Talking Michigan Transportation

Michigan Department of Transportation
  • 4.7 (15)
  • GOVERNMENT
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features conversations with transportation experts inside and outside MDOT and will touch on anything and everything related to mobility, including rail, transit and the development of connected and automated vehicles.

  1. U.S. House makes progress on transportation funding

    1D AGO

    U.S. House makes progress on transportation funding

    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.

    27 min
  2. Legislation aims to teach new drivers how to navigate work zones

    MAY 14

    Legislation aims to teach new drivers how to navigate work zones

    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.

    33 min
  3. Three years later, is the hands-free law reducing Michigan crashes?

    MAY 6

    Three years later, is the hands-free law reducing Michigan crashes?

    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.

    35 min
  4. What we learned from a Michigan maritime policy panel

    APR 30

    What we learned from a Michigan maritime policy panel

    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.

    35 min
  5. How MDOT is protecting people, animals and plants on Earth Day 2026

    APR 22

    How MDOT is protecting people, animals and plants on Earth Day 2026

    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.

    22 min
  6. Historic flooding takes a toll on roads and bridges across Michigan

    APR 16

    Historic flooding takes a toll on roads and bridges across Michigan

    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

    25 min
  7. A look at crash fatality numbers and an update on work zone safety cameras

    APR 9

    A look at crash fatality numbers and an update on work zone safety cameras

    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.

    20 min
  8. Reprise: After a pandemic spike in crashes, 2025 stats show positive trends

    APR 6

    Reprise: After a pandemic spike in crashes, 2025 stats show positive trends

    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.

    46 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

The Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features conversations with transportation experts inside and outside MDOT and will touch on anything and everything related to mobility, including rail, transit and the development of connected and automated vehicles.

Information

  • Creator
    Michigan Department of Transportation
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    270
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Talking Michigan Transportation
  • Show Website
    Talking Michigan Transportation

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