Traffic enforcement statistics show the scale and mix of activity more clearly when the period and population are explicit. The figures below combine Michigan’s grant-funded mobilization reports from five named periods in 2022–2023 with NHTSA’s synthesis of enforcement and safety-outcome studies through 2022.
Key Traffic Enforcement Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- 108 Michigan law-enforcement agencies participated in the speed-enforcement period from December 1, 2022, through February 28, 2023.
- 27,467 traffic stops were recorded by Michigan agencies during the December 1, 2022–February 28, 2023 speed-enforcement period.
- 14,894 speeding citations were issued in Michigan during the December 1, 2022–February 28, 2023 speed-enforcement period.
- 40 texting citations were issued during Michigan’s December 1, 2022–February 28, 2023 speed-enforcement period.
- 4,158 seat-belt citations were issued during Michigan’s May 15–June 4, 2023 seat-belt period.
- 67 child-restraint citations were issued during Michigan’s May 15–June 4, 2023 seat-belt period.
- 100 drunk-driving arrests were made during Michigan’s August 10–September 4, 2023 late-summer impaired-driving period.
- 22 drug-impaired-driving arrests were made during Michigan’s July 1–30, 2023 combined enforcement period.
- 3,544 other non-moving citations were issued during Michigan’s December 1, 2022–February 28, 2023 speed-enforcement period.
- 178 other felony arrests were recorded during Michigan’s December 1, 2022–February 28, 2023 speed-enforcement period.
- 15,068.3 overtime enforcement hours were reported during Michigan’s December 1, 2022–February 28, 2023 speed-enforcement period.
- 58% of 90 study locations reduced crashes or prohibited behavior in NHTSA’s synthesis of alcohol-impaired-driving high-visibility enforcement evaluations through 2022.
- Seat-belt use improved by an average of 3.5 percentage points across high-visibility occupant-protection campaigns in NHTSA’s studies synthesized through 2022.
- One additional checkpoint per 100,000 people per week increased seat-belt use by 0.76 percentage points in NHTSA’s occupant-protection campaign synthesis through 2022.
- Work-zone speed-enforcement studies found an average speed decrease of approximately 4 mph across the reviewed study locations through 2022.
Contents
- Campaign scale and traffic stops
- Speeding and distracted-driving citations
- Seat-belt and child-restraint enforcement
- Impaired-driving arrests
- Other citations and criminal arrests
- Resources and measured safety outcomes
Traffic Enforcement Campaign Scale and Traffic Stop Statistics
Michigan’s FY 2023 Highway Safety Plan Annual Report records mandatory, grant-funded mobilization activity rather than every traffic stop in the state. The five periods below therefore describe reported campaign activity, not annual statewide totals.
| Michigan mobilization period | Participating agencies | Traffic stops |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 1, 2022–Feb. 28, 2023: speed enforcement | 108 | 27,467 |
| Dec. 16, 2022–Jan. 1, 2023: impaired driving | 68 | 3,086 |
| May 15–June 4, 2023: seat belts | 88 | 9,904 |
| July 1–30, 2023: impaired driving, seat belts and speed | 83 | 12,682 |
| Aug. 10–Sept. 4, 2023: impaired driving | 70 | 5,044 |
Source: Michigan FY 2023 Highway Safety Plan Annual Report.
The speed-enforcement period had the largest reported campaign footprint in this table, with 108 agencies and 27,467 stops. The December impaired-driving period involved 68 agencies and 3,086 stops, while the May seat-belt period involved 88 agencies and 9,904 stops.
The July combined period involved 83 agencies and 12,682 stops. The late-summer impaired-driving period involved 70 agencies and 5,044 stops; none of these campaign counts should be read as a statewide annual census.
Speeding and Distracted-Driving Citation Statistics
Speeding citations were the largest named citation category in each Michigan mobilization period. The report’s texting counts are reported citations only and should not be interpreted as a measure of all distracted driving.
| Period | Speeding citations | Texting citations |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 1, 2022–Feb. 28, 2023 | 14,894 | 40 |
| Dec. 16, 2022–Jan. 1, 2023 | 682 | 6 |
| May 15–June 4, 2023 | 1,566 | 251 |
| July 1–30, 2023 | 5,047 | 282 |
| Aug. 10–Sept. 4, 2023 | 1,139 | 225 |
Source: Michigan FY 2023 Highway Safety Plan Annual Report.
The speed-enforcement period produced 14,894 speeding citations and 40 texting citations. The July combined period produced 5,047 speeding citations and 282 texting citations, while the late-summer impaired-driving period produced 1,139 speeding citations and 225 texting citations.
The May seat-belt period produced 1,566 speeding citations and 251 texting citations. These are campaign counts with the citation definitions and reporting practices used by the Michigan program, not estimates of the full number of violations.
NHTSA’s broader synthesis cautions against treating enforcement quantity as a universal dose-response rule: it did not identify enforcement-level relationships for distracted driving, speeding, alcohol-impaired driving or aggressive driving in the reviewed evidence.
Seat-Belt and Child-Restraint Enforcement Data
Seat-belt and child-restraint citations varied substantially by mobilization purpose and period. The dedicated May seat-belt period produced the largest counts for both categories in the Michigan table.
| Period | Seat-belt citations | Child-restraint citations |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 1, 2022–Feb. 28, 2023 | 199 | 30 |
| Dec. 16, 2022–Jan. 1, 2023 | 17 | 7 |
| May 15–June 4, 2023 | 4,158 | 67 |
| July 1–30, 2023 | 1,037 | 57 |
| Aug. 10–Sept. 4, 2023 | 205 | 10 |
Source: Michigan FY 2023 Highway Safety Plan Annual Report.
