LANSING, MI – Drivers who kill or injure pedestrians, bicyclists, postal workers, horse riders and others could face longer prison terms under a package of bills introduced by state lawmakers Tuesday.

Existing penalties for a moving violation that causes death or injury are too lenient, according to lawyers and some lawmakers. Driving violations include speeding, improper lane changes, and failure to obey a traffic light or stop sign.

The current penalty is a 93-day misdemeanor for a moving violation that causes serious injury and a one-year misdemeanor for a moving violation that causes death. The penalties for drink driving in these circumstances are much more severe.

Penalties for moving violations that cause injury or death are more severe if the accident occurs in a work zone, school zone, school bus zone, or emergency zone.

The proposed legislation, which advanced in the State House on Wednesday, Nov. 13, would create tougher penalties for killing or injuring a “vulnerable road user,” which the bills define as pedestrians, bicyclists, wheelchair users, riding, occupants of horse-drawn carriages. , roller skaters, skateboarders and more.

Driving offenses that injure a vulnerable road user would be a one-year offence, serious injury a five-year offense and death a 10-year offense under the package of laws.

Rep. state Rep. Julie Rogers, D-Kalamazoo, opened her testimony during Tuesday’s House Transportation, Mobility and Infrastructure Committee meeting by referencing the 2016 accident in Kalamazoo County that killed five bicyclists and injured four others.

In this case, the drunk driver was convicted of murder, among other charges, and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

“As it stands today, many drivers in Michigan who kill a bicyclist are charged with only one misdemeanor: moving violation causing death,” Rogers said. “We, the bill’s sponsors, believe that Michigan law should ensure that road users face appropriate consequences for reckless behavior that results in the injury or death of another person.”

Jeff Carek, interim executive director of the League of Michigan Bicyclists, said he has spoken with many car and bicycle accident victims and their families through his work with the league and as a former sheriff’s deputy.

The common theme: Many feel that justice has not been done because of the current sentences allowed, he said.

“I’ve talked to many victims of car-bicycle accidents, and each in their own way has said, ‘It wasn’t an accident,'” Carek said. “Furthermore, they felt victimized by our system. The ones we haven’t heard from honestly didn’t survive the motor vehicle impact. Loved ones did, and in talking to them, I heard the same disappointment in our justice system.

“They feel disappointed and betrayed because the offending motorist is essentially getting a slap on the wrist. Often they are served with probation or community service while the family is left to pick up the pieces of their loved one.”

The two Senate bills in the package advanced out of the House Transportation Committee on an 8-0 vote on Nov. 13, with Democratic members recommending the bills and Republicans abstaining.

The two House bills in the package were approved by the House earlier this year and await a committee hearing in the Senate.