Traffic Safety Laws & Campaigns
Click It or Ticket
During a vehicle crash, being buckled up helps keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle and reduces the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent.
Seat belts have saved 344,448 lives since 1975, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) first began recording this data. If everyone had been wearing a seat belt since, an additional 381,787 lives could have been saved.
It’s vital that we all buckle up-every ride, front seat and back. But it can be more than just buckling up, wearing a seat belt properly is also essential.
Follow these guidelines when you buckle up:
The lap belt and shoulder belt are secured across the hips and shoulder, which are more able to withstand crash forces than other parts of your body.
Place the shoulder belt across the middle of your chest and away from your neck.
The lap belt rests across your hips, not your stomach.
Never put the shoulder belt behind your back or under an arm.
Buckle up, Michigan!
School Bus Safety
The majority of bus-related deaths and injuries involve pedestrians – mostly children – who are struck by a bus or injured when they are exiting the bus to cross traffic. Those who pass stopped school buses may be charged with civil infractions carrying a fine between $100 and $500. Violators may also be required to perform up to 100 hours of community service at a school.
School bus safety tips for drivers:
Prepare to stop when a slowing bus has its overhead yellow lights flashing
Stop at least 20 feet away from buses when red lights are flashing, unless driving in the opposite direction on a divided highway
Slow down in or near school and residential areas
Look for clues-such as safety patrols, crossing guards, bicycles, and playgrounds-that indicate children might be in the area
Watch for children between parked cars and other objects
School buses are like traffic signals:
When overhead lights are flashing yellow: Prepare to stop
When overhead lights are flashing red: Stop
When hazard warning lights are flashing: Proceed with caution
School bus safety tips for students:
Always stay in sight of the bus driver
Don’t hurry off the bus; check traffic first
Don’t go back to the bus after exiting
Driving
Go Hands-Free. Just Drive. It’s the Law.
In 2023, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into law a bill making it illegal to manually use a cell phone or other mobile electronic device while operating a vehicle on Michigan roads. Under the law, a driver cannot hold or support a phone or other device with any part of their hands, arms, or shoulders.
Even if a cell phone or other device is mounted on your dashboard or connected to your vehicle’s built-in system, you cannot use your hands to operate it beyond a single touch.
As a result, you cannot manually do any of the following on a cell phone or other electronic device while driving:
Make or answer a telephone or video call
Send or read a text or email message
Watch, record, or send a video
Access, read, or post to social media
Browse or use the Internet
Enter information into GPS or a navigation system