LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan drivers aren’t imagining it – the roads really are dangerous. A new national safety report ranks Michigan among the worst states for traffic safety laws, placing it in the “Danger” zone for failing to adopt basic protections proven to save lives.
The annual Roadmap to Safety report from Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety looks at laws across all 50 states. Michigan landed near the bottom, alongside states like Idaho and Wyoming, for refusing to adopt key safety measures that other states already use to reduce crashes and fatalities.
What Michigan is missing.
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According to the report, Michigan lacks several major safety laws, including:
- A primary enforcement seat belt law for back-seat passengers
- A universal motorcycle helmet law
- Stronger teen driving restrictions
- Broader use of automated speed and red-light camera enforcement
- Updated child passenger safety rules
These gaps matter. In 2024 alone, 1,047 people died on Michigan roads according to the report, and there are more than $12.305 Billion in annual cost due to motor vehicle crashes.
How Michigan compares nationally.
Only six states earned an overall “good” rating nationwide. Michigan wasn’t one of them. The report says states with stronger seatbelt laws, helmet requirements, and speed enforcement consistently see fewer deaths. Michigan, meanwhile, repealed its universal motorcycle helmet law in 2012 – a move researchers say directly increased fatalities.
Patrick Daughtery, assistant deputy director of the Michigan State Police’s Field Services Bureau, told Bridge Michigan why so many accidents are happening in a statement, “Mobile technologies are leading to more distracted-driving crashes, and we are seeing an increase in risky-driving behaviors, such as excessive speeding. Adding alcohol and/or drugs to the mix increases the danger for everyone on the road.”
The bottom line.
The report lists several things that would make roads safer including safer vehicles, safer road users and safe road infrastructure, and more governmental regulation.
Traffic deaths aren’t just “accidents,” the report argues – they’re often the result of personal and also policy choices. While other states strengthen safety laws, Michigan continues to lag behind, even as crashes remain stubbornly high. The takeaway is blunt: safer roads are possible, but lawmakers need to act in order to help (or force) drivers to make better decisions.
