We Must Act Now to Implement Hands Free Legislation in Michigan

When The Kiefer Foundation first began to support the implementation of Hands Free Legislation in the State of Michigan, I was optimistic.?

This issue is very personal for me - my son Mitchel was killed by a distracted driver in 2016. Since that horrific day, I have been committed to making the roads safer, with the hope that no other parent would lose a child to this senseless, selfish act. In fact, we often talk about Mitchel’s desire to change the world – we hope to change the world, in Mitchel's memory.

What has been disappointing and frustrating, however, is the ineffectiveness of the legislative process in Michigan and also in the other states that we are supporting hands free legislation. This is my first time working to support the introduction of new legislation in Michigan, and I am shocked by how broken our legislative process is.

As a lifetime employee of an automotive OEM, I was familiar with large, complex organizations. In business, however, we are able to get decisions made and make progress on initiatives and issues that are important.

The painstakingly slow responsiveness of our state government to this important, life-or-death legislation is insulting and, in fact, is killing innocent people every day. I am certain that any business enterprise would be bankrupt in a matter of months if it ran with the efficiency of our state government.

The need for effective, enforceable, hands free legislation is obvious. We all see examples of dangerous, distracted driving on the roads of Michigan every day. We have a solid package of three bipartisan bills, based on a national model bill that has been effective in 24 states. These "hands free" bills make it illegal to hold a mobile device while driving, allowing the driver to focus on the road. We know that more than 88% of people in Michigan support this legislation - yet our elected officials continue to delay.

The Kiefer Foundation has been focused on this for the last four years, while other victims families have been focused on this for over 10 years, and there is still no meaningful action.

Again, this is a very personal fight for me and the other victims families. Every day that we do not get these laws implemented, more people die and more are injured due to distracted driving. It is impossible to understand how our elected officials do not feel accountable and responsible.

If our Michigan legislators had acted 10 years ago, Mitchel may still be with us. This summer, there will be several more victims - how many must die before action is taken?

When we started this process, I assumed our elected officials had the public interest and safety in mind and that they must be capable and competent leaders.

I no longer believe this.

I am amazed by how little understanding there actually is for this important public safety issue and how often these issues are made political.?

I am amazed by how incapable legislators are at getting things done and by their bias toward inaction.

We need these bills to become law immediately.?This weekend marks the beginning of the "100 Deadliest Days of Summer" - the period from Memorial Day through Labor Day, when traffic crashes and fatalities typically increase by 15%.?Please don’t let one of your loved ones be one of the statistics.

Help spread the word.

Contact your legislator.

Talk to your friends and family.

Create urgency.

Lives are at stake.

When you are behind the wheel – put your phone away, and #JustDrive !!

For more information about The Kiefer Foundation, follow us on LinkedIn , Twitter , and Facebook , or visit mkiefer.org .