Fatal Roads

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Wisconsin · us highway

US Route 45

Fatal crashes 2015–2024 65Deaths 68Counties 13Latest data year 2024

FARS data are based on police crash reports and other sources; the drunk-driving measure is based on the highest BAC of any driver in the crash. Latest data year: 2024. The route is the trafficway recorded for each crash (FARS TWAY_ID); the same route number in another state has its own page.

US Route 45 in Wisconsin was the trafficway in 65 fatal crashes between 2015 and 2024, in which 68 people died.

That is 1.2% of the 5,431 fatal crashes in Wisconsin over the same years. The ten-year crash count fell 14% from 76 in 2005–2014 to 65 in 2015–2024.

The crashes were concentrated in Fond du Lac County (10), Washington County (9) and Langlade County (8) and 10 other counties.

40.0% of the crashes had a driver reported as drinking (Wisconsin: 33.4%) and 29.2% had a speeding-related driver (31.0%); pedestrians were 4.4% and motorcyclists 17.6% of those killed.

65fatal crashes, 2015–2024-14% vs 2005–2014
68people killed1.0 per fatal crash
40%with a drinking driverWisconsin: 33%
29%speeding-relatedWisconsin: 31%

Fatal crashes per year

08152000200520102015202020242000: 9 crashes2001: 10 crashes2002: 9 crashes2003: 15 crashes2004: 9 crashes2005: 8 crashes2006: 10 crashes2007: 7 crashes2008: 5 crashes2009: 9 crashes2010: 9 crashes2011: 9 crashes2012: 4 crashes2013: 8 crashes2014: 7 crashes2015: 10 crashes2016: 6 crashes2017: 4 crashes2018: 6 crashes2019: 8 crashes2020: 6 crashes2021: 5 crashes2022: 11 crashes2023: 4 crashes2024: 5 crashes
Fatal crashes on US Route 45 (WI) by year, 2000–2024. Latest point: 2024, 5 crashes.

Route identification in FARS is consistent from 2000; earlier years are not shown. Shaded band: the ten-year window used for the shares below.

Compared with all fatal crashes in Wisconsin

MeasureUS Route 45Wisconsin
Fatal crashes, 2015–2024655,431
Deaths, 2015–2024685,959
Deaths per fatal crash1.01.1
Share of state fatal crashes1.2%100%
Change vs previous ten years-14%-5%

Factor shares

Alcoholcrashes with a driver reported as drinking40%
Speedingcrashes with a speeding-related driver29.2%
Pedestriansshare of people killed4.4%
Motorcyclistsshare of people killed17.6%
Night (6pm–6am)share of crashes46%

tick marks the Wisconsin share. Bars are shares of fatal crashes (alcohol, speeding, darkness, rural) or of people killed (pedestrians, motorcyclists, unrestrained occupants) over the ten-year window.

Counties along the route

#CountyFatal crashes on US-45Share of routeCounty total, all roads
1Fond du Lac County1015%107
2Washington County914%93
3Langlade County812%26
4Waupaca County812%68
5Winnebago County69%102
6Kenosha County58%138
7Oneida County46%53
8Racine County46%155
9Milwaukee County35%780
10Outagamie County35%126
11Shawano County35%62
12Vilas County12%34
13Waukesha County12%198

Hour of day

12am1.6%
1am3.2%
2am3.2%
3am0%
4am4.8%
5am0%
6am3.2%
7am4.8%
8am1.6%
9am4.8%
10am1.6%
11am4.8%
12pm3.2%
1pm3.2%
2pm4.8%
3pm4.8%
4pm7.9%
5pm9.5%
6pm12.7%
7pm6.3%
8pm7.9%
9pm4.8%
10pm1.6%
11pm0%

Share of fatal crashes on US Route 45 beginning in each hour, 2015–2024; tick marks the Wisconsin share for all roads.

Other routes in Wisconsin

All routes and counties in Wisconsin

Questions and answers

How many fatal crashes have there been on US Route 45 in Wisconsin?

65 fatal crashes with 68 deaths over 2015–2024, per NHTSA's FARS. The route is the trafficway recorded for the crash; the same numbered route in another state has its own page.

Which counties along US Route 45 had the most fatal crashes?

Fond du Lac County (10), Washington County (9), Langlade County (8), Waupaca County (8) and Winnebago County (6).

What share of crashes on US Route 45 involved alcohol or speeding?

40.0% had a driver reported as drinking and 29.2% a speeding-related driver, against 33.4% and 31.0% for all fatal crashes in Wisconsin.

When do fatal crashes happen on US Route 45?

46.0% of the crashes were between 6pm and 6am. The hour chart on this page shows the full distribution.

Provenance

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System, annual national CSV files 2000–2024 (accident, vehicle and person tables), public domain. Route pages are built for signed Interstate, US and state routes with at least 20 fatal crashes in 2015–2024. Data through 31 Dec 2024; generated 30 Sep 2026. See methodology and corrections.