Talking Michigan Transportation

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Susan Howard, director of government relations and policy for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), talks about the highlights of the latest federal surface transportation bill making its way through the legislative process. 
Leaders of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this week formally introduced the BUILD America 250 Act, a bipartisan, five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that invests in America’s roads, bridges, transit, rail transportation, and highway and motor carrier safety programs.
With a dollar figure of $580 billion for five years, the bill preserves the core federal-aid formula program structure, puts emphasis on project delivery and streamlining, makes major increases in bridge investments and restructures some climate and equity programs.

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.