Michigan Crash Hot Spots: The Most Dangerous Roads and Intersections

Where Michigan Traffic Deaths Happen

Michigan State Police counted 1,065 traffic deaths in 2025, down 3% from 1,099 the year before, even though total crashes ticked up to 290,221. People on foot didn’t share in the improvement. Pedestrian deaths jumped 18% to 184, and bicyclist deaths rose from 29 to 35. About a third of the year’s 1,002 fatal crashes happened at an intersection.

Wayne County had the most fatal crashes of any county in 2025, 151, followed by Oakland with 80, Kent with 56, Macomb with 50 and Genesee with 48, according to the State Police county crash report. In December 2025 the Governor’s Traffic Safety Advisory Commission launched SAFER by 2030, which aims to cut traffic deaths 30% by 2030 and goes after distracted driving, speeding and impaired driving.

A Closer Look at Michigan’s High-Crash Corridors

Most of these roads are in Metro Detroit, with Flint and Grand Rapids rounding out the list. Where MDOT, SEMCOG or a local safety plan has published a number, it’s here.

1. I-75 (Chrysler and Fisher Freeways): Downtown Detroit to Auburn Hills

I-75 is the Fisher Freeway through downtown Detroit and the Chrysler Freeway as it heads north toward Oakland County. Downtown, game nights at Comerica Park, Ford Field and Little Caesars Arena fill the ramps, and drivers cut across lanes for exits that come up fast.

North of the city line at 8 Mile (exit 59), the freeway runs past Troy’s Big Beaver Road exit (69), the busy office and Somerset Collection area, and on to Auburn Hills, where Baldwin Road (exit 84) serves Great Lakes Crossing. Weekend shopping traffic and short merges make rear-end crashes common, and in winter the overpasses ice up first.

2. Woodward Avenue (M-1): Detroit to Pontiac

Woodward runs from downtown Detroit straight out to Pontiac, through Highland Park, Ferndale, Royal Oak and Birmingham. It’s a wide, divided boulevard for much of the way, with bars, restaurants and bus stops along the curb, and the 8 Mile crossing, where Detroit meets Ferndale, sees heavy foot traffic.

Detroit’s 2022 safety action plan found the city’s largest clusters of hot spots, intersections with four or more fatal or serious-injury crashes, along 8 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue. That hot spot map was built from 2014 to 2018 crash data.

3. Gratiot Avenue (M-3): Downtown Detroit to Macomb County

Gratiot heads northeast from downtown through the east side, then on through Eastpointe, Roseville and Clinton Township toward Chesterfield. Inside Detroit it’s a wide boulevard for long stretches, which makes it easy to drive too fast and hard to cross on foot. Out in Macomb County, the Hall Road (M-59) intersection near Mount Clemens gets busy with shopping traffic and delivery trucks.

The City of Detroit counted 2,542 crashes on Gratiot from 2019 to 2023, with 38 deaths, 1,237 injuries and 93 pedestrians hit. The city calls it one of its most dangerous corridors and won $12.5 million in Safe Streets for All funding to rework it from 8 Mile to downtown.

4. Telegraph Road (US-24): Taylor to Southfield

Telegraph is a wide, fast surface road that runs north through Taylor and Dearborn Heights, then along the line between Detroit and Redford Township, and on into Southfield and Bloomfield. Long signal cycles tempt drivers to run late yellows, and there aren’t many safe places to cross on foot. Busy crossings like Joy Road mix turning traffic with people walking to bus stops.

Up in Southfield, the 12 Mile Road intersection made SEMCOG’s list of the region’s most crash-prone intersections. It averaged 67.6 crashes a year from 2018 to 2022, with 72 in 2022 alone.

5. I-94: Ann Arbor to Detroit

I-94 links Ann Arbor, Detroit Metro Airport, Dearborn and Detroit, where it’s called the Edsel Ford Freeway. The Detroit section is old: MDOT says it was built mostly in the 1950s and has never been reconstructed, and left-lane exits like the one at the Lodge Freeway (M-10) catch drivers off guard. Expect sudden slowdowns and lane-change crashes through the I-96 and M-10 interchanges.

At the other end, the curve near Jackson Road in Ann Arbor had nearly 300 crashes from 2020 to 2024, a WDIV analysis found. Two in three were single-vehicle crashes, and MDOT was adding a high-friction surface to the curve in fall 2025.

6. Hall Road (M-59) and Van Dyke (M-53): Sterling Heights and Utica

Hall Road is Macomb County’s big retail strip. Around the M-53 and M-59 ramps in Utica and Sterling Heights, traffic shifts quickly between freeway speed and stoplights, and lane weaving leads to sideswipes and rear-enders. Further south, I-696 crosses Van Dyke in Warren, just south of the GM Technical Center, where short ramps and rush-hour merges are the problem.

SEMCOG data puts two of the region’s most crash-prone intersections here. The 18 1/2 Mile Road ramp at M-53 in Sterling Heights averaged 112.8 crashes a year from 2018 to 2022, second in Southeast Michigan, and Van Dyke at M-59 in Utica ranked fifth.

7. Orchard Lake Road and Grand River Avenue: Farmington Hills to Novi

Orchard Lake Road meets Grand River Avenue in the city of Farmington, and Grand River continues west through Farmington Hills into Novi, near I-96 and Twelve Oaks Mall, and on to Beck Road. Schools, strip malls and freeway traffic all mix here, so expect left-turn crashes and sudden stops.

The worst of it sits a few miles north. Orchard Lake Road at 14 Mile in Farmington Hills averaged 114 crashes a year from 2018 to 2022, the most of any intersection in SEMCOG’s regional ranking.

