3  Drivers

Note

This section looks at all drivers in a crash and excludes bicyclists and pedestrians. These numbers do not represent the number of crashes.

3.1 Driver Demographics

Drivers by Age Group
Age Group Licensed Drivers Percent of Licensed Drivers Drivers in a Crash Percent of Drivers in a Crash Drivers in Fatal Crashes Drivers in Injury Crashes Drivers in Property Damage Crashes
0-4 - - - - - - -
5-14 - - 102 0.0% 1 28 73
15-24 506,729 11.8% 47,716 21.3% 145 11,535 36,036
25-34 715,512 16.7% 43,892 19.6% 158 11,060 32,674
35-44 672,932 15.7% 33,425 14.9% 110 8,295 25,020
45-54 695,637 16.2% 30,766 13.8% 129 7,500 23,137
55-64 790,589 18.4% 28,419 12.7% 136 6,736 21,547
65-74 556,636 13.0% 16,002 7.2% 67 3,718 12,217
75-84 266,250 6.2% 7,036 3.1% 41 1,693 5,302
85+ 83,888 2.0% 2,030 0.9% 18 482 1,530
Unknown - - 14,196 6.3% 14 1,588 12,594
Total 4,288,173 - 223,584 - 819 52,635 170,130
Licensed drivers do not include 15-year olds as licensed drivers are made up of Valid (Valid D and Probationary) and Withdrawn (Revoked/Suspended/Canceled/Surrendered/Disqualified) license holders.
Note

Crash rate is drivers in a crash per 1,000 licensed drivers.

Fatal Crash Rate by Age Group in 2018

Total Crash Rate by Age Group in 2018

Male Drivers in a Crash by Age Group
Age Group Male
Licensed Drivers Percent of Licensed Drivers Drivers in a Crash Percent of Drivers in a Crash Drivers in Fatal Crashes Drivers in Injury Crashes Drivers in Property Damage Crashes
0-4 - - - - - - -
5-14 - - 31 0.0% 1 18 52
15-24 256,552 12.0% 21,717 24.2% 104 6,164 19,723
25-34 362,286 16.9% 19,118 21.3% 114 6,027 18,631
35-44 340,785 15.9% 14,298 15.9% 89 4,482 14,556
45-54 349,682 16.3% 12,481 13.9% 99 4,263 13,923
55-64 393,672 18.4% 11,310 12.6% 114 3,967 13,028
65-74 274,622 12.8% 6,593 7.4% 46 2,193 7,170
75-84 124,269 5.8% 3,179 3.5% 28 945 2,884
85+ 36,979 1.7% 864 1.0% 11 274 881
Unknown - - 58 0.1% - 37 145
Total 2,138,847 - 89,649 - 606 28,370 90,993
Licensed drivers do not include 15-year olds as licensed drivers are made up of Valid (Valid D and Probationary) and Withdrawn (Revoked/Suspended/Canceled/Surrendered/Disqualified) license holders.
Female Drivers in a Crash by Age Group
Age Group Female
Licensed Drivers Percent of Licensed Drivers Drivers in a Crash Percent of Drivers in a Crash Drivers in Fatal Crashes Drivers in Injury Crashes Drivers in Property Damage Crashes
0-4 - - - - - - -
5-14 - - 71 0.1% - 10 21
15-24 250,177 11.6% 25,991 21.7% 41 5,371 16,305
25-34 353,226 16.4% 24,772 20.6% 44 5,033 14,041
35-44 332,147 15.5% 19,127 15.9% 21 3,813 10,464
45-54 345,955 16.1% 18,285 15.2% 30 3,237 9,214
55-64 396,917 18.5% 17,109 14.3% 22 2,769 8,519
65-74 282,014 13.1% 9,409 7.8% 21 1,525 5,047
75-84 141,981 6.6% 3,857 3.2% 13 748 2,418
85+ 46,909 2.2% 1,166 1.0% 7 208 649
Unknown - - 182 0.2% - 10 48
Total 2,149,326 - 119,969 - 199 22,724 66,726
Licensed drivers do not include 15-year olds as licensed drivers are made up of Valid (Valid D and Probationary) and Withdrawn (Revoked/Suspended/Canceled/Surrendered/Disqualified) license holders.

