Michigan: Cellular phone laws, bills

Legislative update: The Michigan House and Senate have both approved bills outlawing text messaging while driving. These bills are tagged for secondary enforcement, meaning law officers would need another reason to pull over the violator. Some legislators are pushing for stricter primary enforcement.

Current prohibitions:
In Detroit, drivers making cell phone calls must use hands-free devices. There are no statewide prohibitions.

Pending legislation:
SB 402: Would prohibit all drivers from text messaging. Use of cell phones legal if a hands-free device is employed. Secondary enforcement, meaning a law officer cannot stop or cite a driver for this reason alone. Approved by the Senate Transportation Committee on Dec. 8, 2009, and then by the full Senate on Jan. 26, 2010. (Read the Senate version.) Sent to the House (Thomas)

SB 468: Would prohibit all drivers from text messaging. Use of cell phones legal if a hands-free device is employed. Secondary enforcement. Fines $200 for first offense then $500. Approved by the Senate Transportation Committee on Dec. 8, 2009, and by the full Senate on Jan. 26, 2010. Tied with SB 402 (above). (Kahn)

HB 4394: Would outlaw text messaging by all motorists. The texting bill was approved by the House on Dec. 8, 2009, and transmitted to the Senate (Transportation Committee, Dec. 9). The texting bill previously was approved by the House Transportation Committee on Oct. 22. (Gonzales)

HB 4370: Companion bill to HB 4394 (above). Specifies that no points would be added to a driver license for a violation of the text messaging prohibition. (Polidori)

HB 4369: Would outlaw talking on a handheld cell phone while driving. Also would prohibit text messaging and instant messaging on cell phones. Fine of $100. (See SB 417). Inactive in committee.

SB 417: Seeks to ban use of a handheld cell phone while driving on Michigan’s roads. Includes text messaging and instant messaging on cell phones. Maximum fine would be $100. Inactive.

SB 467: Would prohibit school bus drivers from using cell phones while the vehicle is in motion or students are loading. No activity on this bill.

Legislation notes:
Senate Floor Leader Samuel “Buzz” Thomas saw his SB 402 clear the full Senate on Jan. 26, 2010. The vote was 31-6. This is his second legislative attempt to end text messaging while driving.

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“It seems like every month we read about another fatality — or near fatality — because someone was texting while driving,” said Thomas, D-Detroit. “This is ridiculous and it really needs to end.”

An amendment seeking to upgrade SB 402 enforcement to primary failed.

HB 4369 calls for fines of $100 for cell phoning behind the wheel to $500 for texting. SB 467 and 468 come with $100 fines.

All cell phone and texting legislation proposed for the 2009-2010 session calls for secondary enforcement, meaning drivers would have to be stopped for some other reason before a citation can be issued.

Supporters of the House text messaging bills include the State Police, AAA Michigan, Ford Motor Company and Verizon Wireless.

A school bus drivers association opposes SB 467, saying that the transit cell phone law as written could rule out use of future technologies that help drivers do their jobs. “We’re concerned about a blanket prohibition on data transfer,” said Paul Wegmeyer, chairman of the legislative committee for the Michigan Association for Pupil Transportation.

The Saginaw News editorialized in favor of State Rep. Gino Polidori’s cell phone and texting bill HB 4369:

Even if the Democrat-controlled House OKs it, the Republican-controlled Senate hasn’t given a similar bill so much as a committee hearing. That will change when the accident numbers pile up, when the deaths accumulate, when it starts to get personal. It’s just too bad we may have to waste so much time — and lives — until then.

Previous legislation:
HB 5117: The House voted to prohibit text messaging by drivers in a 68-32 vote on Dec. 4. The law would have prohibited drivers from reading, writing or sending text messages using wireless devices, including cellular phones. It did not advance in the Senate during the special session.

HB 5117 was introduced by Rep. Steve Bieda, D-Warren.

Also on Dec. 4, the House shot down HB 4982, which would require drivers making cell phone calls to use hands-free devices. Rep. Gino Polidori, D-Dearborn, said he would revive his legislation for the next legislative session. “The state has seat-belt laws to protect drivers, and we prohibit drunken driving to eliminate threats to other drivers and innocent bystanders. A cell phone restriction would serve both purposes,” Polidori has said.