Traffic control: accidents; penalties for moving violation causing physical injury or death to a vulnerable roadway user; enhance. Amends secs. 303, 320a, 601c & 653a of 1949 PA 300 (MCL 257.303 et seq.); adds secs. 79g & 79h & repeals sec. 653b of 1949 PA 300 (MCL 257.653b). TIE BAR WITH: SB 217'25
SB 216 amends the Michigan Vehicle Code to create new protections and penalties related to “vulnerable roadway users.” It defines that term to include pedestrians, people using skates, scooters, skateboards, wheelchairs, equines and equine-drawn carriages, certain vulnerable transportation devices, and rural U.S. Postal Service workers. It also defines “vulnerable transportation device” to include human-powered devices and certain low-speed electric devices such as e-bikes, e-skateboards, and electric personal assistive mobility devices.
The bill makes a moving violation that causes injury, serious injury, or death to a vulnerable roadway user a misdemeanor or felony with enhanced penalties, depending on the severity of harm. It also updates the “move over” law for stationary emergency vehicles, converting the general violation to a civil infraction with set fines, while keeping felony penalties for injuries or deaths to emergency personnel. In addition, the bill revises driver licensing and point-assessment provisions in the Vehicle Code, including rules on license denial/revocation, point totals for various traffic offenses, and related administrative procedures. It repeals section 653b and is tied to SB 217, meaning it does not take effect unless that bill is enacted.
The bill’s impact is primarily on traffic enforcement, driver licensing, and civil/criminal penalties under the Michigan Vehicle Code. It expands the categories of road users receiving special legal protection, increases exposure for drivers whose moving violations injure or kill those users, and adjusts how certain traffic offenses are punished and recorded by the Secretary of State. It also changes the legal treatment of passing stationary emergency vehicles and preserves or clarifies waiver provisions for some civil infractions, such as defective equipment, registration, insurance, and child restraint-related citations.
The general sentiment reflected in the vote history appears favorable. The bill was reported favorably out of committee on a 7-0 vote and then passed the Senate on third reading by a 31-5 margin, suggesting broad support for the underlying roadway safety goals. The absence of committee transcript material limits insight into detailed debate, but the voting pattern indicates the bill was not broadly controversial in the chamber.
The main points of contention likely center on the scope of the new protected classes and the severity of the enhanced penalties. The bill extends protections beyond pedestrians to include cyclists, e-bike and e-skateboard users, wheelchair users, equestrians, and rural postal workers, which may raise questions about enforcement and definitional breadth. The increased criminal penalties for moving violations causing injury or death, along with the civil-infractions framework for emergency-vehicle passing, could also be debated by those concerned about proportionality, driver liability, and how the changes will be applied in practice.
SB 216 amends multiple sections of the Michigan Vehicle Code to add new protected categories of roadway users, increase penalties for moving violations that injure or kill those users, revise the state’s emergency-vehicle passing law, and update driver licensing and point-assessment rules. It creates new statutory definitions for “vulnerable roadway user” and “vulnerable transportation device,” modifies sections governing criminal penalties, civil infractions, and Secretary of State recordkeeping, and repeals section 653b. The bill is tied to SB 217 and would take effect 90 days after enactment only if the tie-barred bill also becomes law.
The bill appears to have received generally favorable treatment in the Legislature. It was reported out of committee unanimously and passed the Senate by a strong margin, indicating broad agreement with the bill’s traffic-safety and pedestrian-protection goals. No committee transcript was provided, so the record does not show detailed floor or committee debate, but the vote history suggests support outweighed opposition.
Likely areas of contention include the breadth of the new “vulnerable roadway user” definition, which extends protections to pedestrians, cyclists, users of low-speed electric devices, equestrians, wheelchair users, and rural postal workers. Another possible point of debate is the bill’s enhanced misdemeanor and felony penalties for moving violations causing injury or death, which may be viewed by some as necessary deterrence and by others as overly punitive. The revised civil infraction treatment for passing stationary emergency vehicles may also draw attention because it changes fines and liability while preserving harsher penalties when emergency personnel are harmed.