Michigan sees a 2% decrease in distracted driving-related crashes in 2024, officials say

(CBS DETROIT) — Michigan has had hands-free driving laws for over a year now.

Michigan State Police First Lt. Mike Shaw says the state had laws that prohibited texting and driving before the latest version was implemented a year ago.

"It was too limited. And a lot of courts weren't even looking at it," he said. "Before, if you went to court, you actually had to prove that that person was actually texting. It's very hard for us to prove unless we actually had a video camera, could put it on their car and actually catch them texting. With this one ... as soon as you pick it up, it's illegal. So it makes it a lot easier for us to enforce."

Officials say Michigan saw about a 2% decrease in distracted driving-related crashes. Shaw says that this could be in part due to these laws, and it takes a couple of years to see concrete numbers.

"If we reduce those risky driving behaviors such as driving while distracted driving, impaired speeding, following too closely-- if we reduced all those, our traffic crash fatalities would drop to almost zero instantly. So this is, you know, very important stuff," Shaw said.

Shaw says MSP troopers issued about 5,000 citations and verbal warnings over the last year.