Michigan car crashes are up; blame the economy

By RAY WILBUR
Capital News Service
LANSING — As the state’s economy grows, so does something else that affects the lives of every resident — the number of traffic crashes. And according to experts, the two are related. Between 2012 and 2015, Michigan’s total number of crashes increased by about 23,000, according to State Police statistics. That rise to about 297,000 crashes can be attributed to a number of things, said Carol Flannagan, director of the Center for the Management for Safe and Sustainable Transportation at the University of Michigan. One of them is a strengthening economy that has younger drivers hit the road more often.