If you haven’t heard, there is a new amendment to Michigan’s Distracted Driving Law that is to be in effect on June 30th.
Here’s what Gov. Whitmer said about it:
“Last year, 1,120 people died on our roads and that’s unacceptable. Our goal is to get to zero traffic deaths by 2050,” And… “Today’s legislation will make a real difference, especially for young drivers, who accounted for 8% of all drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2018, even though they were only 5.3% of all licensed drivers.”
The amendment cracks down further on phone usage in the vehicle. It outlaws using a mobile electronic device to do “any task” such as sending or receiving a call, sending or receiving a text, viewing or recording video, and accessing or posting on Tik Tok, Instagram or any other social media platform.
In addition, there are increased consequences for violating the law and are as follows:
1st violation: $100 fine or 16 hours of community service – or both
2nd violation: $250 fine or 24 hours of community service – or both
And, if you incur 3 violations in 3 years you will be court ordered to complete a driver improvement course. For people that driver commercially, like a school bus for example, the fines and penalties are more severe per violation:
1st violation: $200 fine or 32 hours of community service – or both
2nd violation: $500 fine or 48 hours of community service – or both
Here at OFFICIAL Driving School, we’ve been teaching and advocating for teen driver safety a lot. A big part of that is learning preventative behaviors including putting your phone on Driving Focus or creating a playlist of songs you love, so you can set-it-and-forget-it in the vehicle. And, if you absolutely must take a call, then pull into a safe space off the roadway.