Fatal Crash Rate by Age Group and Gender in 2018

Total Crash Rate by Age Group and Gender in 2018

3.2 Driver Behavior

What a Driver was Doing at Time of Crash
What driver was doing Fatal Injury Property Damage Total
Accelerating In Road 7 261 538 806
Backing 2 516 10,482 11,000
Changing Lanes 7 819 3,862 4,688
Disabled or Parked In Traffic Lane 2 28 48 78
Entering Traffic Lane 3 369 1,323 1,695
Going Straight 508 29,936 70,141 100,585
Illegally Parked - 39 241 280
Leaving A Parked Position 2 87 882 971
Leaving Traffic Lane 21 184 472 677
Left Turn 49 5,257 11,923 17,229
Legally Parked 1 99 714 814
Merging 1 160 809 970
Negotiating Curve 138 2,815 7,490 10,443
Other 10 381 1,239 1,630
Overtake Left 14 288 917 1,219
Overtake Right 3 127 536 666
Park Maneuver - 105 1,857 1,962
Right Turn 4 1,539 7,365 8,908
Slow/Stopping 18 4,562 11,476 16,056
Starting In Road 1 102 188 291
Stop In Traffic 7 3,585 6,873 10,465
Turn On Red - 15 47 62
U Turn 1 246 766 1,013
Unknown 20 1,088 29,904 31,012
Viol No Passs Zn - 27 37 64
Total 819 52,635 170,130 223,584
This does not include what pedestrians or bicyclists were doing.
Driver Condition Related to the Crash
Driver's Condition Fatal Injury Property Damage Total
Appeared Normal 362 44,764 123,758 168,884
Asleep or Fatigued 1 369 555 925
Blind - - 3 3
Confused or Disoriented (Non Lucid) 17 875 461 1,353
Emotional (Depressed, Angry, Disturbed, Etc) 10 668 606 1,284
Ill (Sick), Fainted 1 197 189 387
Not Observed 322 3,648 21,587 25,557
Other 65 291 226 582
Paraplegic or Restricted To Wheelchair - 12 4 16
Physically Impaired 12 615 511 1,138
Under The Influence Of Medications/Drugs/Alcohol 48 2,034 2,985 5,067
Using Cane or Crutches - 43 80 123
Total 838 53,516 150,965 205,319
A person may have one or more conditions.
In-State and Out-of-State Drivers
Month Killed Injured No Injury Total
Wisconsin Out-of-State Unknown/No License Wisconsin Out-of-State Unknown/No License Wisconsin Out-of-State Unknown/No License
January 38 2 2 2,180 107 18 15,051 1,122 1,343 19,863
February 24 - - 2,035 113 21 13,791 978 1,228 18,190
March 23 4 - 1,815 83 15 11,431 733 1,104 15,208
April 19 1 - 1,999 119 12 12,938 1,047 1,204 17,339
May 29 4 - 2,453 169 21 13,786 1,173 1,289 18,924
June 41 5 - 2,415 186 22 13,349 1,373 1,257 18,648
July 45 6 - 2,407 196 30 12,206 1,432 1,263 17,585
August 35 9 - 2,337 194 18 12,504 1,314 1,290 17,701
September 27 7 - 2,315 180 20 13,224 1,168 1,237 18,178
October 38 2 - 2,195 146 26 15,259 1,133 1,328 20,127
November 24 1 - 2,162 135 29 16,998 1,320 1,366 22,035
December 24 2 - 2,208 110 19 15,034 1,066 1,323 19,786
Total 367 43 2 26,521 1,738 251 165,571 13,859 15,232 223,584
Note

These two charts count Driver Possible Contributing Circumstances (PCCs) marked on the crash report form as well as if speed, drug/alcohol impairment, and distraction was also a factor. It does not address contributing factors on the part of bicyclists or pedestrians. It counts multiple PCCs per crash and removes ‘Unknown’ causes. The tables are at the crash level and there can be multiple factors in a crash.

Driver PCCs in All Crashes

PCCs in Fatal Crashes

Driver-Related Possible Contributing Circumstance (PCC)
PCC Fatal Injury Property Damage Total
Disregarded Other Road Markings 2 128 375 505
Disregarded Other Traffic Control 3 296 566 865
Disregarded Red Light 9 1,403 1,764 3,176
Disregarded Stop Sign 28 978 1,222 2,228
Exceed Speed Limit 109 1,529 1,874 3,512
Failed To Keep In Designated Lane 101 2,038 5,323 7,462
Failed To Yield Right-Of-Way 76 6,808 13,124 20,008
Failure To Control 189 6,388 14,867 21,444
Following Too Close 7 3,710 9,631 13,348
Improper Overtaking / Passing Left 9 261 781 1,051
Improper Overtaking / Passing Right 6 159 646 811
Improper Turn 4 544 2,865 3,413
Looked But Did Not See - 38 105 143
Operated Motor Vehicle In Aggressive/Reckless Manner 59 916 1,551 2,526
Operated Motor Vehicle In Inattentive, Careless, Negligent, or Erratic Manner 58 3,779 8,405 12,242
Other Contributing Action 34 2,204 5,998 8,236
Over-Correcting/Over-Steering 31 517 911 1,459
Racing - 52 38 90
Ran Off Roadway 88 1,827 3,465 5,380
Speed Too Fast/Cond 108 2,861 8,988 11,957
Swerved or Avoided Due To Wind, Slippery Surface, Motor Vehicle, Object, Non-Motorist In Rdwy, Etc. 11 276 763 1,050
Unknown 87 2,923 16,669 19,679
Unsafe Backing 2 320 7,153 7,475
Wrong Side or Wrong Way 48 387 614 1,049
Total 1,069 40,342 107,698 149,109
The numbers in this table represent the number of times a driver was cited as a possible contributing circumstance (PCC) in a crash. The numbers do not represent numbers of crashes or drivers.
Crashes with a Least One PCC
Crash Severity Crash w/ PCC Total crashes Share
Fatal 470 517 91%
Injury 26,536 29,959 89%
Property Damage 80,742 113,736 71%
Total 107,748 144,212 75%

Top Five Citations Issued to Drivers by Crash Severity

Drivers in a Fatal Crash
Citation # of Citations
Inattentive Driving 12
Vehicle Operator Fail/Wear Seat Belt 11
Operating While Under The Influence 9
Operate Motor Vehicle W/O Insurance 8
Homicide By Intox. Use/Vehicle 6
For fatal crashes, if the driver was killed, then the driver would not have been issued any citations. Citations issued would be to the surviving driver.
Drivers in an Injury Crash
Citation # of Citations
Operate Motor Vehicle W/O Insurance 3,819
Inattentive Driving 3,017
Failure To Keep Vehicle Under Control 2,584
Automobile Following Too Closely 2,117
Operating After Suspension 1,804
Drivers in a Property Damage Crash
Citation # of Citations
Operate Motor Vehicle W/O Insurance 7,425
Inattentive Driving 6,023
Automobile Following Too Closely 5,313
Failure To Keep Vehicle Under Control 5,219
Operating After Suspension 3,375