LANSING, Mich. (March 21, 2014) — Fatalities increased on Michigan’s roads in 2013, according to a report from the Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center.
Traffic deaths increased to 951 last year, up from 936 in 2012, while total traffic crashes have been on the decline for the last 10 years.
The two percent increase in deaths is attributed to significant increases in drug-related traffic deaths (up 22%), fatalities involving bicycles (up 35%), and crashes involving commercial vehicles (up 18%).
Crash fatalities involving cell phone use went down by 8 percent. (Texting was not tracked.)
With all the rising numbers, one statistic was a hopeful one: teen fatalities (age 13-19) dropped for the second year in a row.
