Texting and Driving on the Rise Again Survey Says

A survey looks like we may be headed back in the wrong direction when it comes to driving safety.

Mlive.com is reporting the results of a survey by the Office of Highway Safety and Planning that finds more are illegally texting and driving--and the numbers have doubled from those breaking the law in Michigan in 2012.

The poll surveyed some 600 motorists about their practices behind the wheel of a vehicle and found a full 16% admitted they disregard the law that went into effect in the state in 2010.  While the numbers are disturbing--since those were admitted violators when others likely didn't fess up to breaking the law--that even more are without regard for the safety measure.

And the numbers recorded in this latest survey are double the figure for those who admitted illegally texting and driving in Michigan in 2012.

The survey, conducted by Glengariff Group Inc., in January of this year has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The law signed by Governor Granholm made typing and sending or reading text message while driving a primary offense.   That means police can pull a driver over simply for that violation.  A secondary violation would allowed a ticket to be written for texting and driving only if the driver were pulled over for another violation.

Despite that, courts across the state see very few cases of people challenging the violation leading some to believe it's not being fully enforced.