The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning says traffic fatalities in 2021 reached a 16 year high. Spokesperson Kendal Wingrove tells WSJM News there was an increase in nearly every category of fatal crashes, with 1,131 people killed on the road. The numbers show 71,246 injuries and 5,979 serious injuries, up 17% and 10% respectively from 2020. Wingrove says this is a national trend.
“There’s no single answer as to why fatalities are on the increase,” Wingrove said. “We have some theories and thoughts on it. We think that during the pandemic, people got out of their good driving habits that they had established over the years, and our goal is to encourage those people to do those again.”
Wingrove says the Office of Highway Safety Planning is conducting high-visibility enforcement campaigns focusing on impaired driving, speed, and seat belt use throughout the summer. The state in 2021 saw increases in pedestrian fatalities, motorcycle fatalities, construction zone fatalities, and distracted driving fatalities. Fatalities involving commercial vehicles like semis were up 32%. The only category that was down was bicycle fatalities.
