Wisconsin State Patrol reminds drivers to stay cool behind the wheel as summer heats up

June Law of the Month: Reckless Driving

As summer gets underway, the Wisconsin State Patrol urges motorists to avoid dangerous driving behaviors and prioritize safety on the road. Reckless driving often includes more than one of the following: speed, improper lane changes, distracted driving, and erratic or aggressive behaviors. 

“Every reckless driving crash is preventable,” said Wisconsin State Patrol Superintendent Tim Carnahan. “Careless actions behind the wheel put everyone on the road at risk. Enforcement alone won’t change the culture of reckless driving. We must work together and encourage one another to put safety first.”

In 2024, 138 people died and 3,084 were hurt in 5,642 reckless driving crashes in Wisconsin. Two out of three of these crashes involved speed or distracted driving.

The Wisconsin State Patrol’s June Law of the Month reminds motorists that reckless driving is hazardous to everyone on the road.

Speed and distracted driving, leading factors in reckless driving crashes

Anything that takes a driver’s attention off the road is dangerous, including using a cell phone, adjusting the radio, eating, putting on makeup, or attending to pets or passengers.

• In 2024, there were 9,068 distracted driving crashes in Wisconsin, resulting in 44 fatalities and 3,530 injuries.

WisDOT and Wisconsin State Patrol focus on public education campaigns and law enforcement to raise awareness of the risks of distracted driving, especially the dangers of looking at a cell phone while driving. Two new Buckle Up Phone Down videos were released by WisDOT earlier this year, featuring a real family devastated by a distracted driver on Wisconsin’s roads. The Buckle Up Phone Down campaign encourages every driver and passenger to take responsibility for the safety of our roads by always putting the phone down behind the wheel and wearing a seat belt.

Speed continues to be a major factor in crashes across Wisconsin and is a prominent reckless driving behavior.

• In 2024, there were 16,572 speed-related crashes in Wisconsin that resulted in 170 deaths and injured 6,567 people.

Wisconsin, like many states across the country, is seeing a trend of speeding and other reckless driving behaviors. For the past five years, the State Patrol has issued more than 1,000 citations a year to drivers going 100+ mph. This number more than doubled in 2020 and has remained high since. Speeding makes your vehicle harder to control and stop in an emergency, often causing more serious crashes and injuries.

Penalties for reckless driving

Wisconsin state law imposes strict penalties for reckless driving:

• First-time offenders face fines of up to $400.
• Drivers responsible for crashes resulting in serious injuries may face up to six years in prison and fines up to $10,000.

Prevent reckless driving

The tragedies that result from reckless driving are preventable. Drivers should always follow posted speed limits, avoid distractions and be patient on the road. Safety on the roads is everyone’s responsibility.

View the June Law of the Month video and news release online: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/about-wisdot/newsroom/law/lom.aspx