MILWAUKEE — It's an issue that residents in Milwaukee are seeing all too often. Reckless driving down busy roads and crowded streets often ending in a crash.
"People are dying out here in these streets," said community activist Tracey Dent during a press conference Wednesday.
38 deadly wrecks have been recorded in the city so far this year, according to the city's reckless driving task force.
"People are moving out of our community, they no longer want to live in Milwaukee because of the violence," said Milwaukee resident Tynnetta Jackson.
The group says three major things need to happen right now to put the brakes on the problem. The first includes harsher penalties for reckless drivers.
"They get arrested, two hours later they are back out on the streets doing the same thing," said Dent.
They also argue that there needs to be new legislation created specifically to address reckless driving, as well as implementing better drivers education courses in schools.
"We need to start setting examples and setting the bar, raising it a little bit higher to show these reckless drivers that we are not taking this anymore," said Dent.
Milwaukee police launched a traffic safety unit in February specifically targeting reckless drivers. In a statement, MPD says they encourage the community to "discuss the dangers of reckless driving with their peers, acquaintances, and youth to discourage them from engaging in this type of activity."
But some say that's still not enough.
"We need to get a task force together, a group together from all walks of life in our community and all sectors and come together and brainstorm to do something," said Jackson.
"We say that Milwaukee is a great place to live, then prove it too. Do what it takes to save people's lives," said Dent.
