State Law Enforcement Agencies Targeting Aggressive Drivers for Speeding

Law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin have begun to increase efforts to combat aggressive driving by issuing more tickets for speeding.

Speeding has become a consistent problem that law enforcement throughout the state have had to deal with in recent years.

In 2015, citations for speeding increased nearly seven percent to more than 172,000. This demonstrates a dramatic shift in the state’s driving behavior, where speeding citations had been on an eight-year decline, dropping by 34.5 percent to more than 161,000 in 2014.

From 2013 to 2015, there were approximately 450,000 speeding convictions made by the state’s law enforcement agencies.

Within this period of time, nearly 1,600 drivers were convicted of traveling at least 100 mph on Wisconsin’s roads, including on those with a maximum speed of 30 mph.

Police and law enforcement groups consider Wisconsin’s speeding problem as an extreme form of aggressive driving and have raised the standards used to pull-over motorists for exceeding the posted limit.

Multiple police departments throughout Wisconsin have stated that their interest in catching speeding motorists has now been directed towards drivers who are traveling 15 mph over the limit or higher.

As the focus has been shifted toward motorists who have excessively surpassed the speed limit, law enforcement and the state’s court systems have become significantly more lenient toward minor speeding infractions.

Of the speeding citations issued in 2015, about 1.2 percent were convictions of motorists who had been pulled over traveling up to nine miles per hour over the speed limit, while only 27 percent were convicted of traveling up to 14 mph over the limit.

While speed-related accidents increased by 7.8 percent to 19,208 in 2016, the fatality rate declined by 8.4 percent to 152 deaths.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials credit the decline in speed-related fatalities as being in part due to the increased police presence on the state’s roads.

Police in Wisconsin associate the mentality of excessive speeding along the same grounds as impaired or distracted driving, noting the driver’s reduced reaction time and lack of awareness for his or her surroundings.

Aggressive speeding poses a danger to all motorists and pedestrians sharing Wisconsin’s roads. An aggressive driver who causes an accident because of his or her neglect for the posted speed limit can be held liable for any resulting injuries, death, or pain and suffering. Our Milwaukee car accident attorneys can conduct a free assessment of the circumstances surrounding the accident to make an accurate estimation of the total damages and legal actions victims and their families may be entitled.

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