MUSKEGON, Mich. — The Muskegon County Sheriff’s Office says it plans to issue more than just tickets as it begins to enforce the state’s new hands-free driving law.
The law went into effect Friday, June 30, making it illegal to hold a cell phone while behind the wheel.
But rather than a citation, Muskegon County deputies hope to give drivers a cell phone holder.
“The loss of life has such an impact on so many people, and so anything we can do to minimize that,” Sheriff Michael Poulin said.
Over the weekend, he bought 20 dash-mounted cell phone holders for traffic safety officers to give out if they see a driver breaking the new law.
If caught holding your phone while driving, you could face fines, community service and more, with the severity increasing with each repeated offense.
“This new law is one of the biggest things that our state has seen, as far as motor vehicle operation, since the seatbelt law was implemented,” Sheriff Poulin said. “I think we’re going to find that it’s going to save lives, I really do. I believe that.”
He says Steve Kiefer, who sits on a state traffic safety advisory committee, inspired him to make this purchase.
“Education is such an important component, and we want to be able to give people the tools so they succeed also.”
Kiefer’s son Mitchel died seven years ago when a distracted driver rear-ended him on I-96 near East Lansing.
The Kiefer family pushed state lawmakers to pass this legislation. They believe it could cause crashes and deaths to drop by up to 25 percent.
“It’s bittersweet. I mean, you know, it’s obviously emotional for us because we’ve always wanted to do something in Mitchel’s memory,” Kiefer said. “Mitchel always wanted to, said he always wanted to change the world.”
Meanwhile, the sheriff’s office hopes to pass out the cell phone holders for at least the rest of the summer.
Sheriff Poulin personally paid for the first batch, but says he is hoping to partner with a local business or organization to keep it going.
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