Distracted Driving in Michigan: The Law Changed. The Danger Didn't.
Michigan passed the Hands-Free Law in June 2023, making it illegal to hold or use a phone while driving. And the crashes keep coming. If anything, the law gave injured victims a more powerful legal tool — because violating it is negligence per se, which means the distracted driver is automatically at fault. But the law didn't stop people from scrolling at 70 mph on I-96.
What the Michigan Hands-Free Law Actually Says
Under MCL § 257.602b, you cannot hold or physically interact with a mobile device while operating a vehicle on a Michigan road. That covers texting, scrolling social media, watching video, FaceTime, typing an address into Maps — anything where your hand is on the phone. Hands-free voice commands and dashboard-mounted GPS are still legal, but the second you pick up the phone, you're breaking the law. Fines start at $100 for the first offense, $250 for the second, and $500 after that. For your injury case, though, the fine isn't what matters. What matters is that the violation gives your personal injury attorney an almost automatic path to proving negligence.
Three Kinds of Distraction (and Why Phones Hit All Three)
Michigan courts recognize visual distraction (eyes off the road), manual distraction (hands off the wheel), and cognitive distraction (mind off driving). Most distractions involve one category. Eating is manual. Daydreaming is cognitive. A billboard is visual. Texting hits all three simultaneously — and that's why it's responsible for some of the most catastrophic car accidents in Michigan. Five seconds of looking at a phone at 60 mph covers the length of a football field. That's not a statistic. That's a football field of road you drove blind.
How We Prove the Other Driver Was on Their Phone
Insurance companies will deny distraction without hard evidence. Koussan Law subpoenas cell phone records to show whether the driver was actively using their phone at the time of impact. We pull app usage data from Snapchat, Instagram, and iMessage logs. We obtain the vehicle's event data recorder (the "black box") which captures speed and braking data in the seconds before impact. We get dashcam footage from surrounding vehicles and surveillance video from nearby businesses. When the police report notes "driver stated they were looking at their phone," the case gets strong fast — but even without an admission, the digital evidence usually tells the story.
Pain and Suffering in Distracted Driving Cases
Michigan's no-fault threshold under MCL § 500.3135 requires proving serious impairment of body function for a third-party pain and suffering claim. Distracted driving crashes tend to produce severe injuries because the at-fault driver isn't braking, isn't steering, and hits you at full speed. Broken bones, herniated discs, traumatic brain injuries, and fatal accidents are common. Juries have very little sympathy for drivers who chose Instagram over watching the road.
Got Hit by a Distracted Driver?
The evidence disappears fast. Phone records get harder to subpoena, dashcam footage overwrites, and the at-fault driver's lawyer starts coaching them on what to say. Call Koussan Law at (313) 800-0000 as soon as possible. Use our case calculator to get an initial estimate.
