Michigan Driving Laws | Cell Phone Law | Texting Law |Hands Free

2010 Michigan Update

Governor Signs New Texting Bill Into Law

April 30th, 2010

Michigan House Bill 4394 - As expected Governor Jennifer Granholm signed Michigan House Bill 4394 into law today.

The new law prohibits drivers from reading, writing and sending text messages while operating a motor vehicle.

Specifically the bill states:

"A person shall not read, manually type, or send a text message on a wireless 2-way communication device that is located in the person's hand or in the person's lap, including a wireless telephone used in cellular telephone service or personal communication service, while operating a motor vehicle that is moving on a highway or street in this state. "

There are exceptions for law enforcement and emergency situations.

If signed into law the following fines would be applied to a person ticketed:

"A civil infraction and shall be ordered to pay a civil fine as follows:

(a) For a first violation, $100.00.
(b) For a second or subsequent violation, $200.00."

This bill was passed as a primary offense, which means a person could be pulled over and ticketed based on the text messaging offense alone.

To read the details of the Bill please go to >>> Michigan House Bill 4394

Prior Legislative Updates

The State Senate approved a texting while driving ban yesterday, January 26th, 2010.

Time will tell if the existing House Bill which is also a text messaging ban will be compatible with the Senate version.

The differences in the bills lie in primary and secondary enforcement.

If the bill became a primary enforcement law, an officer could pull a driver over solely based on seeing a driver engaging in text messaging.

If the bill became a secondary enforcement law, a driver would need to also be creating a primary offense, such as speeding or reckless driving before they could be pulled over.

More information will be provided as the legislation moves through the legislative process.

Michigan 2009 / 2010 Legislation Update

The bills listed below are current pending, they are all somewhat related to either Texting or Cell Phone use while driving a Motor Vehicle. Similar bills have failed in the past however and there are also similar bills pending in the Michigan legislature.

Michigan Senate Bill 417
Purpose: Allows use of hand-free wireless telephones while driving
Status: Pending

Michigan Senate Bill 468
Purpose: Permits use of hands-free wireless telephones while operating a motor vehicle
Status: Pending

Michigan House Bill 4394
Purpose: Provides for penalties for operating a motor vehicle while reading, writing, or sending a message on an electronic wireless device.
Status: Pending

The Detroit, Michigan Hands Free Cell Phone Law

Michigan does not have a state wide cell-phone law, however Michigan does allow localities to determine their own cell-phone driving laws. The Detroit Hands-Free law was passed in 2005 and went into effect in 2006. Other states such as Ohio and New Mexico also allow localities to determine their own cell phone laws.

Detroit's hands-free legislation makes it a civil infraction to use a hand held mobile phone while operating a motor vehicle. This law is enforced only as a secondary offense. Since this new hands-free bill is a secondary offense, the police cannot ticket the driver unless there is a primary driving offense such as speeding or running a red light. This has led many people to question the effectiveness of a law that doesn't specifically target the driver who is clearly talking on a cellular phone without a hands-free device. Nevertheless, the new hands free law remains a secondary infraction.

The fine for violation of the law is not to exceed $100. Just like every other state that has hands free laws in effect, there are exceptions for emergency situations or if you are a on-duty public safety employee.