By ART BUKOWSKI
TRAVERSE CITY -- Traffic fatalities skyrocketed in northern Michigan this month, and officials hope increased caution will reduce the number of deaths on local roads.
At least 11 people died in crashes in Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix and Emmet counties since Aug. 9, and several others were hospitalized. One victim was a bicyclist who was struck by a vehicle and killed.
The same set of counties had a combined total of three traffic deaths in August 2007, according to Michigan State Police crash records, and two in July of this year.
"It's just one of those bad streaks we're going through right now," Kalkaska Sheriff Bill Artress said.
The reasons behind each crash vary, but familiar factors played a role in many of the recent incidents, police said.
"The common denominator is speed and alcohol," Antrim County Undersheriff Dave Kopkau said.
Tourists and seasonal residents pour into the region during the summer months -- the population of Kalkaska County alone nearly doubles, Artess said -- and the jump invariably leads to more trouble on the road.
"When you get that big of an influx of people, you're going to have problems," Kopkau said.
But officials have seen such spikes occur during the winter or other seasons in years past.
"Every year there seems to be a heavy time for traffic fatalities," Kopkau said.
Grand Traverse County normally averages 10 or 12 fatal crashes per year, Undersheriff Nathan Alger said, and the county has seen four so far this year. Two of those crashes were in August, and the most recent claimed a woman and a young girl, both of Kalkaska.
Across the state, 1,088 people died in traffic crashes in 2007, two more than in 2006, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But the nationwide total of 41,059 was down more than 1,600 from 2006, marking the lowest number of deaths in a year since 1994.
Police believe the biggest deterrence to any type of crash is a strong patrol presence. But it's still up to drivers to make the right choices, officials said, and it's impossible to prevent all fatal crashes.
"If there's a magic answer, boy I wish I knew it," Kopkau said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
