Texting and Driving in Michigan
Saginaw, Flint, Traverse City and Lansing, Michigan

The new texting while driving ban went into effect on July 1 in Michigan as Michigan House Bill 4394. What this means is that police will be looking for tell-tale signs of drivers texting as they drive down the road, and will be able to pull over suspected texters. Weaving in the lane or crossing lanes, as well as obviously looking down may be reasons for police to pull over drivers.

However, the new law does not entitle police to go through the cell phone and check texts. Police can ask the driver if they were texting while driving or if they were on their phone.

This ban is in response to the number of auto accidents causing serious injury and death that are caused by drivers not paying attention because they were texting or reading texts on their phone across the state, as well as the nation. Many states have texting while driving bans in effect and they are all meant to save lives. Several of the big cell phone carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon, are teaming up with local and state groups to try and keep drivers from texting.

Penalty for Texting and Driving

In Michigan, the texting while driving penalty is $100 for a first violation and $200 for a second or subsequent violation. This is similar to the "click-it-or-ticket" law. Though the penalty for careless driving is steeper, many of the violators of this law, if following nationwide trends, are most likely going to be young people. Fines of $100 or $200 begin to add up if parents are paying for their children’s cell phone service and then the fines they incur.

This is not to say that only teenagers or young adults are texting while driving. Texting has overtaken actual phone conversations as a mode of communicating in this country. But when around 3% of the hundreds of thousands of auto accidents are the result of driving and texting, something needed to be done. Not a day goes by where someone suffers a serious injury or is killed in this country because there was a text message that just had to be looked at.

The texting and driving bills are in their infancy. As Michigan and other states begin to see how well the laws are working (or not working), similar bills or amendments may be added.

It is tragic when a loved one suffers a life-changing injury or is killed in an accident for any reason. However, if that person becomes a victim because someone was texting while driving, then the tragedy is one that could have been prevented.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident because another party was texting while driving, please contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Jay Trucks & Associates, PC for an initial case consultation. We serve the communities of Saginaw, Michigan, Traverse City, and Lansing, Michigan.

Lawyers for the Injured
Jay Trucks & Associates, PC
Experienced - Dedicated - Compassionate