Traffic fatalities up in 2020 despite fewer cars on Michigan roads amid COVID-19 pandemic
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Fatal crashes on Michigan roadways are up in 2020, despite fewer drivers on the road.
According to data from Michigan State Police, 897 people died in fatal car crashes in the state from the first of the year to as of Nov. 29, 2020. That's up from 842 at the same point in 2019, an increase of 7%.
The increase in fatalities comes despite a sharp reduction in traffic, because more people are staying in and working from home.
Records from the Michigan Department of Transportation show the average daily traffic on state roads is down 18.1% in 2020 compared to 2019.
Traffic safety experts say an increase in speeds due to the decrease in traffic congestion could be to blame.
“Our tendency is to try to get from point a to point b as fast as possible and that tends to be easier when there’s less traffic on the road,” said Michigan State University Professor Pete Savolainen, who specializes in traffic safety studies.
He said higher speeds are more likely to cause drivers to lose control and crashes to become more serious.
“When they do occur, they tend to be more severe and that’s a function of the physics involved,” Savolainen said.
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Michigan State Police Lt. DuWayne Robinson said troopers are seeing more excessive speeding this year due to the clear roads.
It’s considered excessive speeding when a driver is going 25 miles per hour or more above the speed limit.
From March through November 2020, state troopers in District 5, which covers a nine-country region in southwest Michigan, issued 363 citations for excessive speeding compared to 214 over the same period in 2019, a year-over-year increase of 70%.
When adjusted for a 33% reduction in traffic during the seven-month span, troopers are citing excessive speeders in 2020 at more than double the rate of 2019.
Robinson said due to the high speeds, though crashes are down at about the same rate as traffic, more are fatal.
The number of crashes on Michigan roadways through Nov. 29 dropped to 221,692 from 285,352 for the same time period in 2019, a reduction of 22%, while fatal crashes increased by 7%.
“If you’re out there with a Toyota Corolla trying to go 120 miles per hour and you lose control, your likelihood of crashing, having a severe crash, or even a fatality goes through the roof,” Robinson said.
Savolainen said with winter weather ahead and additional restrictions in effect, he worries people will continue to hit the acceleration a little harder than usual as traffic clears.
In the two weeks following new epidemic orders from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which went into effect Nov. 18, traffic on Michigan roads dropped 25% from 2019 levels, compared to a reduction of 11% from September through mid-November.
“Unfortunately, we’re getting to the part of the year where adverse weather is starting to become more of a concern and so when we’ve got wet and icy roads than that’s going to become an even bigger problem for us if speeds are trending higher than they have historically,” Savolainen said.
Robinson said he recommends people use cruise control when they can, because going faster than the posted speed limits, advertently or inadvertently, can turn a minor crash into a fatality.
“God forbid you hit a tree. That tree’s not going to move,” Robinson said. “Even at 20 miles an hour that tree’s not going to move, but imagine going 100 miles an hour and you hit a big oak tree. That car and that driver and those occupants inside, they’re going to lose all day long."