In the twelve months ending June 2016 higher speeding limits contributed to increasing fatalities 37% on the interstate, injuries increased 11% and the total number of accidents rose 12%. Wisconsin law addresses speeding:
1300 SPEED: IMPEDING TRAFFIC
… no person shall drive a motor vehicle at a speed so slow as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or to comply with the law. To comply with this statute, a driver is required to use ordinary care under circumstances.
1305 SPEED: FAILURE TO YIELD ROADWAY
A safety statute provides that if the driver of a motor vehicle is moving the vehicle so slowly as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, then the driver shall, if practicable, yield the roadway to an overtaking vehicle and shall move at a reasonably increased speed or yield the roadway to overtaking vehicles when directed to do so by a traffic officer.
1310 SPEED: OBSTRUCTED VISION
A driver of a motor vehicle on a highway has a duty to drive at a rate of speed that will permit the driver to stop within the distance the driver can see ahead. This means that if, for any reason, the distance that the driver can plainly see objects or obstructions ahead of is reduced, then the driver must drive at a rate of speed that will enable the driver to bring the car to a standstill within the reduced distance. When a driver’s vision is completely obscured, it is the driver’s duty to slow down, or even stop.
1315 SPEED: OBSTRUCTED VISION: NIGHTTIME
A driver of a motor vehicle on a highway in the nighttime has a duty to drive at a rate of speed that will permit the driver to stop within [the range of the vehicle’s headlights. This means that if by any reason the distance that the driver can plainly see objects or obstructions ahead is reduced, the driver must drive at a rate of speed that will enable the driver to bring the car to a standstill within the reduced distance. When a driver’s vision is completely obscured, it is the driver’s duty to slow down, or even stop.
1320 SPEED: CAMOUFLAGE
This rule, however, does not apply to situations where the object or obstruction ahead, although within the range of the driver’s headlights or vision, may not reasonably be discovered because it blends with the color of the roadway or surroundings. The driver must exercise ordinary care in maintaining lookout to discover such objects.
McCormick Law Office attorneys in Milwaukee, Wisconsin obtain settlements for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering caused by speeding drivers.
