LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) — April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and as state lawmakers gather in Lansing for the first time this month, one of their first orders of business will be three bills focused on cellphone usage behind the wheel.
House Bills 4250, 4251 and 4252 will be the topic of discussion during a hearing for the Transportation, Mobility and Infrastructure Committee. Two of the bills are sponsored by a Democrat, while the other is sponsored by a Republican. The bills are expected to receive bipartisan support.
Similar legislation was previously proposed in 2021 and passed the House but failed to pass the Senate.
Steve Kiefer is a father on a mission. In September of 2016, his 18-year-old son Mitchel — then a freshman at Michigan State University — was driving back to campus when suddenly, his life was taken in a crash on I-96.
"The sun was out, the road was dry, there was no reason to have a crash. Traffic slowed on I-96 in Ingham County, Mitchel slowed down and unfortunately, the young lady behind him did not," Steve Kiefer said. "She was distracted on her phone, didn't see him slow down and rear-ended him.”
Steve says the driver hit Mitchel at 82 mph, pushing him across the median into oncoming traffic where he was hit by a truck and died instantly.
"We know we’ll see him again sometime, but in the meantime, we’ll do as much as we can to honor his memory,” Steve Kiefer said. “Mitchel always said he wanted to change the world, so we said we’re going to change the world in honor of him."
Soon after Mitchel's death, the family started the Kiefer Foundation, raising awareness for distracted driving and pushing for legislation. The stretch of road where he was killed is now named after him, marked by a sign with Mitchel's name.
“Every day I drive to Lansing, I see that sign,” state Rep. Matt Koleszar, D-Plymouth, said. "That sign right there shows you that it’s not just policy, this affects human beings."
Koleszar says Michigan’s distracted driving laws that passed more than a decade ago are outdated. It specifically banned texting while driving, but that’s it.
“You can be on social media or you can be streaming a video, that is all legal under state law,” Koleszar explained.
A new bill he’s sponsoring would make it illegal to use your phone at all while driving, with some exceptions for hands-free technology and emergencies. The Kiefer Foundation has been involved in drafting this legislation, getting it passed in states across the country.
“In every state where we have these bills passed in to law, the crashes are reduced, the deaths are reduced, even insurance rates come down,” Steve Kiefer said. "They don't bring an end to distracted driving but when we make it illegal and we have strong enforcement, we see a reduction in crashes and deaths, which is what this is all about.”
Steve Kiefer remembers his son as determined, driven and hardworking. He was a hockey goalie, winning a high school state title with Detroit Catholic Central months before his death. Steve is hopeful the bills will be signed into law by Memorial Day. It's an ambitious goal, fitting for a young man who never backed down from a challenge.
“We just celebrated his 25th birthday," Steve Kiefer said. "I know he’d be doing amazing things right now and I know in some ways, he is doing amazing things by keeping us motivated to get this done for him.”