Michigan agencies issued 4,158 seat-belt citations during the May 15–June 4, 2023 seat-belt period and 67 child-restraint citations. The July combined period recorded 1,037 seat-belt citations and 57 child-restraint citations.
The speed-enforcement period recorded 199 seat-belt citations and 30 child-restraint citations. The December impaired-driving period recorded 17 seat-belt citations and 7 child-restraint citations, while the late-summer period recorded 205 and 10, respectively.
NHTSA’s synthesis provides outcome context from evaluated high-visibility occupant-protection campaigns, but those estimates come from heterogeneous study locations and do not describe every enforcement campaign.
Impaired-Driving Arrest Statistics
The Michigan report separates drunk-driving arrests from operating-under-the-influence-of-drugs arrests. The labels below retain the report’s wording, and the counts are program-reported arrests rather than a statewide estimate of all impaired-driving cases.
| Period | Drunk-driving arrests | Drug-impaired-driving arrests |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 1, 2022–Feb. 28, 2023 | 43 | 14 |
| Dec. 16, 2022–Jan. 1, 2023 | 77 | 6 |
| May 15–June 4, 2023 | 12 | 3 |
| July 1–30, 2023 | 75 | 22 |
| Aug. 10–Sept. 4, 2023 | 100 | 18 |
Source: Michigan FY 2023 Highway Safety Plan Annual Report.
The late-summer impaired-driving period recorded 100 drunk-driving arrests and 18 drug-impaired-driving arrests. The December impaired-driving period recorded 77 drunk-driving arrests and 6 drug-impaired-driving arrests.
The July combined period recorded 75 and 22, respectively. The speed-enforcement period recorded 43 drunk-driving arrests and 14 drug-impaired-driving arrests, while the May seat-belt period recorded 12 and 3.
In NHTSA’s synthesis of 90 study locations, 58% of alcohol-impaired-driving high-visibility enforcement evaluations reduced either crashes or prohibited behavior. The outcome could be either crashes or prohibited behavior, and NHTSA found no dose-response relationship with enforcement level in that synthesis.
Other Traffic Citations and Criminal Arrest Data
The Michigan report includes residual categories for other moving citations, other non-moving citations and other felony arrests. Because these are report-defined categories, they should not be treated as a single standardized national classification.
| Period | Other moving citations | Other non-moving citations | Other felony arrests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 1, 2022–Feb. 28, 2023 | 1,593 | 3,544 | 178 |
| Dec. 16, 2022–Jan. 1, 2023 | 196 | 426 | 55 |
| May 15–June 4, 2023 | 785 | 1,437 | 78 |
| July 1–30, 2023 | 818 | 1,718 | 86 |
| Aug. 10–Sept. 4, 2023 | 396 | 657 | 86 |
Source: Michigan FY 2023 Highway Safety Plan Annual Report.
The speed-enforcement period recorded 3,544 other non-moving citations, 1,593 other moving citations and 178 other felony arrests. The July combined period recorded 1,718 other non-moving citations, 818 other moving citations and 86 other felony arrests.
The May seat-belt period recorded 1,437 other non-moving citations, 785 other moving citations and 78 other felony arrests. The late-summer period recorded 657, 396 and 86, while the December impaired-driving period recorded 426, 196 and 55.
Traffic Enforcement Resources and Measured Safety Outcomes
Overtime hours indicate reported campaign resources, not total enforcement labor. Michigan reported the most overtime during the longest speed-enforcement period in the table.
| Period | Reported overtime enforcement hours |
|---|---|
| Dec. 1, 2022–Feb. 28, 2023 | 15,068.3 |
| Dec. 16, 2022–Jan. 1, 2023 | 2,650.5 |
| May 15–June 4, 2023 | 5,483.8 |
| July 1–30, 2023 | 7,204.1 |
| Aug. 10–Sept. 4, 2023 | 3,773.8 |
Source: Michigan FY 2023 Highway Safety Plan Annual Report.
NHTSA’s Synthesis of Studies That Relate Amount of Enforcement to Magnitude of Safety Outcomes reports several measured associations from studies synthesized through 2022:
- High-visibility occupant-protection campaigns improved seat-belt use by an average of 3.5 percentage points across the reviewed studies.
- One additional checkpoint per 100,000 people per week was associated with a 0.76-percentage-point increase in seat-belt use in an occupant-protection campaign.
- For campaigns from 1993–2008, each additional $1 per 1,000 residents in media spending was associated with a 0.011-percentage-point increase in seat-belt use; NHTSA says the relationship did not apply above $0.50 per resident or after 2008.
- Work-zone speed-enforcement efforts reduced speed by approximately 4 mph on average in the reviewed studies.
Source: Synthesis of Studies That Relate Amount of Enforcement to Magnitude of Safety Outcomes.
These NHTSA findings are averages and associations across heterogeneous studies, not universal forecasts. The synthesis specifically states that enforcement-level relationships were not identified for distracted driving, alcohol-impaired driving, speeding or aggressive driving, so the outcome figures should be interpreted within the reviewed evidence and its study locations.