Ban on texting while driving difficult to enforce, still discourages usage

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Michigan drivers have not been allowed to read, write or send text messages while driving for more than a year.

Michigan House Bill 4394, approved in April 2010, made texting while driving a civil infraction, with a $100 fine for first-time offenders and a $200 fine for any subsequent violations.

Both the Mount Pleasant Police Department and the Mount Pleasant State Police Department have issued citations to drivers attempting to text. However, most officers said spotting a driver mid-text is not an easy task or a very common sight while patrolling.

Jeff Browne, Mount Pleasant Police Department public information officer, said he believes the law is very helpful for discouraging drivers from being distracted. Browne’s department does not issue citations for texting often, but the department can obtain search warrants for traffic accidents and determine if drivers were distracted by texts.

“It’s a very difficult law to enforce,” Browne said. “We don’t sit out and wait for drivers holding up their cell phones. Hopefully, the law will deter people from getting distracted while driving.”

Mount Pleasant State Police Trooper Erica Somers said she sees drivers texting much more often off duty than while patrolling in her police vehicle. Somers said she knows some drivers attempt to text while stopped, but believes texts can even then be harmful distractions.

“People are under the impression that they can text at a stoplight, but trying to recover from distractions can be difficult,” Somers said. “Some states have it where you can’t use your cell phone at all.”

For many students and younger drivers, texting while driving had become part of a routine before being banned in 2010.

Canton senior Spencer Tobin said he is reluctant to believe many drivers have been caught texting, though he knows many individuals that regularly send and receive text messages in the car.

“I haven’t heard of anyone getting caught, but I’m sure the law makes people nervous to text and keeps people cautious,” Tobin said.

Commerce Township graduate student Sara Woelfel said she believes the texting ban is very important to keep drivers’ eyes on the road, but is uncertain of how realistic it is.

“I think the law is necessary to keep people from distracting themselves while driving,” Woelfel said. “I don’t think they can truly enforce the rule unless all electronics are off limits, though.”