SAGINAW TOWNSHIP -- Texting while driving is officially illegal in the state of Michigan.
Starting Thursday, anyone caught can be pulled over and fined.
NBC 25 rode along with Officer James MacDonald with the Saginaw Township Police Department to find out what drivers can expect if they see those red and blue lights in their rearview mirror.
"I was just going to ask you if you knew why you were being stopped,” said Officer James MacDonald with the Saginaw Township Police Department.
You may want to think twice about texting while driving.
"It’s dangerous," said Officer James MacDonald.
Starting Thursday, Michigan’s statewide ban on texting while driving is in full effect, that means reading, typing, or sending a text message is illegal.
"The first offense is $100, the second offense is $200,” said Officer James MacDonald.
But issuing a citation for the civil infraction is not why Officer James MacDonald is out patrolling the streets; he's more concerned about safety.
"You know the younger drivers; the more inexperienced drivers don't know that they are driving a potentially 4,000 pound deadly weapon," said Officer James MacDonald.
Officer James MacDonald says the signs of a texter are similar to a drunk driver because the person’s visual, manual, and cognitive abilities are impaired.
"Are they weaving across the center line, bouncing across the fog line,” said Officer James MacDonald.
A police officer can pull over someone for texting if they have probable cause. They’ll ask the driver for their cell phone to see if a text was sent or received, but a driver can refuse. Officer James MacDonald says this will make it hard to enforce the new law.
"It is hard for us to decipher if they are dialing a number, which is okay, or texting," said Officer James MacDonald.
If you are out driving and you need to read a text message or send one, make sure, you are at a stop sign or at an intersection, because it is legal to send one or read one, when the car is not moving.
The goal of the new law is to decrease the number of accidents, Officer James MacDonald agrees but says it will also increase his overtime hours.
"You are going to see an increase in officers going to court because they are going to fight their traffic ticket, so I think the state would be better served banning cell phone use while driving," said Officer James MacDonald.
Until that happens, Officer James MacDonald says honesty is the best policy if you’re pulled over.
"Drive safe!" said Officer James MacDonald.
The good news is, if you are ticketed for texting while driving, no points will be added to your license and the offense will not become a permanent part of your driving record.
To spread the word about this new law, 24 billboards will be put up around the state.
