LANSING, MI — The amount of traffic crashes on Michigan roads continued to increase in 2014, but the amount of people killed in those crashes was the lowest number in four years. According to statistics released by the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning on Monday, 876 people died in traffic crashes in 2014. That’s the first time since 2011 less than 900 people died in traffic crashes — 951 people died in crashes in 2013, and 936 died in 2012.
However, there were 9,638 more traffic crashes in 2014 than the year before. According to the Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center, there were 298,699 crashes in 2014, up from 289,061 in 2013. The amount of injuries suffered in traffic crashes also increased slightly, up to 71,378 from 71,031 in 2013.
The State Police noted declines in motorcyclist and bicyclist fatalities, down 16 percent and 22 percent respectively from year to year. There were 107 motorcyclist fatalities and 21 bicyclist fatalities in 2014. The number of cell phone-involved crashes decreased, from 689 in 2013 to 666 in 2014 — a drop of 3 percent. There were just two cell-phone involved fatal crashes in 2014, as compared to four in 2013.
