WI · jury_instructions
Wis JI-Criminal 2674
Speeding: Driving Too Fast for Conditions Under § 346.57(3) or an Ordinance Adopting § 346.57(3)
Statutory Definition of the Crime
[Section 346.57(3)] [Ordinance ________, adopting § 346.57(3)]1 of the Wisconsin
Statutes provides that no person shall drive a vehicle on a highway2 at a speed greater than
is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances and that a person shall drive at an
appropriate reduced speed when
[approaching and crossing (an intersection) (a railway grade crossing).]
[approaching and going around a curve.]
[approaching a hillcrest.]
[traveling upon any narrow or winding roadway.]
[passing (school children) (highway construction or maintenance workers) (railroad
construction or maintenance workers) (sanitation workers) (pedestrians).]
[special hazard exists with regard to other traffic or by reason of highway or weather
conditions.]
Burden of Proof
Before you may find the defendant guilty of this offense, the (identify prosecuting
agency)3 must satisfy you to a reasonable certainty by evidence which is clear, satisfactory,
and convincing that the following three elements were present.
Elements of the Offense That Must Be Proved
1. The defendant drove a vehicle4 on a highway.5
2. The defendant drove the vehicle at a speed6 greater than was reasonable and
prudent under the conditions, taking into consideration the actual and potential
hazards then existing.
[This element requires that the speed of the vehicle be controlled as necessary
to avoid colliding with any (object) (person) (vehicle) (other conveyance) on or
entering the highway in compliance with legal requirements and using due care.]
3. The defendant failed to drive at an appropriate reduced speed when
[approaching and crossing (an intersection) (a railway grade crossing).]
[approaching and going around a curve.]
[approaching a hillcrest.]
[traveling upon any narrow or winding roadway.]
[passing (school children) (highway construction or maintenance workers)
(railroad construction or maintenance workers) (sanitation workers)
(pedestrians).]
[special hazard exists with regard to other traffic or by reason of highway or
weather conditions.]7
Appropriate reduced speed is a relative term and means less than the otherwise
lawful speed. An appropriate reduced speed is that speed at which a person of
ordinary intelligence and prudence would drive under the same or similar
circumstances.8
Jury’s Decision
If you are satisfied to a reasonable certainty by evidence which is clear, satisfactory,
and convincing that all three elements of this offense have been proved, you should find
the defendant guilty.
If you are not so satisfied, you must find the defendant not guilty.
History
Wis JI-Criminal 2674 (7/2024). Release No. 64. Wisconsin Court System, 7/2024. Prepared by the Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instructions Committee of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference with the University of Wisconsin Law School; posted by the Wisconsin State Law Library with the University's permission.
Provenance
- Source
- wilawlibrary.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-24
- Edition
- 2026-09-24
- Content hash
9470271ea83917f89528b3557bbaa3f319aeb47eaeb526fba3cec1299fafdeb6
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