DETROIT – Crashes overall seem to be going in the right direction in Michigan -- but not for those who aren’t in cars.
If you’re a pedestrian in the city like Sam Sekhon and Shicola Burton, it’s not easy hearing that pedestrian and bike-involved accidents are on the rise.
“It’s scary cause again, I exercise every day. I live down here. So it’s scary. People should have more compassion. Just take their time and everything,” said Shicola.
“It’s kinda scary to think about. Never thought about my everyday occurrence,” said Sekhon.
According to stats gathered by Michigan State Police, pedestrian-involved crashes increased by 11%, with 2,114 in 2023 and 1,897 in 2022. Unfortunately, Pedestrian fatalities increased by 6%, with 183 deaths in 2023 and 173 in 2022. Jaywalking is something that Shicola sees a lot.
“For me, that’s dangerous. Like, you’re setting yourself up for a bad accident to happen,” Shicola insisted.
As far as those on bicycles, those crashes increased by 10% with 1,480 crashes in 2023 and 1,340 in 2022. The good part is that bicyclist fatalities fell by 33% with 24 deaths in 2023 and 36 in 2022. Sam Faraj sees car vehicles every day with impatient drivers.
“I mean they’ll run red lights, they’ll turn and try to beat the Q-Line sometime. So it’s an interesting time,” Faraj added.
Deaths overall were 2% lower in 2023 with 1,095 recorded that year vs 1,123 in 2022.
Read more: 29 stats about crashes, deaths, drivers on Michigan roads last year