To kickoff Distracted Driving Awareness Month, Michigan State Police will team up with neighboring agencies for a special enforcement period this week.

MSP First Lieutenant Mike Shaw tells us “Lake to Lake, Focused and Safe” will run this Wednesday, April 1 from noon to 5 p.m. and feature high-visibility saturation patrols.

“What that does is concentrate on the I-94 corridor across the state of Michigan,” Shaw said. “This year it’s going to be enhanced a little bit because we’ve got our partners from the Indiana State Police and also the Ontario Provincial Police that are going to continue into 94 into their state or into their province.”

Shaw says police chose I-94 because it’s a busy commercial corridor that runs all the way across the state. So, what will troopers be looking for?

“I don’t think you have to be a police officer to notice somebody on their phone. I’m sure that you drove to work today and I’m sure you saw somebody that had their phone in their hand and wasn’t paying attention.”

Shaw says we’ve now moved beyond the point of simply warning drivers about the state’s hands-free law, so troopers will be issuing tickets. He adds local police agencies may also be doing distracted driving enforcement periods of their own throughout the month.

Shaw notes Michigan last year had more than 1,000 preventable traffic fatalities, so everyone’s urged to put down their phones when behind the wheel.