Metro Detroit car accident guide and data hub

A crash in metro Detroit is a common event, and the local data shows how common. In 2024 the seven-county Southeast Michigan region recorded 129,583 traffic crashes. 402 people were killed and 2,211 were seriously injured, according to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), which builds its figures from Michigan State Police crash records.¹ Across the state, police logged 288,880 crashes and 1,099 deaths the same year.² If you are reading this soon after a wreck, here is what the local numbers say about where these crashes happen, and what Michigan's insurance and injury laws mean for your claim.

The 2024 numbers for southeast Michigan

SEMCOG covers Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne counties, the core of metro Detroit. The 2024 crash total of 129,583 was down about 1.4 percent from 2023, but deaths went the other way. The 402 fatalities were 14 more than the year before and the fifth-highest total of the past decade. Serious injuries came in at 2,211.¹ The region's fatality rate, 0.94 deaths per 100 million miles driven, matched its ten-year average.¹

Wayne County carries the heaviest share, and Detroit itself sits at the top. The city recorded 24,321 crashes in 2024, with 104 people killed and 8,872 injured, drawn from the state's Michigan Traffic Crash Facts data.³ Statewide, alcohol was involved in 8,542 crashes that killed 307 people, and drugs in another 2,315 crashes.² Michigan State Police reported that fatalities rose slightly across the state in 2024, holding near 1,100 deaths a year.⁴

Where the crashes happen

Intersections are the deadliest pattern on local roads. SEMCOG counted 43,733 intersection crashes in the region in 2024. They caused 125 deaths and 912 serious injuries, the highest serious-injury total in ten years.¹ Together, intersection crashes accounted for 31 percent of the region's traffic deaths and 41 percent of its serious injuries, the largest combined share of any factor SEMCOG tracks.¹

Two other patterns stand out. Lane departures, where a driver drifts off the road or across the center line, were the single biggest cause of death, tied to 155 fatalities and 39 percent of all deaths in the region.¹ Red-light running turned sharply worse: deaths in those crashes jumped from 15 in 2023 to 32 in 2024.¹ Distracted driving showed up in 6,852 crashes, and speeding in 8,039.¹

Construction is reshaping several major corridors right now, which changes traffic patterns and crash risk. MDOT's "Restore I-94" project, a $353 million rebuild running from 2026 through 2029, covers nearly 13 miles of I-94 from east of I-275 to west of Michigan Avenue, running from Romulus east to Dearborn.⁵ The work includes a brand-new interchange at Ecorse Road, replacing a layout with a left-side freeway ramp that residents and local officials have long flagged as dangerous.⁵ Regionwide, work-zone crashes reached 4,052 in 2024 and killed 15 people.¹

How Michigan's no-fault insurance works

Michigan runs a no-fault auto insurance system, which means your own policy pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages after a crash, no matter who caused it. The benefit is called Personal Injury Protection, or PIP. Since the 2019 reform took effect, drivers pick a PIP medical coverage level when they buy or renew a policy: unlimited coverage, $500,000, $250,000, $50,000 (available only to people on Medicaid), or a full opt-out for households where everyone has qualifying Medicare.⁶ Under MCL 500.3107c, those choices apply to policies issued or renewed after July 1, 2020, and each lower level comes with a set premium discount on the PIP portion of your bill, from 10 percent for unlimited coverage up to 45 percent for the $50,000 option.⁶ The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) publishes the coverage levels and discounts for drivers comparing policies.⁷

The level you picked matters a lot after a serious crash. If you chose a capped amount and your medical costs run past it, you can be left paying the difference, which is the real trade-off behind the reform's lower premiums.

When you can sue the driver who hit you

No-fault limits when you can sue an at-fault driver for pain and suffering. Under MCL 500.3135, you can pursue those noneconomic damages only if the crash caused death, permanent serious disfigurement, or a "serious impairment of body function." Michigan defines that last threshold as an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects your general ability to lead your normal life.⁸

For vehicle damage, Michigan has a separate remedy people often miss. The mini-tort rule in MCL 500.3135(3)(e) lets you collect up to $3,000 from the at-fault driver for repair costs your own collision coverage does not pay, such as your deductible.⁸

The deadlines that can end your claim

Two clocks start the moment you are hurt. To sue an at-fault driver for your injuries, Michigan gives you three years from the date of the crash under MCL 600.5805.⁹ Miss it, and the court will almost always throw the case out no matter how strong it is.

The PIP clock is tighter. You have to notify your insurer of the claim within one year of the crash, and the one-year-back rule in MCL 500.3145 bars you from recovering benefits for any loss incurred more than a year before you file suit.¹⁰ Old medical bills and wage losses can fall outside that window and go unpaid. Because these deadlines are strict and the PIP one is short, it is worth sorting out your coverage early. If you decide to talk to an attorney, you can start with the thatcarhitme.com legal directory.

What to do after a crash in metro Detroit

Check for injuries and call 911 first. Michigan law requires drivers to report crashes involving injury, death, or meaningful property damage to police, and the officer's report becomes a key record for both your insurer and any later claim. Get the other driver's name, plate, and insurance information, and photograph the vehicles and the scene if you can do it safely. Then open your PIP claim with your own insurer quickly, since that one-year notice window starts running immediately.¹⁰

Local crash records and safety data come from a handful of agencies. Michigan State Police compile the statewide crash facts, SEMCOG analyzes them for the seven-county metro, and MDOT handles the freeways and their construction zones.¹⁴ Knowing which figures apply to your road and your city helps you understand what happened, and what your claim is worth.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

1. SEMCOG (Southeast Michigan Council of Governments), "Traffic Crashes in Southeast Michigan, 2024" (Quick Facts, October 2025). https://www.semcog.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/TrafficQuickFacts2024.pdf

2. Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, 2024 at-a-glance. https://www.michigantrafficcrashfacts.org/pub/2024/at-a-glance

3. Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, Data Query Tool (city-level 2024 crash counts). https://www.michigantrafficcrashfacts.org/

4. Michigan State Police, "Traffic crashes and fatalities in Michigan rose slightly in 2024" (Aug. 26, 2025). https://www.michigan.gov/mspnewsroom/news-releases/2025/08/26/traffic-crashes-and-fatalities-in-michigan-rose-slightly-in-2024

5. Michigan Department of Transportation, "Restore I-94" project, Wayne County. https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/news-outreach/mdot-events/2026/02/03/two-restore-i-94-project-meetings-in-wayne-county-as-prep-work-begins

6. Michigan Compiled Laws, MCL 500.3107c (PIP coverage level choices). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3107c

7. Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, personal injury protection coverage choices (consumer guide, FIS-PUB 0206a). https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/autoinsurance/PDFs/FIS-PUB_0206a.pdf

8. Michigan Compiled Laws, MCL 500.3135 (tort liability, serious impairment threshold, and mini-tort). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3135

9. Michigan Compiled Laws, MCL 600.5805 (period of limitations for injury actions). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-5805

10. Michigan Compiled Laws, MCL 500.3145 (PIP notice and one-year-back rule). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-500-3145