2008 Michigan Traffic Crash Facts
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Summary
This document, titled *2008 Michigan Traffic Crash Facts*, serves as a comprehensive statistical report summarizing traffic crash data on Michigan roadways for the calendar year 2008. Produced by the Michigan Department of State Police and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, the report aims to provide accurate, timely information to support traffic safety initiatives and reduce injuries and fatalities. The data compilation was motivated by ongoing traffic records improvement projects initiated in 2002, which sought to enhance data quality through electronic collection, error checking, and improved location tracking. The methodology relies on data gathered from Michigan Traffic Crash Report Forms (UD-10) submitted by local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and the Department of State Police. Additional contextual data, such as vehicle registrations and licensed driver counts, were obtained from the Departments of Transportation, State, and Community Health. The report defines specific metrics, such as "fatal crashes" (deaths within 30 days of the crash) and "Had Been Drinking" (HBD) crashes, to ensure consistency. The analysis covers statewide trends, demographic breakdowns by age and gender, vehicle types, and specific crash circumstances including alcohol involvement, deer collisions, and red-light running. Key findings indicate a continued decline in traffic safety metrics. In 2008, Michigan recorded 915 fatal traffic crashes, the lowest number ever recorded for the state. Total traffic fatalities decreased by 9.6 percent to 980, while the total number of persons injured dropped 7.5 percent to 74,568. Total crashes fell 2.5 percent to 316,057. Notably, the death rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled reached a historic low of 0.97. This improvement is attributed partly to declines in total miles traveled (down 3.6 percent), vehicle registrations (down 2.6 percent), and licensed drivers (down 0.7 percent). Despite record-high seat belt usage, alcohol-involved crashes remained a significant issue, contributing to 32.5 percent of all fatal crashes. While alcohol-involved crashes constituted only 3.5 percent of all crashes, they resulted in injury or death in 40.4 percent of cases, compared to 17.9 percent for all crashes. The significance of this report lies in its role as a foundational resource for traffic safety planning and policy evaluation in Michigan. By documenting record-low fatality rates and identifying persistent risks such as alcohol impairment, the data supports targeted interventions. The report also highlights the impact of improved data collection technologies on the reliability of traffic statistics. It provides detailed breakdowns of crash factors, including driver age, roadway conditions, and vehicle types, offering stakeholders the evidence needed to address specific safety challenges. The document underscores the effectiveness of recent safety measures while identifying areas requiring continued attention, particularly regarding impaired driving.
Key finding
In 2008, Michigan recorded 980 traffic fatalities, representing a 9.6 percent decrease from the previous year, with the death rate per 100 million miles traveled reaching a record low of 0.97.
Methodology
dataset
Sample size: 316057
Provenance
The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).
| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | rosap | — | — | 2 | 2026-05-23 |
| archive | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| clean | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| chunk | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| embed | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-02 |
| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 19 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
Topics
Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.
- incidence prevalence
- fatality injury trends
- demographic disparities
- comparative international
- crash typology
- vru crash typology
Information type
What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).
- Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes, observational prevalence