Law enforcement officials throughout Michigan are cracking down on distracted driving this month.
April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the police agencies are teaming up with the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning.
Throughout the month, police officers throughout Michigan will enforce Michigan's hands-free driving law that took effect last year, and remind drivers of the dangers of distracted driving.
Michigan Traffic Crash Facts found there were 15,441 confirmed crashes involving a distracted driver in 2022, the most recent year for which data was available. That resulted in 5,905 injuries and 57 fatalities.
“Any activity that takes your eyes off the road and your hands off the wheel is extremely reckless and puts you and other roadway users at risk,” said Katie Bower, OHSP director. “Determining whether a distraction was a factor in a crash isn’t always easy to ascertain, and because of this, we know distracted driving is underrepresented in crash reports. In an effort to encourage safer driving behaviors, officers will be stepping up enforcement and ticketing anyone who is caught texting or committing other hands-free law violations while driving.”
Violating Michigan's hands-free driving law can be costly. THe first office is $100 ticket, a second offense is a $250 ticket and a third offense within a three-year period means a driver has to complete a driving improvement course.
