UNDATED (WNMU) – State Police say the number of traffic deaths in Michigan rose 8 percent last year, the first increase in seven years.
The Office of Highway Safety Planning said Wednesday that 937 people were killed on Michigan streets and highways in 2010, up from 871 in 2009. The Office says 980 people died in 2008.
Nationally, the U.S. Transportation Department says that 32,788 people were killed on roads in 2010, down 3 percent from 2009.
Michael L. Prince directs the State Highway Safety Office and says it will continue looking into the reasons for the increase in Michigan’s traffic deaths. He says the unusually hot summer in 2010 may have increased traffic and crashes.
The Office says crashes involving cell phones fell from 294 in 2009 to 265 in 2010.
