2023 Traffic Crash Report & 2019-2023 5-Year Crash Trends

WATS is pleased to release the 2023 Crash Report for Washtenaw County. Every year, WATS updates information on traffic crashes, and crash related injuries in Washtenaw County. The crash report evaluates factors including; crash location, type of crash, and involving factors such as, pedestrians, bicyclists, impaired drivers, deer, speeding, young drivers, and older drivers. WATS provides this report as a resource for Washtenaw County residents, communities, and agencies seeking to make transportation safer. Local agencies need quality crash data to make transportation improvement decisions, improve users’ safety, and allocate funds. Municipalities use up-to-date safety data to identify locations to fund safety  improvements using both federal safety funds and local funding. Citizens and legislators also use information on crash factors to call for changes in policy. LINK TO REGIONAL VISION ZERO SAFETY PLAN

The WATS crash report and its trend information are updated annually based on new crash data. WATS obtains crash data across Washtenaw County from the Michigan Traffic Crash Facts reporting tool, a tool provided by the Office of Highway Safety Planning, which partners with the Michigan State Police to obtain police reports. In 2019, we updated the report to include 5-year trends for each of the crash factors that WATS examines.  

Notable observations from the 2023 report include:

Washtenaw County (NOT including the Monroe County portion of the City of Milan) recorded 10,037 crashes in 2023, an increase of 8% from 9,259 in 2022. 

While the overall number of reported crashes increased, the severe crash rate, shown in Table 1, decreased by 9% from 5.08 (2022) to 4.61 (2023) per 100 million VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled). VMT increased by 5% in 2023 compared to the previous year. The VMT recorded for 2023 is still lower than 2019. 

In Washtenaw County, 82% of the 10,037 reported crashes involved property damage without injuries, 7% involved minor or possible injuries, and 2%, or 176 crashes, involved serious or fatal injuries. 

Pedestrian and bicycle related crashes are more common in urban areas. Most reported pedestrian and bicycle related crashes result in  injury crashes. Crashes involving pedestrians increased by 25% from 79 (2022) to 99 (2023). Crashes involving bicyclists increased by 33%, from 75 crashes in 2022 to 100 crashes in 2023. 

If there is other information you’re interested in, if you’d like us to pull the five year trends for a specific factor for your community for example, or if there’s another data request you have, please feel free to contact us and we’d be happy to work with you. You can also access the Michigan Traffic Crash Facts reporting tool at www.michigantrafficcrashfacts.org. SEMCOG also has some great searchable resources and an interactive map for crash data.

View the full report: https://www.miwats.org/plans-and-publications/crash-report