Talking Michigan Transportation

This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation highlights proposed legislation to include driving through work zones as a focus of driver’s training curriculums.
House Bill 5767 would amend the Driver Education Provider and Instructor Act to provide, beginning Jan. 1, 2027, that all participants in a driver education course must complete a work zone safety education course, developed in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and approved by the Department of State (DOS).
First, Brian Sarkella, chapter president for the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA), talks about his advocacy for the legislation and testimony he provided to a Michigan House committee on Tuesday, May 12.
Later, Tom Robins of Work Zone Safe talks about his work to adopt legislation in work zone driver’s training in Oklahoma and how it has informed efforts in other states.

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, an update from Ryan McMahon of Cambridge Mobile Telematics, a Massachusetts firm that tracks data from drivers(participating voluntarily with their insurance carriers) to analyze statistics and driver behavior. 
McMahon spoke on the podcast previously, including a few months after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the lawin 2023 making it illegal to use a hand-held electronic device while driving.
Following a report in April from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) showing crash numbers declining to pre-pandemic levels, McMahon talks about how that correlates to distracted driving related to the use of electronic devices. He said the significant drop in 2023 has been sustained but further progress has plateaued through 2025.
“Looking at this year through April 30, I see a slight trend upward,” McMahon said.
A recent State Farm survey found that distracted driving is the top roadway safety concern among U.S. licensed drivers ages 18 to 75. The survey also found that roughly 70 percent of drivers agree that hands-free laws would help reduce driver distraction. 
McMahon also talks about his firm’s findings about what areas of Michigan have the highest use of electronic devices while driving and a specific place that has the least.

This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features conversations with two key participants in a panel discussion convened to discuss the need for a Michigan maritime strategy and sustainable funding.
First, Elisha Wulff, a freight policy specialist at the Michigan Department of Transportation who has been leading maritime efforts, talks about the potential benefits from implanting the strategy and the challenges in finding agreement on a sustainable funding source.
Later, John Peracchio, a member of the Michigan State Transportation Commission who moderated the panel discussion, talks about his takeaways and why he also believes a key priority is identifying a funding source.

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Amanda Novak returns to talk about progress on a federal grant to implement a pilot program for analyzing wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) in the hope of designing safer crossings.
Novak, a resource specialist in the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Bay Region, previously spoke about the grant on the podcast in September 2024. She talks about things she and her colleagues are learning from counterparts in other states, including efforts by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT).
MoDOT described the research as “extremely pertinent” as, from 2019 to 2023, Missouri suffered 17,609 WVCs with 8 to 10 percent of them resulting in an injury or fatality. The state also ranked 17th in the nation for WVCs in both 2024 and 2025, according to the agency’s study.
Michigan ranked fourth in the 2025 State Farm Insurance annual analysis.
A previous edition of the podcast covered some creative things being done in western states and provinces as part of the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative.
Novak also recaps important work being done to expand wildflower and tree plantings at MDOT facilities and medians to enhance habitat for pollinators. The importance of the topic was highlighted in a 2015 issue of “The Scenic Route,” a publication of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas.

As rains continue and in some areas of Michigan, rivers and tributaries continue to rise, crews from across state government and local agencies are working to protect and monitor the condition of dams, roads and bridges.
Bill Wahl, associate region engineer for the Michigan Department’ of Transportation's North Region, is keeping a close eye on the damage to roads and bridges across all of the norther lower peninsula. He spoke on the podcast the afternoon of Thursday, April 16, about all that’s going on in the moment.
Below is a list of bridges that have been closed and/or damaged by the floods already beginning with each structure number (STR):
 Arenac County
STR 445 State Road over Rifle River 
Muskegon County
STR 14563 Holton-Duck Lake Rd over Cedar Creek
 Manistee County
STR 6460 Johnson Road over Big Bear Creek failed; closed prior to failure
STR 6450 River Road over Big Bear Creek 
Grand Traverse County
STR 3059 – failed; closed prior to failure
Farmington Hills
STR 14367 Tuck Road over Upper Rouge River 
MDOT Grand Region
STR 8593 M-66 over Middle Branch River
STR 7551 M-120 over Cedar Creek 
MDOT Superior Region
STR 6792 US-2 over Big Cedar River 
Menominee County
STR 6867 30 Mile Road over Little Cedar River
STR 6868 31 Mile Road over Little Cedar River
STR 6871 41 Mile Road over Big Cedar River
STR 12855 Route 358 over Little Cedar River 
Midland County
STR 6980 Schreiber over Weeks Drain