In partnership with the Southeast Michigan Council of Government, WATS is pleased to announce the completion of the Southeast Michigan Traffic Safety Plan that defines the common vision that will drive safety efforts around the region. Toward Zero Deaths on Southeast Michigan Roadways is a shared vision by SEMCOG and the Michigan DOT.

In order to achieve this vision local agencies must work aggressively to meet the targets.

Reduce traffic fatalities by 5% by 2019

Reduce serious traffic injuries by 10% by 2019

The methods used to set the targets is consistent with the proposed rules within the previous transportation bill known as MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century). The current transportation bill known as the FAST Act (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act) continues these rules.

The Safety Task Force will be focusing on their high priority emphasis areas: Intersections, Lane Departure, Pedestrians, and Drivers age 24 and younger.

Additional emphasis areas include Access management, Bicycle, Commercial Vehicles, Distracted driving, Impaired driving, Motorcycle, Occupant protection, Senior mobility, Speed management, Traffic incident management, and Traffic records and information systems.

Crash Rates for Washtenaw County

Crash rate is a measure of safety which looks at crash frequency and traffic volume. This rate illustrates the K and A (fatality and serious) injury crashes. The average crash rate for the region is 5.81, Washtenaw County’s crash rate is 4.85.