April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and police agencies throughout Michigan will be on the lookout for distracted drivers.
According to Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, in 2022, there were 15,441 crashes involving a distracted driver.
In 2023, Michigan's new hands-free law went into effect, prohibiting drivers from using their cell phones behind the wheel.
That year, there were 15,135 crashes caused by distracted driving, which is 305 fewer than the year before.
Col. James F. Grady, the director of Michigan State Police, tells me while the numbers are encouraging, he doesn't want to see anyone get hurt.
"Are those numbers down as much as you would like to see them?" I asked.
"Well, I mean, in a perfect world we wouldn’t have any crashes, right? I mean once crash, one fatality is too many," he said. "We want to work with news agencies and reporters like yourself to get the information out there, to ensure that Michiganders will know and remember that they must drive safely and they need to keep their hands on the steering wheel, they need to pay attention to what is going on in front of them."
If you get caught breaking Michigan's hands-free law, it's a $100 ticket and/or 16 hours of community service for the first offense. The second offense jumps to $250 and/or 24 hours of community service. A third offense in a three-year period will force drivers into completing a driving improvement course.
