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Officials: Michigan Traffic Deaths Rose 10 Percent Last Year

LANSING (WWJ/AP) - Officials say Michigan traffic deaths rose 10 percent last year as alcohol-involved, bicyclist, teen and motorcyclist traffic deaths increased.

The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning says Monday the number of deaths rose from 876 in 2014 to 963 in 2015 according to numbers from the Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center.

The state says the increase was most notable for bicyclist fatalities, up 57 percent from 21 in 2014 to 33 in 2015. Motorcyclist fatalities rose 29 percent, from 107 in 2014 to 138 in 2015. Alcohol-involved fatalities were up 28 percent, from 236 in 2014 to 303 in 2015. Drug-involved fatal crashes spiked 19 percent, up from 150 in 2014 to 179 in 2015.

In other areas: Pedestrian fatalities increased 15 percent, from 148 in 2014 to 170 in 2015, cell phone-involved crashes increased 13 percent, from 666 to 753, and deer-involved crashes increased 3 percent, up from 45,690 to 47,001.

MOHSP spokeswoman Melody Kindraka said it's particularly troubling to see a spike in so many categories.

Why is happening?

She says the economy, gas prices, and weather are all factors to blame — and so are you.

"Obviously, driver behavior,"Kindraka told WWJ's Dave Ramos. "The human element a big one."

Those who driver for a living, though, seem to be being safer.

"We did see one decrease: commercial vehicle fataliries actually dropped 19 percent from 2014 to 2015," Melody Kindraka said.

MOHSP Director Michael L. Prince says officials plan to work with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute to identify factors that may have played a role in the increase in deaths.

"There are a lot of socio/economic and environmental variables that can affect these numbers, including the economy, gas prices, changes in travel habits, weather, as well as driver behavior."

More detailed 2015 crash information will be posted at this link in the coming months.  Statewide crash information can be found at www.michigan.gov/crash.

TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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