MI Traffic Fatalities Up Despite Lower Traffic

Despite traffic volumes still being down an average of 20% across Michigan due to the pandemic, Michigan State Police say fatal crashes are on the rise. The agency says 64 more people have died on Michigan’s roads so far in 2020 than at this time last year. Speaking on the MDOT podcast Talking Transportation, Michigan State Police First Lieutenant Michael Shaw said this week many of the crashes have involved excessive speed.

“We’re not talking 10 miles over the speed limit, or 15 miles an hour over the speed limit,” Shaw said. “We’re talking 143 miles an hour that a trooper got on one of our freeways. Just people driving way, way too fast above their abilities to drive.”

Shaw says people may think they can get away with it, but notes the pandemic doesn’t mean we are living in the wild west. On a related note, he says several recent crash fatalities have involved people not wearing their seats belts.

“Maybe that’s part of it is people are getting tired of being told what to do, and they’re just not going to do anything, but that seat belt will definitely save your life for many, many reasons.”

Shaw says distracted driving and following other vehicles too closely are other recent causes of crash fatalities. He urges everyone to remember their most basic driving skills and to slow down.

Source: WSJM
Full story at: https://www.wsjm.com/2020/10/02/mi-traffic-fatalities-up-despite-lower-traffic/