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

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a follow-up conversation on numbers recently released by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) showing a decline in highway fatalities in 2025.

Gregg Brunner, chief operations officer at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), talks about measures that can help reduce crashes, which saw a 7 percent decline from 2024 to 2025 in Michigan. Nationwide, annual fatality numbers returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2025.

As road construction season kicks off in earnest in Michigan, Brunner also discusses work zone safety. National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) is April 20-24.

Finally, Brunner also explains continuing efforts to implement a work zone safety camera program, despite some hurdles, after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation in December 2024 to authorize their use. 

An Illinois official explained on the podcast in 2022 how the cameras have helped reduce crashes there and saved lives. The experience has been the same in more than 20 other states.

Annual numbers are out from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the rate of fatal crashes on our nation’s roads continued to trend in the right direction in 2025. 

That was true in Michigan as well following 2020 and 2021 when the number of fatal crashes spiked during the earliest months of the pandemic as law enforcement agencies observed people driving at much higher speeds and many even abandoning seat belt use. 

Next week, some Michigan officials will join the podcast to talk about the trends.  This week, listen to a reprise of an episode from 2021 when experts from Michigan State University and the Washington, D.C.-based Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) talked about the disturbing trends then.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, questions and explanations about the increasing frequency of melting ice falling from the Mackinac Bridge cables, creating hazards for motorists and the need to close the bridge for many hours at a time. This video illustrates the danger. 

First, Joe Shampine, maintenance supervisor for the Mackinac Bridge Authority, talks about the dangers the heavy ice presents to travelers below and the decision-making process for closing and reopening the bridge. He also offers praise for maintenance staff members who have to explain to frustrated drivers why the bridge has to be closed during these events.

Later, Matt Chynoweth, the former chief bridge engineer at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and now bridge practice leader for the consulting firm RS&H, returns to the podcast to offer broader perspective based on his research and conversations with other bridge owners across the country and world.

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Ben Stupka, executive director of the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) of Southeast Michigan.

After nearly four decades of on-again, off-again discussions, Public Act 387 of 2012 established the RTA.

Stupka talks about leading the funding, planning and coordination for all public transit systems across the four-county footprint. Services include D2A2, an express bus service connecting Detroit to Ann Arbor; the Detroit Air Express (DAX), a pilot express bus service connecting downtown Detroit to Detroit Metro Airport; and the MyRide2 mobility management system.

The RTA efforts gained a boost recently with Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield proposing a budget with increased funding for public transit in the city, including the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) bus system and the Detroit People Mover. The RTA operates the Qline.

Michigan’s State Transportation Commission (STC) approved a fifth amending bonding resolution under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Rebuilding Michigan Program, focused on rebuilding state highways and bridges that are critical to the state’s economy and carry the most traffic.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Patrick McCarthy, director of finance at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), explains the action.

The resolution, supported by all six members, amended resolution accurately reflects actual total costs of completed and upcoming construction projects from $3.5 billion to $4.3 billion. 

Initially approved by the STC in 2020, up to a maximum of $3.5 billion of bonding principal were authorized. Together with the initial principal, any associated premium received from investors and interest earned may be used to fund the program.  

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation, conversations about automaker efforts to bring down the cost of electric vehicles (EVs), the impact of the EV pullback on the South and trends in safety.

Joann Muller, the transportation correspondent at Axios and author of their weekly Future of Mobility newsletter, joined the podcast to talk about those issues and more.

Some key topics:

·       Ford’s efforts to make EVs more affordable.

·       How public policy at the federal level will affect the development of autonomous vehicles, which are typically EVs.

·       Safety concerns for robotaxis.