MI Crash Deaths Fall Amid Nationwide Decline, Federal Data Shows
New estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show crash deaths fell nationwide. Here's what happened in Michigan. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTA) estimates have revealed that Michigan saw 1,040 crash deaths last year, a 7.5 percent decrease from 2022, according to early estimates by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The data also revealed that the state's traffic death rate decreased from 1.17 in 2022 to 1.04 in 2023, and the national fatality rate for 2023 also decreased to a rate of 1.26 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled. The report highlighted regional differences, with 8 of 10 regions in the country reporting fewer deaths last season. The Northwest and South Carolina saw increases in traffic deaths, while Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Kentucky, West Virginia, and North Carolina also saw decreases in traffic death rates.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Dylan Siwicki in Auto
Michigan saw 1,040 crash deaths last year, according to early estimates of motor vehicle traffic
deaths published this week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That’s 7.5 percent lower than in 2022, when Michigan recorded 1,124 traffic deaths. Michigan's traffic death rate decreased from 1.17 in 2022 to 1.04 in 2023, the data showed.
The estimates are statistical projections of traffic deaths, federal regulators said in the report. The data shows an estimated 40,990 people died across the nation in crashes last year, representing a decrease of about 3.6 percent as compared to 42,514 deaths reported in 2022. The fourth quarter of last year represented the seventh straight quarterly decline in crash deaths, the reports said.
The fatality rate for 2023 also decreased to 1.26 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled. That’s down from a rate of 1.33 in 2022. The report also highlighted regional differences, with 8 of 10 regions estimated to have seen fewer deaths last year. The two regions that saw increases: the Northwest and a swath of states in the South: Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Kentucky, West Virginia, and North Carolina.
Nine of the 10 regions also saw estimated decreases in traffic death rates compared to 2022. On a state level, 35 states are expected to see fewer crash deaths, while 15 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico are expected to have more deaths.
States that saw increases in traffic deaths: Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Washington, D.C. also reported more deaths. The report noted "marked increases" in crash deaths and rates in the United States in 2020, and said that trend continued into 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. Since then, crash deaths have gradually fallen.