Michigan Can Fine You $100 for Holding Your Phone at a Red Light. Is It About Safety or Money?

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan drivers can receive a $100 ticket for holding or manually using a phone while stopped at a red light.

The vehicle does not have to be moving.

Michigan’s hands-free driving law defines “operating” a vehicle to include sitting at a traffic light, stop sign, or in traffic. Unless the vehicle is legally parked, holding a phone can result in a $100 fine or 16 hours of community service for a first offense.

Safety officials say distraction does not stop when the car stops. Drivers looking at their phones may miss a green light, react slowly, or contribute to rear-end crashes. Research cited by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that manipulating a phone can increase crash risk by two to six times.

Police also argue that the law needs one clear standard. If drivers were allowed to hold phones at red lights, officers would have difficulty determining when legal phone use became illegal.

But critics say ticketing a stationary driver is an excessive interpretation of distracted-driving enforcement. Checking a message at a red light is not the same as texting while traveling 70 mph, yet Michigan law treats both as violations.

Then there is the money.

Traffic-related civil infractions generate approximately $125 million to $130 million annually in Michigan, according to a 2026 Michigan House Fiscal Agency report. The report does not specify how much comes from hands-free violations.

Phone-ticket revenue can support public libraries, county law libraries, local courts, and state programs. Each ticket can also include court costs and a mandatory $40 Justice System Assessment. Municipalities enforcing corresponding local ordinances may retain part of the fine and court costs.

Supporters call that revenue a byproduct of enforcing a lifesaving law.

Critics see intersections becoming easy places for governments to collect money from drivers who are not even moving.

So, is Michigan’s red-light phone rule protecting drivers, or turning a stationary glance at a screen into another government revenue stream?

Sources

Michigan Legislature, MCL 257.602b

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Distracted Driving

Michigan House Fiscal Agency, Fiscal Brief: Traffic Citation Revenue, February 9, 2026