Motorists urged to use extra caution as Michigan drives into heaviest season for fatal crashes
LANSING, Mich. — As Michiganders prepare to head into the Labor Day weekend, a new statewide safety campaign is urging truck drivers and motorists to use extra caution on the roadways. The Michigan Center for Truck Safety (MCTS) said there has been a 32 percent increase in crashes involving trucks and buses in the past five years.
Safety Specialist Charles Culton said while the number of crashes remain high in other areas, there is better news for the Alpena.
“The big corridor for crashes, especially fatalities, is along I-94 and I-75,” said Culton. “In the Alpena area you don’t have that many crashes of commercial vehicles, and fortunately none were fatal this year,” he said.
Using billboard, social media, radio and digital video advertising, the campaign will focus on two main areas of concern: stopping distances and blind spots.
About one-quarter of all truck or bus crashes on freeways – most often in Wayne, Oakland, Berrien and Kent counties, according to the most recent Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center data.
