• Michigan fatal crash rates remain high with nearly 1,100 in 2024
• A growing number of the crashes are attributed to drug-involved motorists with nearly half of all impaired fatalities, up from 37% in 2015
• Most counties, including the most populous, have seen a decline in overall accident rates since 2019 and pedestrian deaths fell in 2024

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A growing percentage of Michigan’s fatal crashes involve drugs, according to new state data showing that one in four traffic deaths recorded last year were linked to drug use of some kind. 

Drug use was involved in 272 of 1,099 fatalities in 2024, or 25%, according to Michigan State Police. That was up from about 19% a decade earlier, when drug use was tied to 179 of 963 road fatalities. 

Nearly half of all impaired-driver related fatalities were tied to drugs last year, according to the data, up from just over a third in 2015, when alcohol had been a more common factor. 

Michigan voters legalized the sale of recreational marijuana in 2018 and sales began in late 2019. From 2015 to 2019, the state averaged 229 drug-involved deaths. Since 2020, the average has been 264 — up 15%.

The Michigan State Police released the 2024 crash statistics Monday and noted that in addition to an increase in alcohol and drug-involved crashes, crashes were up among teens (up 17%) and seniors 60 and older (up 3%). 

“The rise in crashes involving older drivers and drug impairment reflects shifting dynamics on our roads and streets,” Alicia Sledge, director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, said in a statement. 

Sledge said that law enforcement and safety professionals are confronting “new challenges” because of the nation’s growing senior population and the evolution of drug laws in the country.

Nearly half of the 50 states have legalized recreational marijuana, including Michigan. In July, the state’s marijuana retailers sold over $274 million in products and have sold nearly $12.1 billion since legal sales began.

Total fatalities stay high

The increase in drug-involved fatalities — alcohol-involved death rates are also up, but just 4% — has helped keep Michigan’s road fatalities at elevated levels. The 1,099 road fatalities recorded in 2024 was only a small increase over the 1,095 fatalities in 2023 but up 14% compared to 2015. 

Authorities across the country noted a jump in reckless driving in 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, stay-at-home orders and more limited police patrols. Despite far less driving, the number of crashes — severe crashes — rose across the country.

Michigan roadways were not immune: In the five years preceding the pandemic, the state averaged 963 road fatalities a year. Since then, the state has averaged 1,083 annual road deaths, a 12.4% higher rate.

Related:

• Michigan drunk driving arrests plunge. Impairment remains deadly threat
• Michigan hands-free driving law year one: 19,000 tickets, fewer crashes
• Drunk driving crashes up in Michigan, but arrests down as enforcement wanes

But distracted driving, like using a phone, has fallen. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, signed a law in 2023 that forbade manually using a phone or other mobile electronic device while driving.

The drop in distracted driving fatal accidents began before the law took effect, however. From 2017-2019 the state averaged 73 annual distracted driving deaths. Since 2020 the average has been 58, though it rose to 65 in 2024, up from 59 the prior year.

Motorcycle deaths second highest

Last year, 168 motorcyclists were killed on Michigan roads, the second highest number in the past decade. There were 173 motorcycle deaths in 2022.

Motorcycle deaths have risen since 2012, when Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, signed a new law repealing Michigan’s requirement to wear a helmet. 

From 2000 to 2011, there was an average of 112 motorcycle deaths. Since then, there has been an average of 134 — a 20% increase. And since the pandemic, that rate has jumped again to an average of 165 deaths a year.

Bicyclists killed in road accidents rose to 29 in 2024, up from 24 in 2023 but down from 36 in 2022. From 2015-2019 there was an average of 27 bicyclists killed in road accidents and an average of 31 since 2020, a 15% increase.

Pedestrian fatalities decline

Perhaps the most positive news in the state police crash data was the drop in pedestrian fatalities. There were 156 pedestrian deaths in 2024, the lowest since there were 149 in 2019. 

Nationally, pedestrian fatalities — blamed in part on the increase in larger vehicles, making any collision more dangerous — had risen steadily for years. But they began to taper in 2023.

Michigan averaged 158 annual pedestrian deaths from 2015-2019 and then 178 from 2020 through 2023, a 13% increase, before falling last year.

Overall crash rates largely down

As more safety features, like anti-lock braking and automatic crash alerts, have become more common, overall crash rates have largely fallen.

In 2024, there were 288,880 total crashes on Michigan roadways, down nearly 3% from 2015 and well below the 314,377 in 2019.

Across the state, 61 counties recorded a drop in crashes per 10,000 residents, including all of the 16 most populous counties.  Compared to 2019, the 2024 crash rate was down 14% in Kent County, 8% in Oakland County and 18% in Kalamazoo County. 

This article first appeared on Bridge Michigan and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.