Livingston County’s notorious roundabouts at Lee and Whitmore Lake roads in Green Oak Township rank as the 5th most dangerous roundabouts in the state.
Raise your hand if you’re surprised.
Michigan Auto Law compiles its ‘most dangerous’ lists using data from the Michigan State Police Traffic Crash Reporting Unit, which uses traffic numbers from the previous year.
The double roundabouts, located just off U.S. 23 near Costco and the Green Oak Village Place mall, have produced anxiety for drivers since they opened in 2006. The circular intersection had 80 crashes in 2024; while that’s down from 85 crashes in 2023, it’s up from 70 crashes in 2022, 71 crashes in 2023, and just 35 crashes in 2020.
Michigan Auto Law uses data from the Michigan State Police Traffic Crash Reporting Unit. Each list uses traffic data from the previous year.
Here are the Top 10 Most Dangerous Michigan Roundabouts
1. 18 1/2 MILE RD @ VAN DYKE AVE, Sterling Heights, 162, Total Crashes, 12 Injuries
2. MARTIN PKWY @ N PONTIAC TRL, Commerce Township, 151 Total Crashes, 9 Injuries
3. ORCHARD LAKE RD @ 14 MILE RD, Farmington Hills, 109 Total Crashes, 5 Injuries
4. STATE RD @ W ELLSWORTH RD, Ann Arbor, 85 Total Crashes, 5 Injuries
5. LEE RD @ WHITMORE LAKE RD, Green Oak Township, 80 Total Crashes, 3 Injuries
6. OAKLEY PARK RD @ MARTIN PKWY, Commerce Township, 69 Total Crashes, 6 Injuries
7. FARMINGTON RD @ W MAPLE RD, West Bloomfield Township, 64 Total Crashes, 7 Injuries
8. SPRINKLE RD @ CORK ST (NORTH OF I 94), Kalamazoo, 49 Total Crashes, 15 Injuries
9. DRAKE RD @ W MAPLE RD, West Bloomfield Township, 48 Total Crashes, 6 Injuries
10. REMEMBRANCE RD NW @ WILSON AVE NW, Walker, 38 Total Crashes, 7 Injuries
– Source: Michigan State Police Traffic Crash Reporting Unit (Note: Any circular intersections constructed in 2024 or after are not included on our list of Most Dangerous Michigan Roundabouts. A full year of data is necessary before a circular intersection can be evaluated for whether it should be included in our annual list.)
The roundabouts have been a burr in the butt of Livingston County’s drivers since they opened in the summer of 2006. The Livingston County Road Commission spent over $1 million in 2018 to remove the outside lanes of the roundabouts, a move they said would make them safer and less confusing.
Here is a video we did of the roundabouts in 2018.
