By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


A series of distracted driving bills sponsored by a local lawmaker that recently passed through the House is being applauded by AAA.

House Bills 4277, 4278, and 4279 were introduced and sponsored by State Representative Mike Mueller of Linden and passed the House, Tuesday. The bills address a variety of issues in modernizing Michigan’s distracted driving laws. Chief among these is banning the use of mobile electronic devices to use for posting to social media and streaming video while operating a vehicle. Current law only addresses texting while driving, and does not prohibit other ways in which drivers interact with cellphones.

Following their passage, the Auto Club Group, AAA, issued a release applauding lawmakers. AAA Director of Government Relations Tiffany Hauser said they are grateful that House lawmakers set the wheels in motion for passing this legislation to fight distracted driving, which she says remains a growing traffic concern in Michigan.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2019, distracted driving crashes resulted in an average of 9 deaths per day in the country. In Michigan, there were 64 fatal crashes involving a distracted driver, resulting in 71 deaths.

The bills now head to the Senate for consideration.