One hundred people on foot died in traffic crashes across southeast Michigan in 2025, a 28% jump from the year before.

The figure, released this fall by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments in its annual crash report, ties 2020 for the second-highest pedestrian death toll in the report’s 10-year period. Only 2016, with 101, was higher. The increase came even as overall traffic deaths in the region fell to 386, the lowest since 2020.

Washtenaw County followed the broader downward trend for traffic fatalities. Deaths dropped from 35 in 2024 to 26 in 2025, serious injuries fell from 197 to 174, and total crashes dipped 2% to 9,652. But pedestrian deaths increased across the seven-county region.

“It is a particularly dangerous time of year to be walking and biking, especially in the morning and evening hours when it is darker,” Jenya Abramovich, a transportation planner with SEMCOG, said, according to The Chelsea Post. “Clothing and equipment that lights up or has reflective material can significantly increase visibility, and we want everyone to be seen.”

Pedestrian crashes made up less than 1% of all crashes in the region from 2021 through 2025 but accounted for 22.3% of fatalities, according to SEMCOG.

Bicyclist deaths more than doubled, from seven in 2024 to 17 in 2025. Crashes involving bicyclists rose 5% to 923, their fourth consecutive annual increase.

Ann Arbor intersection research

Intersection-related crashes recorded the most deaths among SEMCOG’s safety emphasis areas in 2025, with 131 fatalities, compared with 119 in lane-departure crashes. The categories can overlap.

Engineers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute are developing technology intended to prevent intersection crashes.

A $5.66 million U.S. Department of Transportation award is funding Safety Actions for Everyone at Traffic Intersections, or SAFETI, according to an Oct. 22 U-M Engineering announcement.

The second phase calls for deploying the technology at four Ann Arbor intersections. U-M describes a 3½-year project, beginning with roughly 18 months of development and testing. Ann Arbor and SEMCOG are among its public-sector partners.

Henry Liu, UMTRI director and the project’s principal investigator, said the system “predicts conflicts and responds through warnings, in-pavement lights or signal changes, and it learns where recurring risks are so agencies can fix them for good.”

SEMCOG’s Safe Streets campaign distributes reflective gear and safety education materials through local partners. As of fall 2026, more than 510,000 items had been distributed to 159 communities and 39 partner agencies or organizations.

Residents can explore local crash information through SEMCOG’s interactive maps and traffic data tools.