Police Cracking Down On Distracted Driving This April

DETROIT, MI — April is Distracted Driving Month and Michigan State Police are cracking down on motorists trying to multitask behind the wheel. Last week the MSP got a head start on the annual initiative and conducted nearly 150 stops along one of the most complained about stretches of road in the state: M-59 in Oakland County. Ten troopers did the patrol and issued a slew of tickets, including 21 for seatbelt violations, two for car seat violations, two for texting and driving, three careless driving, 24 speeding and dozens of others, according to the MSP’s tweet.

"It’s always our hope that we never find anyone during these operations, but I am sure we will," said MSP Lt. Michael Shaw. "We will also be educating drivers on social media, radio and TV, as well as print media on the dangers of distracted driving."

April's first targeted area will be along I-696, Shaw said.

Michigan law prohibits a driver from reading, manually typing, or sending a text message while driving. There’s a $100 fine for the first offense and it doubles the next time, even though no points are assessed on a driving record (unless there’s a crash or crime). The fees are even stiffer for Level 1 and Level 2 license holders.

So what exactly are you risking when you glance down at your cell phone while driving? Research shows that the brain remains distracted for 27 seconds after dialing, changing music, or sending a text using voice commands, according to the National Safety Council. Distracted driving isn’t just texting though, authorities caution. It’s eating and drinking, grooming, changing the radio or even attending to kids. Authorities break it down into three categories: visual, or taking your eyes off the wheel; manual, or taking your hands off the wheel, or cognitive, taking your mind off what you’re doing.

Here’s some of the data behind this dangerous issue:

• In 2014, 3,179 people were killed, and 431,000 injured nationwide in traffic crashes involving distracted drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
• There were 7,516 crashes in Michigan during 2015 involving distracted driving, resulting in 28 fatalities and 3,472 injuries. Cell phones were involved in 753 crashes, with three fatalities and 377 injuries, according to the Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center.
• 41 percent of young adult drivers in Michigan admitted to sending texts and emails on a regular basis while driving, according to a statewide telephone survey conducted in 2016 for the Office of Highway Safety Planning. More than 26 percent indicated they did so daily.

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