Distracted-driving crashes decreased in 2025, but the number of fatalities increased
With a rise in the use of handheld devices by drivers on Michigan roadways and in support of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, police agencies throughout the state are teaming up with the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) for a high-visibility enforcement effort during the month of April.
A recent observational study from Michigan State University (MSU) found that mobile device use by drivers increased from 5.2 percent in 2024 to 5.7 percent in 2025. The OHSP works with MSU each year to collect data to determine annual handheld device use rates on Michigan roads.
Throughout the month, police officers will be enforcing Michigan’s Hands-Free Law, which took effect on June 30, 2023. The goal of this initiative is to reduce traffic crashes, injuries and deaths caused by distracted driving, especially those involving the use of a mobile device.
According to Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver decreased by 4.6 percent from 15,136 in 2023 to 14,439 in 2024. However, the number of fatalities in distraction-involved crashes increased 10 percent from 59 fatalities in 2023 to 65 in 2024.
“While fewer distracted-driving crashes is encouraging news, the increase in mobile device use and distracted-driving-related fatalities is alarming,” said Alicia Sledge, OHSP director. “Nearly 300 people have died in distraction-involved crashes in Michigan from 2020 to 2024. That should concern every roadway user and underscores the need for people to embrace safer-driving habits.”
Jim Santilli, CEO of the National Transportation Safety Organization, said stopping the use of handheld devices while driving must be a priority to keep all roadways users safe.
“Distracted driving is not an accident—it is a deliberate choice that can inflict lasting harm on families,” Santilli said. “Safer roads rely on all of us committing to drive without distractions.”
Distracted driving has become a deadly epidemic on our roads, with cell phone use the most common distraction. Other risky actions include adjusting the radio or GPS, applying makeup, eating and drinking.
“Any activity that takes your eyes off the road and your hands off the wheel is extremely reckless and can have devastating consequences,” Santilli said.
Violating Michigan’s Hands-Free Law can be costly: For the first offense, a $100 ticket and/or 16 hours of community service; for the second offense, a $250 ticket and/or 24 hours of community service; and for a third offense within a three-year-period, the driver must complete a driving-improvement course.
This enforcement is a part of the SAFER by 2030 initiative. SAFER (Statewide Action to Reduce Fatalities Encountered on our Roadways) by 2030 is a collaborative effort by state agencies and traffic safety partners to reduce traffic fatalities on Michigan roadways by 30 percent by the year 2030. Educational efforts by SAFER by 2030 partner agencies include the posting of Hands-Free Law signs at rest stops and Welcome Centers by the Michigan Department of Transportation, the OHSP’s distracted-driving paid media campaign, and the Kiefer Foundation’s “Just Drive Simulator” for high schools.
For more information about distracted driving and Michigan’s Hands-Free Law, visit
www.michigan.gov/DistractedDriving. To learn more about SAFER by 2030, visit
www.michigan.gov/SAFERby2030.
