Southeast Michigan recorded 100 pedestrian deaths in 2025, one fewer than the region’s 2016 record. That rise came even as overall crashes, fatalities and serious injuries fell from the previous year. Intersection crashes caused 131 deaths, surpassing lane-departure crashes for the first time. Oakland County is developing a plan for two roundabouts in Commerce Township as one response to intersection safety concerns.
The pedestrian toll reversed a 2024 decline. A SEMCOG review of Michigan State Police statistics, cited by WXYZ Channel 7, found deadly pedestrian crashes rose 28% between 2024 and 2025. SEMCOG’s Traffic Quick Facts report says pedestrian fatalities in the region had fallen 20% from 2023 to 2024, reaching the second-lowest total in a decade. Pedestrians accounted for 19% of regional traffic fatalities in 2024, the report says.
Intersections, meanwhile, have become a growing part of the danger. Intersection-related fatalities rose 13% in 2024 compared to 2023, and intersection-related serious injuries hit a 10-year high of 912 that year, SEMCOG reported. Those crashes already accounted for 31% of all traffic fatalities and 41% of serious injuries regionwide in 2024, even before the 2025 numbers pushed intersection deaths past lane-departure crashes as a cause of death.
Commerce Township Intersections Draw Complaints
The Road Commission for Oakland County is developing a plan for two back-to-back roundabouts at Richardson Road’s intersections with Union Lake and Martin roads in Commerce Township, according to the station’s report. Beau Blankenship described the area as a recurring bottleneck. Construction is planned for 2028…