MILWAUKEE — New numbers from the Milwaukee Police Department show an uptick in reckless driving from 2018 to 2019. Overall, MPD cites a 10% hike in citations. But a closer look at statistics, TODAY'S TMJ4 noticed some categories, like unreasonable speed, went up nearly 20%.
According to Milwaukee Police, from January 1, 2018 to October 28, 2018, There were 367 tickets issued for unreasonable speed. The number jumped to 459 for the same dates in 2019.
Also up, citations for driving through a bike lane. There were 191 tickets issued in 2018, but 216 issued in 2019.
TODAY's TMJ4 spent part of a weekday afternoon with Milwaukee police as they patrolled the residential neighborhoods near 60th and Capitol.
Officer Jeremy Kerslake, a 12-year veteran of the department, chose to stick to quieter streets to ensure our TODAY's TMJ4 crew would be safe.
In about twenty minutes, Officer Kerslake and his partner pulled over two separate drivers for going 53 miles per hour in 30 miles per hour zone.
According to Kerslake, speed isn't the only issue on his radar," severe lane changes, high speed,running through red lights and stop signs, driving around pedestrians when pedestrians are in the streets," explained the officer.
The issue of reckless driving is impacting families all across at the city.
On October 24th, police say 19 year-old Daetwon Robinson plowed through a bike lane, into a cross walk at a red light. two young sisters were killed, their 10-year-old cousin sustained serious injuries.
City of Milwaukee leaders wrote a letter to Governor Tony Evers last month, asking for resources for the Milwaukee Police Department to help keep our streets safe. Right now, a task force is also asking for help. You can voice your solutions at ongoing public meetings. To view the task force's latest report, click here.
