Michigan's Texting Ban: One Step Forward, Too Many Steps Back

122 THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 28:1I. INTRODUCTIONIn his opening remarks at the 2010 National Distracted DrivingSummit, United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stated plainlythat “distracted driving is an epidemic. It’s an epidemic because everyonehas a cell phone—and everyone thinks they can use it while driving. Theycan’t.” 1 Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia agree and havepassed legislation banning texting for all drivers, while an additional ninestates have passed texting bans only for novice drivers or school busdrivers. 2 According to an October 2009 New York Times/CBS News poll,97% of the people surveyed supported making texting while drivingillegal. 3 Michigan joined what is now a majority of states in banningtexting for all drivers on July 1, 2010. 4Michigan’s statute prohibits drivers from reading, typing, or sendingtext messages while their cars are moving on a public road but providesexceptions for some emergency situations. 5 The question of how beneficialthe texting law is for Michigan has yet to be answered, and only time willtruly tell what effect the law has had on Michigan’s roadways. However,data collected from other jurisdictions with similar bans indicate thatenforcing Michigan’s anti-texting statute will, at best, have no effect 6 and,at worst, cause Michigan’s roads to become more dangerous. 7 In its haste tomake the roads safer, Michigan’s Legislature may have inadvertentlycreated more problems than it is solving.The texting ban has given rise to a number of issues that the currentlaw fails to adequately address. First, the statute fails to provide explicit1. Ray LaHood, Sec’y, U.S. Dep’t of Transp., Opening Address at the 2010Distracted Driving Summit (Sept. 21, 2010), available at http://www.distraction.gov/files/dot/2010.09.22-distracted-driving-summit-press-kit.pdf.2. Cellphone and Texting Laws, HIGHWAY LOSS DATA INST. (May 2011),http://www.iihs.org/laws/CellPhoneLaws.aspx [hereinafter HIGHWAY LOSS DATAINST., Cellphone Laws].3. Marjorie Connelly, Many in U.S. Want Texting at the Wheel to Be Illegal,N.Y. TIMES (Nov. 1, 2009), http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/technology/02textingside.html?ref=newyorktimes-poll-watch.4. See MICH. COMP. LAWS § 257.602b (2011).5. Id.6. See Press Release, Highway Loss Data Inst., Laws Banning Cellphone UseWhile Driving Fail to Reduce Crashes, New Ins. Data Indicate (Jan. 29, 2010),available at http://www.iihs.org/news/2010/hldi_news_012910.pdf [hereinafterHighway Loss Data Inst., New Ins. Data Indicate].7. See Press Release, Highway Loss Data Inst., Texting Bans Don’t ReduceCrashes; Effects Are Slight Crash Increases (Sept. 28, 2010), available athttp://www.iihs.org/news/2010/hldi_news_092810.pdf [hereinafter Highway LossData Inst., Slight Crash Increases].