Michigan police increase patrols for Distracted Driving Awareness Month
FOX 2 (WJBK) - Distracted drivers beware! Law enforcement agencies across Michigan are increasing patrols for the entire month of April to crack down on anyone not paying attention to the road while driving.
That means fines and potentially points. The effort is taking place during Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
"There’s three types of distraction," said Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw. "It's visual, where you’re not watching the road, it's cognitive, and then it's anything that takes your hands off the steering wheel."
In 2022, 15,441 confirmed crashes on the road involved some kind of distracted driver, according to Michigan Traffic Crash Facts' latest available data. Of those distracted crashes, 57 people were killed and 5,905 were injured.
"All preventable. All family members that aren’t coming back for whatever holiday or month it is because somebody decided to pick up a phone and not drive," Shaw said.
Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Kent, and Ottawa were the top five counties for distracted driving crashes in Michigan, according to the data.
A hands-free driving law went into effect in Michigan on June 30, 2023, outlawing any cell phone use at all while operating a vehicle. There has been an increase in tickets issued for distracted driving since the law was enforced.
"I’ve been guilty of it – but everybody is texting and driving, we’re playing with the radio and driving, trying to change music," said Veronica Scott, an Uber driver. "We live in a time where we’re all distracted by our phones."
Michigan's new distracted driving rules outlaws more than just texting while behind the wheel
Police would also be able to pull someone over if they see them using a device while driving - however, they wouldn't be allowed to search the person if that was the only offense.
Almost half of distracted driving crashes involve someone being rear ended.
"If you’re driving down the road an officer sees you, you're doing everything but driving, you’re building that egg McMuffin in between your lap… you can be stopped for that," Shaw said. "It wouldn't be a hands-free violation, it would be a careless driving violation – which actually has more points to it."
Anyone who violates Michigan’s hands-free driving law can be fined a $100 ticket and/or 16 hours of community service. Break the law three times in a three-year span, you’ll have to take a driving improvement course.