The Wisconsin Department of Transportation says traffic fatalities increased by nearly six percent in 2016. Wisconsin ended the year with 588 traffic fatalities, which was 33 more than 2015 and 40 more than the five-year average. Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt says the were 12 traffic fatalities in Dodge County last year up from 11 the year before. In Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s captain Ryan Waldschmidt says there were ten traffic fatalities. That’s down from 12 in 2015. Waldschmidt says while there is room for improvement, its better than several years ago when there were back to back years with more than 30 traffic fatalities. State traffic fatalities in 2016 were the highest since 2012 when 601 people died on Wisconsin roads.
