The Flynn MacKrell Law
Closing dangerous legal gaps to prevent tragedies and protect families
When teenagers abuse the privilege of driving through extreme recklessness and a life is lost, accountability must be certain, consistent, and just.
The Legal Gap That Exists
Current laws fail to consistently address the most extreme and dangerous teen driving behaviors
Driver Education Must Go Further
Michigan has a strong foundation in driver education and does have consistent, mandatory driver education that includes general instruction on dangerous driving behaviors. But it must go further.
The state should require standardized, mandatory instruction focused specifically on reckless driving—covering extreme speeding, repeat dangerous behavior, and the criminal and lifelong consequences when those actions result in serious injury or death.
By ensuring every young driver clearly understands both the risks and the accountability tied to those choices, Michigan can better deter dangerous behavior and prevent future loss of life.
Inconsistent Consequences
Teens who drag race, flee police, or drive at extreme speeds can take a life and face wildly different consequences depending on prosecutorial discretion rather than the severity of harm caused.
The same conduct in different counties can result in dramatically different outcomes, creating a system where justice depends on geography rather than the gravity of the offense.
Minimized as Mistakes
The system too often minimizes extreme reckless driving as "youthful mistakes" instead of recognizing it as foreseeable, lethal behavior that violates a state-sanctioned privilege.
When a teenager's deliberate choice to engage in dangerous driving results in death, it should not be treated as an unfortunate accident but as a preventable tragedy with clear accountability.
No Parental Accountability
Driving requires parental authorization, yet when warning signs of dangerous behavior exist and are ignored, parents face no legal responsibility even when their negligence contributes to a preventable death.
Parents who enable or ignore repeated reckless behavior should share accountability when their failure to intervene results in tragedy.
Weak Deterrence
Without clear, predictable consequences for extreme reckless driving, teenagers lack the deterrent needed to understand that drag racing, fleeing police, or driving at extreme speeds can result in adult accountability.
When consequences are uncertain and inconsistent, the risk remains abstract rather than real, failing to prevent dangerous behavior before it becomes deadly.
What the Flynn MacKrell Law Would Change
Creating clear, specific, and unavoidable consequences that protect families and save lives
Automatic Adult Accountability
When extreme reckless driving (drag racing, fleeing police, or driving at extreme speeds) results in death, automatic adult court jurisdiction ensures consistent accountability regardless of location.
Clear Legal Standards
Establishes specific, objective criteria for what constitutes extreme reckless driving, removing ambiguity and ensuring families know the system will respond appropriately.
Parental Responsibility
Creates legal accountability for parents who enable or ignore repeated dangerous driving behavior, encouraging early intervention and responsible supervision.
The Result: Lives Saved
When teenagers understand that extreme reckless driving will result in certain, consistent consequences if someone is killed, the risk becomes real rather than abstract. Clear accountability deters dangerous behavior before it becomes deadly, protecting both teen drivers and innocent victims.
Why Reform Is Necessary
The evidence is clear: current approaches are failing to prevent preventable deaths
Deaths Haven't Declined Despite Safer Vehicles
Even though modern vehicles are equipped with advanced safety technology, deaths caused by reckless teen driving have not meaningfully declined. Safety features cannot overcome deliberate choices to drag race, flee police, or drive at extreme speeds.
Technology alone cannot solve a behavioral problem that requires clear legal deterrence and parental accountability.
Driving Is a State-Sanctioned Privilege
The State grants teenagers the privilege to operate motor vehicles—powerful and potentially lethal instruments—through a licensing system that requires adult authorization and supervision. When that privilege is abused in ways that endanger public safety and result in death, the conduct must be treated for what it is: violent behavior with adult consequences.
Privileges come with responsibilities, and when those responsibilities are catastrophically violated, accountability must follow.
Death from Extreme Recklessness Is Foreseeable
When a teenager engages in drag racing, flees from police, or drives at extreme speeds, the risk of death is not accidental—it is foreseeable and predictable. These are not momentary lapses in judgment but deliberate decisions to engage in conduct known to be deadly.
The law must recognize that foreseeable harm resulting from extreme reckless choices requires serious accountability, not minimization as a youthful mistake.
Current Law Allows Inconsistent Treatment
Under existing law, extreme reckless driving that results in death can be minimized, inconsistently addressed, or treated differently based on prosecutorial discretion rather than the severity of the conduct. This weakens deterrence and fails families who deserve justice.
The Flynn MacKrell Law closes this gap by making accountability transparent, predictable, and consistent across Michigan.
Legislative Progress
Track our journey to make the Flynn MacKrell Law a reality in Michigan
Foundation Established
2024
The Flynn Michael Foundation was created to honor Flynn's memory and advocate for legislative reform to prevent similar tragedies.
Legislation Being Drafted
Current Phase
Working with legal experts and legislators to draft comprehensive legislation that addresses legal gaps and creates clear accountability standards.
Legislative Introduction
Upcoming
The Flynn MacKrell Law will be formally introduced in the Michigan Legislature, beginning the path toward passage.
Building Support
Upcoming
Mobilizing community support, gathering co-sponsors, and building momentum for passage through grassroots advocacy and public education.
Law Enacted
Goal
The Flynn MacKrell Law becomes Michigan law, creating lasting change that protects families and saves lives.
Your Voice Can Make the Difference
Legislative change requires public support. Contact your legislators today and urge them to support the Flynn MacKrell Law.
Contact Your LegislatorsHelp Us Pass the Flynn MacKrell Law
Legislators need to hear from constituents that traffic safety reform is a priority. Your voice matters in making this law a reality.