Michigan’s Hands-Free Law has been in effect since June 30, 2023, but distracted-driving cases still require evidence. A citation can be important, yet civil responsibility is not decided solely by whether police issued a ticket. The central question is whether distraction contributed to the crash and the resulting injuries.
What does Michigan’s Hands-Free Law prohibit?
Michigan State Police and the Office of Highway Safety Planning explain that a driver generally may not hold or support a phone or other mobile electronic device with the hands, arms or shoulders while operating a vehicle. The law also bars manual texting, email, video use, social-media use, internet browsing and manually entering navigation information beyond permitted limited interaction.
The violation is a primary offense, meaning an officer can stop a driver based on the observed violation. Michigan also doubles civil fines when a crash occurs and the at-fault driver was holding or manually using a mobile device while operating the vehicle.
What evidence can prove distracted driving?
Serious cases should look beyond the police narrative. Evidence may include wireless-carrier records, application data, messages, social-media timestamps, photographs, videos, navigation history, infotainment logs, dashcams, 911 calls, witness statements and vehicle event data. A preservation request may be important when digital information can be overwritten or deleted.
Phone records do not always prove what a person was doing at the exact moment of impact, so the evidence should be compared with the crash timeline, vehicle movement and witness accounts.
What do the latest Michigan crash numbers show?
Michigan State Police reported that final 2025 roadway data showed 44 distracted-driving-involved fatalities, down from 65 in 2024. Overall roadway fatalities also fell to 1,065, while total crashes increased slightly to 290,221. The decline in distraction-involved fatalities is encouraging, but the continuing number of crashes means phone-use evidence remains an important issue in serious injury litigation.
Does a phone-law violation automatically win a civil case?
No. A statutory violation can become significant evidence, but a civil claim still requires proof of causation, damages and the applicable legal elements. The defense may dispute whether the driver was using the device, whether the use was legally permitted, or whether it actually contributed to the collision.
What should an injured person preserve?
Save photographs and video, witness information, the police report number, medical records, insurance correspondence and any communication in which the other driver mentions a phone or distraction. If your own phone recorded GPS, emergency alerts or crash-related data, preserve that information too. Avoid deleting messages or social-media content once litigation is reasonably anticipated.
Official sources: Michigan OHSP — Distracted Driving and Hands-Free Law · Michigan State Police — Final 2025 crash data.