MADISON, Wis. — Reckless driving isn’t just a problem in Milwaukee. Solutions for a statewide problem are needed from politicians in Madison.
“Reckless driving is an issue,” Governor Tony Evers said. “Believe me. Having people die and be unsafe on the roads is not an acceptable alternative. Whatever we can do to make that happen, I am pleased with some of the infrastructure changes that [Milwaukee] made on some of the streets.”
As the sun sets on Evers' first term as governor, his focus has shifted towards term two. The incumbent governor will be inaugurated for his second term on Jan. 3 and to make an impact on reckless driving, he says increasing shared revenue is key.
“That’s what shared revenue is all about,” Evers said. “Some of the money that we provided to the City of Milwaukee during the pandemic to make those kinds of infrastructure changes on various streets, they’re working. We will continue to do that. We will continue to fund that in our transportation budget.”
The impacts of reckless driving have risen during Evers' first term as governor. The statistics statewide are relatively unchanged compared to the four years before his first term.
From 2015 to 2018, 2,297 people were killed in crashes across the state. From 2019 to date in 2022, there have been 2,278 people killed; a 0.8 percent decrease.
However, in that same time frame, Milwaukee County has seen a dramatic jump. From ’15 to ’18, 313 people were killed in crashes, compared to 358 people killed from ’19 to date in ’22. So in the same time frame, Milwaukee County has seen a 14.4 percent increase in vehicle crash deaths.
Evers says the economy is partly to blame for the increase but says there are other issues that need to be addressed in order to make an impact.
“Reckless driving with young people certainly is an issue,” Evers said. “Infrastructure issues, driver’s education, those are two things I know we can do to make a difference.”
City leaders have touted improvements to infrastructure as having an impact on reckless driving. The Department of Public Works shows road diets, for instance, have led to improvements. On King Drive, eliminating two driving lanes and adding a center turn lane and bike lanes have dropped average speeds by 4.3 miles per hour. In addition, in 2021 DPW says two percent of drivers were clocked going 10 mph or faster. In 2020, it was 11.4 percent of drivers.
Some of these improvements were due to the state providing ARPA funds to the City of Milwaukee. That money isn’t guaranteed, which is why Evers is hopeful to increase shared revenue.
The City of Milwaukee is receiving 5.97 percent less in shared revenue than it was in the year 2000, according to data on the Department of Revenue website.
While Evers is hopeful to fund driver’s education programs aimed at youth drivers, reckless driving is hardly just a young driver problem. According to the Milwaukee Police Department, the average age of drivers cited with reckless driving since 2017 is 26.4 years old.
“If they’ve already had driver’s education or have passed that age, we have to, obviously, law enforcement issues, and that goes directly to the shared revenue piece that we’re going to have a significant increase,” Evers said. “I also will be proposing giving the city an ability to do a referendum for a sales tax. Those types of things will provide the resources.”
The I-Team reached out to Speaker Robin Vos for comment on Evers' plan to impact reckless driving. His office provided a statement saying, “…before making any commitments the speaker would like to meet with the governor and discuss legislative priorities with the caucus.”
