LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) — Michigan transportation officials are exploring why the number of fatal traffic crashes in 2020 exceeded 2019’s totals, especially given that the pandemic kept many off the road in 2020.
Preliminary numbers indicate 1,032 people died from crashes on Michigan roads in 2020. In 2019 the number was 985. Analysts noted as much as 60 percent fewer vehicles were on the road once the pandemic started, and stay home rules were issued. Even after the stay home rule eased, traffic remained down by as much as 20 percent through the rest of the year.
MDoT officials focus on this topic in the latest traffic podcast. Michigan State Police Lt. DuWayne Robinson suggested to WWMT-TV in December, the fatalities may have been a consequence of open roads and high speeds. Troopers wrote 69 percent more tickets for excessive speeding (25 mph or more over the limit), he said .
Peter Savolainen, a Michigan State University professor and traffic safety and operations specialist told MDoT road engineers and safety advocates are always looking for ways to help increase traffic safety He said rising speeds in recent years on Michigan’s road is a documented fact, partly because in 2017 lawmakers raised speed limits statewide.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures show traffic loads falling by 17 percent compared to 2019, and while crash-related deaths fell by 2 percent, but fatality rates rose 18 percent.
