MILWAUKEE - The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) unveiled on Wednesday, Nov. 10 a new sponsor and new look for the Freeway Service Team.
The WisDOT Safety Patrol is now sponsored by GEICO. The fleet of specially equipped incident-management vehicles hit the road this morning. The new sponsorship is the latest chapter for the 23-year-old Wisconsin highway safety program.
A news release says the Safety Patrol is active in high-volume traffic areas, typically within large work zones, to offer free, limited roadside assistance to drivers in need. Services include providing small amounts of fuel, changing flat tires and jump-starting vehicles, as well as removing debris from the roadway. The flatbed patrol vehicles also help relieve congested traffic at the scenes of incidents and crashes.
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In Wisconsin there are approximately 136,000 crashes annually, statewide. That means there is a crash roughly every four minutes. Quick, proactive response in high-volume work zones is a core benefit provided by the WisDOT Safety Patrols. Removing vehicles and debris effectively helps greatly to reduce the likelihood of secondary incidents including instances of motorists crashing into or near that initial crash scene. These types of incidents are happening in Wisconsin on average more than 700 times annually.
More information can be found at SafetyPatrolinfo.com and the WisDOT website.
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