Michigan State Police say bad driver behaviors made worse during the pandemic aren’t dropping off enough. The agency just released its 2022 crash data, which shows traffic fatalities down 1% from 2021. MSP Fifth District First Lieutenant Duwayne Robinson tells us that’s not enough of a drop, considering fatalities have been up 15% from 2018 to 2022. He was looking forward to the new law that bans holding a cell phone while driving that took effect Friday. Are state police ready to enforce it?
“Most definitely,” Robinson said. “This law basically is just adding to the distracted driving law that was already in effect. This law addresses holding the device, talking on the phone and holding the phone in your hand.”
Robinson says the new law is clear about what you’re allowed to do.
“If you’re not on a public road, you can operate your phone, hold it, talk. If you’re in a Walmart parking lot and you just parked in the parking lot, you can use it. If you are at a traffic light and you’re stopped at a traffic light or a stop sign and your phone rings, you are no longer able to answer your phone and/or talk on your phone while stopped at a traffic light or stopped in traffic, period.”
The 2022 crash data show bicycle fatalities up 24% from 2021 to 2022. There was also a 28% increase in work zone crashes in 2022, and fatalities in work zones increased 15%. Still, the report also finds alcohol-involved fatalities fell by 10%, teen traffic fatalities dropped 34%, and pedestrian fatalities decreased 5%.
