle accidents.

Wisconsin Drinking Facts

Wisconsin has 8 bars per 10,000 people. The state ranks 3rd in most bars per capita behind North Dakota and Montana. In Wisconsin, 26.2% of adults drink excessively, which is the highest rate of any state, according to USA Today. In comparison, the national average of adults who drink excessively is 18%. 

How many people die from drunk driving in Wisconsin? 

According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, there were 5,153 alcohol-related crashes in 2016. These crashes resulted in 2,933 alcohol-related injuries and 143 alcohol-related deaths. This means that there was about one death per 36 crashes involving alcohol in Wisconsin. Drunk driving crashes are only a small fraction of all accidents in Wisconsin, but they tend to be some of the worst. 

How many people are killed by hitting deer in Wisconsin? 

The largest percentage of deer-car accidents occur in October and November. In 2017 these months resulted in about 3,000 and 4,000 crashes, respectively. No other month exceeded 2,000, and most were under 1,200.

Other Wisconsin car accident death factors & statistics

Despite receiving far looser penalties, speeding kills more Wisconsinites each year than drunk driving. There were 19,540 accidents with a speeding vehicle in 2016 which caused 186 deaths. Though drunk driving accidents tend to be more serious than speeding accidents on average, speeding is still a worse killer. 

Other causes of accidents, like inattentive driving, statistics are incredibly hard to measure due to underreporting, but nationwide studies correlate cellphone usage with increased risk of an accident.

What are the chances of dying in a car accident versus other causes in Wisconsin?

According to injuryfacts.nsc.org, the leading causes of death in the US in 2017 were as follows:  heart disease: 1 in 6, cancer: 1 in 7, chronic lower respiratory disease: 1 in 27, suicide: 1 in 88, opioid overdose: 1 in 96, motor vehicle crash: 1 in 103. However, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, unintentional injury was the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 1 and 44:

_{Data for Wisconsin car accidents & vehicle deaths by county from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
.}