‘Operation Ghost Rider’ Aims To Reduce Distracted Drivers

The Michigan State Police (MSP) has started the new "Operation Ghost Rider" initiative. This is a plan to tackle distracted driving across Metro Detroit. According to a press release from the Troy nonprofit Transportation Improvement Association, the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning is funding the effort in recognition of National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

"On average, a driver takes their eyes off the road for 5 seconds to send or read a text," said Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham. "At 55 mph, that’s equivalent to driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed."

They will use their increased police presence to reduce the number of motorists who are distracted while driving. In coordination with MSP and several local agencies across Metro Detroit, they aim to reduce deaths and injuries related to distracted driving. Police will use unmarked police vehicles during Operation Ghost Ride to spot distracted drivers.

"Distracted driving crashes are 100 percent preventable. As drivers, we must do better," said F/Lt. Mike Shaw of the Michigan State Police. "We will continue to educate motorists and hope that personal accountability will help decrease distracted driving. But we also know enforcement is key."

If they spot someone not obeying the law, they will radio ahead to a fully marked police vehicle for the traffic stop.

When it comes to citations, there will be $100 tickets handed out for anyone caught on their phones while driving. There will also be a $200 fine for each additional offense.

Enacted in 2010, Michigan's distracted driving law says for first-time violators are fined $100, while $200 penalties are levied for subsequent offenders.

In addition to MSP, other participating agencies include police departments in Auburn Hills, Chesterfield Township, Clinton Township, Sterling Heights, Taylor, and Utica, along with sheriffs offices in Oakland and Macomb County.

"Distracted driving continues to be a top traffic safety concern on our roads," said Jim Santilli, CEO of TIA and chairman of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Advisory Commissions’ Distracted Driving Action Team. "We can save lives by simply keeping our eyes on the road and hands on the wheel at all times. We hope Operation Ghost Rider will further educate the public about the dangers of distracted driving."

There are some strange and peculiar roads around the world which can often make driving an... interesting experience. While many roads are bland, Michigan has some unique roads. And many of those roads have some interesting history.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, the oldest constructed roads discovered to date are in former Mesopotamia, now known as Iraq. These stone-paved streets date back to about 4000 B.C. in the Mesopotamia cities of Ur and Babylon.

Here in Amercia, the State Highway Department was created in 1905. In the early 1900s, lcoal leaders, including Horatio S. "Good Roads" Earle and Frank F. Rogers, saw a pressing need to get Michigan out of the mud.

Over time, they accomplished the first mile of concrete highway built, first painted centerline, first roadside park, and the first four-way red/yellow/green electric traffic light built on a solid foundation for a sustainable transportation system in Michigan. The demand for paved roads rose with the use of wheeled vehicles.

When it comes to Michigan’s roads and highways, there are many facts. Most Michiganders would find some of these quite surprising. The Michigan Department of Transportation has compiled a list of facts about the roads and highways in Michigan. With facts about Michigan’s first road map, first four lane road, and others. But which facts do some Michiganders not know about?

Here are 8 Michigan road facts you probably didn’t know about.

Currently, Michigan has one of the nation's shortest signed interstates. The shortest freeway in Michigan is only 1.1 miles long. Though not signed, New York has a  0.70 miles freeway, which is even smaller than Michigan's smallest.

The three-span US-12 camelback bridge in Mottville is Michigan's longest remaining bridge of this type. Constructed in 1922, these bridges are found primarily in Michigan and Ontario, Canada.

The towers on the Mackinac Bridge or “Mighty Mac” (552 feet high) are almost as tall as the Washington Monument (555 feet high). The Mackinac Bridge is currently the fifth longest suspension bridge in the world.

The first Michigan road map, with only three roads on it, was published by the United States Congress in 1826. As a matter of fact, the first surveyed road in Michigan was Pontiac Road (now called M-1 or Woodward Avenue) connecting Detroit and Pontiac in 1819.

M-185 on Mackinac Island is the only state highway in the nation where motor vehicles are banned. Motorized vehicles have been prohibited on Mackinac Island since 1896 because the horses were disturbed by the noisy engines of some of the island's first cars. Furthermore, carriage drivers formed an association, convincing islanders to ban automobiles.

The longest highway in Michigan is I-75, which runs 395 miles from the Ohio border to the International Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie. I-75 also passes through six different states. At its north end, it starts on the Canada/U.S. border at the top of Michigan at Sault Ste. Marie. Then it heads south to Naples in Florida, where it bends east and runs across to Miami.

MDOT says that there is enough pavement on Michigan roadways to build a one-lane road from the Earth to the moon. Michigan has a total of 120,256 miles of paved roadway. This includes 9,669 route miles of state trunkline, 89,444 route miles of county roads, and 21,198 route miles of city and village streets. However, according to NASA, the Moon us an average of 238,855 miles away from Earth.

Eight Michigan highways began as Native American trails, US-2 (from Sault Ste. Marie to Green Bay); I-75 (from Detroit to Saginaw), I-94 (from Detroit to St. Joseph; I-96 (from Detroit to Grand Rapids), I-94 (from Detroit to Port Huron), US-41 (from L'Anse to Marquette), and US-12 (from Ypsilanti to Chicago). Michigan's three largest tribes are the Ojibwe (also called Chippewa), the Odawa (also called Ottowa) and the Potawatomi (also called the Bode'wadmi). Michigan also federally recognizes these tribes and others in the state.