6.14Moving Violation Causing Death

A.Statutory Authority

“A person who commits a moving violation while operating a vehicle upon a highway or other place open to the general public, including, but not limited to, an area designated for the parking of motor vehicles, is guilty of a misdemeanor . . . if the moving violation was the proximate cause of the death of another person.” MCL 257.601d(1).

MCL 257.601d “does not prohibit the person from being charged with, convicted of, or punished for any other violation of law.” MCL 257.601d(3).

B.Relevant Jury Instruction

•M Crim JI 15.18 addresses the elements of a moving violation causing death.¹

C.Penalties

MCL 257.601d(1) provides for:

•imprisonment for not more than 1 year; or

•fine of not more than $2,000; or

•both.

D.Sanctions

Only applicable sanctions are listed below; accordingly, if a particular sanction is omitted from this section, it is not applicable to this offense. The Offense Code Index for Traffic Violations published by the secretary of state and sourced from the Michigan Department of State Court Manual includes a table detailing traffic offenses and applicable sanctions. See Section 1.41 for more information on abstracting procedures.

•Six points. See MCL 257.320a(1)(b); MCL 257.732(1)(a). See Section 1.42 for more information on points.

•Mandatory one year license suspension; license denial authorized under certain circumstances. See MCL 257.303; MCL 257.319(2)(e). See Section 1.45 for more information on license suspension and Section 1.43 for more information on license denial.