8. Dort Highway (M-54): Flint’s East Side

Dort Highway is the state route that runs north and south through Flint’s east side, lined with car lots, fast food and strip plazas. All those driveways mean angle crashes and pedestrian strikes. Four of Flint’s ten intersections with the most crashes from 2017 to 2021 were on Dort: at Lapeer Road, East Court Street, Lippincott Boulevard and Davison Road.

The Lapeer Road crossing was one of the city’s top two for crashes and had the most injury crashes. It had more than 100 crashes in those five years, including 31 injury crashes and one fatal crash, according to State Police data reported by Flint Beat.

9. US-131: Downtown Grand Rapids

MDOT calls US-131 the busiest road in Michigan outside Metro Detroit, carrying up to 140,000 vehicles a day between 28th Street and Cherry Street. It’s narrow, built in the 1950s and 1960s, with tight interchanges and little shoulder to get out of the way. Rear-end and single-vehicle crashes are the most common.

MDOT’s US-131 study counted an average of 725 crashes a year on that stretch from 2017 to 2019. The most frequent crashes were around the Wealthy Street interchange, and MDOT says the segment between Wealthy and MLK Jr. Street has one of the highest crash rates in the state.

More High-Crash Locations Across Michigan

Not every dangerous spot is on a freeway. City safety plans, regional planners and local newsrooms have put numbers on these streets and intersections.

Some of these roads are getting work. Detroit’s $12.5 million Gratiot project covers the whole corridor inside city limits. MDOT’s I-94 modernization covers about seven miles through Detroit, replacing about 60 bridges and getting rid of the left-lane ramps at the Lodge Freeway, and a study of US-131’s Wealthy Street interchange in Grand Rapids starts in 2026. Saginaw’s plan aims for zero traffic deaths by 2050, starting with city-owned roads, which our Saginaw car accident guide covers in more detail.

How to Stay Safe on Michigan’s Most Dangerous Roads

You can’t avoid I-75 or Woodward if that’s how you get to work, but you can drive them knowing where the trouble is.

For Drivers:

1. Slow down on the wide surface roads: Gratiot, Telegraph and Dort Highway feel like freeways but have driveways, bus stops and people crossing. Keep to the limit near busy intersections.
2. Give merges room: Short ramps at M-59 and Van Dyke, I-696 and US-131 at Wealthy Street leave little space. Let merging drivers in and don’t speed up to block them.
3. Put the phone down: Michigan’s SAFER by 2030 campaign names distracted driving as one of the risky behaviors behind deadly crashes. One glance down on a crowded freeway is enough.
4. Slow down in work zones: Michigan had 24 work zone deaths in 2025. Merge early, and watch for workers and stopped traffic.
5. Drive for the weather: Snow, slush and black ice show up fast on overpasses and curves like the I-94 bend in Ann Arbor. Add following distance from November to March.

For Pedestrians:

1. Cross at signals: On roads like Gratiot and Telegraph, crossing mid-block can mean walking across several lanes of fast traffic. Use a signal, even if it means a longer walk.
2. Be visible after dark: Winter days are short in Michigan, and many crashes happen in the evening commute. Wear something light or reflective.
3. Make eye contact: Don’t assume a turning driver sees you. Wait until the car has stopped before you step off the curb.

For Cyclists:

1. Use bike lanes and trails: Where they exist, use protected lanes and paths like Detroit’s Dequindre Cut. Where they don’t, ride with traffic and stay predictable.
2. Light up: Run front and rear lights at night and on gray winter days, and wear bright colors.
3. Watch turning drivers: Right-turning cars at busy intersections often don’t see cyclists. Never assume a driver will yield.

General Tips:

1. Know your route: If your commute includes I-75, I-94 or US-131, build in extra time for crashes and construction.
2. Check conditions before you go: MDOT’s Mi Drive map shows crashes, closures and work zones as they happen.

What to Do If You’re Injured in a Michigan Car Accident

A crash on I-75, Gratiot or US-131 can leave you shaken and unsure where to start. Here’s what matters most in the first hours and days.

1. Call 911. Even if nobody seems badly hurt, get police to the scene so an official crash report gets written. If anyone is seriously injured, ask for an ambulance.
2. Get checked out. Concussions and internal injuries don’t always show up right away. Go to the ER or urgent care, and follow up with your own doctor.
3. Document the scene if you can. If it’s safe, photograph the vehicles, plates and road conditions. Get witnesses’ contact information, and swap insurance details without admitting fault.
4. Be careful with adjusters. An insurance company may call soon after the crash. You can politely decline a recorded statement until you have your crash report and understand your options.
5. Keep everything. Medical records, bills, repair estimates, missed work, and every letter or email from an insurer.

Which agency has your report depends on where the crash happened. The Michigan State Police patrol the freeways and state trunklines, city police handle city streets, and in some townships a county sheriff’s deputy takes the report. Our Michigan crash report guide explains how to get a copy from each.

Don’t know which agency took the report, or would rather skip the paperwork? We can get a copy of your report for you at no cost.

Michigan Crash Hot Spot Questions

More Michigan Crash Guides

City crash guides: Saginaw, MI

County accident news: Wayne County · Oakland County · Macomb County · Kent County · Genesee County · Ingham County · Saginaw County · Ottawa County

Nearby states: Ohio crash hot spots · Indiana crash hot spots · Wisconsin crash hot spots

For the latest, crashes from around the state are posted in Michigan accident news and our recent accident alerts.