Michigan traffic deaths rise, bucking decade trend

By JASON KRAFT
Capital News Service
LANSING – The number of traffic deaths in Michigan rose nearly 10 percent in 2015 following a 7.9 percent decrease the previous year. The 972 deaths reported so far is up 9.7 percent from the previous year, according to the Traffic Improvement Association of Michigan, a coalition of groups that analyze accident data. It is just the fourth time Michigan has seen an increase in annual traffic fatalities in the past 11 years. “They’ve been trending down over the last decade,” said Anne Readette, communications manager of the State Police’s Office of Highway Safety Planning. In 2004 there were 1,159 reported Michigan traffic deaths.