Southeast Michigan recorded 100 pedestrian deaths in 2025, one fewer than the region’s 2016 record. That rise came even as overall crashes, fatalities and serious injuries fell from the previous year. Intersection crashes caused 131 deaths, surpassing lane-departure crashes for the first time. Oakland County is developing a plan for two roundabouts in Commerce Township as one response to intersection safety concerns.
The pedestrian toll reversed a 2024 decline. A SEMCOG review of Michigan State Police statistics, cited by WXYZ Channel 7, found deadly pedestrian crashes rose 28% between 2024 and 2025. SEMCOG’s Traffic Quick Facts report says pedestrian fatalities in the region had fallen 20% from 2023 to 2024, reaching the second-lowest total in a decade. Pedestrians accounted for 19% of regional traffic fatalities in 2024, the report says.
Intersections, meanwhile, have become a growing part of the danger. Intersection-related fatalities rose 13% in 2024 compared to 2023, and intersection-related serious injuries hit a 10-year high of 912 that year, SEMCOG reported. Those crashes already accounted for 31% of all traffic fatalities and 41% of serious injuries regionwide in 2024, even before the 2025 numbers pushed intersection deaths past lane-departure crashes as a cause of death.
Commerce Township Intersections Draw Complaints
The Road Commission for Oakland County is developing a plan for two back-to-back roundabouts at Richardson Road’s intersections with Union Lake and Martin roads in Commerce Township, according to the station’s report. Beau Blankenship described the area as a recurring bottleneck. Construction is planned for 2028.
Residents also described long waits and difficult traffic conditions at the intersections. Fred Alexander called them a nightmare because of delays at traffic lights, while Tim Dunaitis said both are extremely busy and complicated, according to WXYZ. Alexander also encouraged drivers to practice using intersections so they can become more comfortable as the region adds roundabouts.
SEMCOG Pitches Roundabouts as a Safety Tool
Jenya Abramovich, a transportation planner with SEMCOG, said the agency believes more roundabouts could slow intersection traffic and help drivers watch for crossing pedestrians. Roundabouts are designed to reduce traffic speed and crash severity compared to standard intersections, and SEMCOG's Southeast Michigan Transportation Safety Plan identifies safety needs and guides investment decisions aimed at eliminating fatalities and serious injuries for all road users, according to a SEMCOG blog post. The agency notes that roundabouts can also reduce delay and queuing compared with other intersection alternatives, and their lower speeds and reduced-conflict design can be more suitable for people walking and biking.
What the Commerce Township Plan Specifies
The Road Commission for Oakland County says studies comparing roundabouts with signalized intersections found 90% fewer traffic fatalities and 75% fewer injury collisions, according to its roundabout information. For the Richardson Road project, the plan described above calls for two back-to-back roundabouts, with construction planned for 2028. The available project details do not specify the remaining approval or funding steps, or describe the proposed pedestrian crossings.
Abramovich cautioned, however, that the transition isn't always smooth. She said new roundabouts may initially see more low-speed, less severe fender-bender crashes as drivers learn to navigate them, a pattern SEMCOG's own materials confirm: low-severity crashes often tick up early on as drivers adapt to the new infrastructure. To help with that learning curve, SEMCOG launched an online Roundabout Story Map as a guide to new roundabouts being built across the region, and it analyzes Michigan State Police crash data every year. The agency also released a public-service announcement called The Road Wizard, which begins with the line, “You shall not pass! Just kidding,” to walk drivers through roundabout etiquette.
A Nearby Roundabout Offers a Cautionary Case Study
Commerce Township already has experience with the tradeoffs roundabouts bring. The intersection of M-5, Martin Parkway and Pontiac Trail, which handles roughly 75,000 vehicles a day, saw reported crashes climb from 41 in 2006, before the roundabout existed, to 146 by 2016 and 151 in 2024, according to a ClickOnDetroit report. Yet both 2006 and 2016 recorded zero fatal crashes and seven injury-related crashes each at that same intersection, the outlet found.
An RCOC representative told ClickOnDetroit that serious injuries account for just 0.5% of all crashes at that roundabout, framing the design's intended tradeoff as accepting more minor fender-benders in exchange for fewer serious injuries and deaths. Craig Bryson of RCOC pointed to a specific driver habit as the main culprit behind crashes there. “Please try not to switch lanes in the roundabout,” he said. “That's where we see crashes.” RCOC's own guidance for drivers recommends approaching and driving through roundabouts at about 15 to 20 miles per hour and yielding to pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicles in all lanes. The agency says its system already includes 45 roundabouts, with more on the way.
Oakland County's broader safety record offers some context for the push. The county's 2025 traffic-fatality rate stood at 0.67 deaths per 100 million miles of vehicle travel, well below the statewide rate of 1.08 and the national rate of 1.10, according to county figures. Whether the planned Commerce Township roundabouts will secure final funding and a locked construction timeline on schedule for 2028 remains to be seen as the project moves through the planning process.
