On this week's episode, host Phil Tower welcomes Taylor Olson, the Director of Marketing for The Detroit Tigers. We hit the road for this special segment and recorded live on location from Comerica Park as the Tigers rolled out the red carpet for the media to discuss “What’s New” at Comerica Park for the 2024 Detroit Tigers season.
Taylor shared many exciting details about the upcoming Tigers season, including new food items, fan giveaways, and updated merchandise items. We also learned about a new 15,000 square-foot Videoboard recently installed at Comerica Park… The largest of its kind in the league. At Comerica Park's newly unveiled Kulture City Sensory Room, Taylor also talked about the importance of making Comerica Park a welcoming place for all families, including those with kids with special sensory needs. Special days at Comerica Park this year will celebrate all kinds of unique things, including the 40th anniversary of the Tiger's 1984 World Series championship and former Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland. ONLINE: Detroit Tigers
In part two of the program, Phil speaks with Katie Bower, director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning. As part of supporting National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, police agencies throughout Michigan are teaming up with the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) for a high-visibility enforcement effort during April. According to Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, 15,441 confirmed motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in Michigan during 2022, the most recent year for which data is available. Distracted driving crashes resulted in 5,905 injuries and 57 fatalities. Katie reminded us that violating Michigan’s Hands-Free Driving Law is costly: For the first offense, a $100 ticket and/or 16 hours of community service; for the second offense, a $250 ticket and/or 24 hours of community service; and for a third offense, within three years, the driver is to complete a driving-improvement course.
Online: Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning
Taylor shared many exciting details about the upcoming Tigers season, including new food items, fan giveaways, and updated merchandise items. We also learned about a new 15,000 square-foot Videoboard recently installed at Comerica Park… The largest of its kind in the league. At Comerica Park's newly unveiled Kulture City Sensory Room, Taylor also talked about the importance of making Comerica Park a welcoming place for all families, including those with kids with special sensory needs. Special days at Comerica Park this year will celebrate all kinds of unique things, including the 40th anniversary of the Tiger's 1984 World Series championship and former Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland. ONLINE: Detroit Tigers
In part two of the program, Phil speaks with Katie Bower, director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning. As part of supporting National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, police agencies throughout Michigan are teaming up with the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) for a high-visibility enforcement effort during April. According to Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, 15,441 confirmed motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in Michigan during 2022, the most recent year for which data is available. Distracted driving crashes resulted in 5,905 injuries and 57 fatalities. Katie reminded us that violating Michigan’s Hands-Free Driving Law is costly: For the first offense, a $100 ticket and/or 16 hours of community service; for the second offense, a $250 ticket and/or 24 hours of community service; and for a third offense, within three years, the driver is to complete a driving-improvement course.
Online: Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
iHeartMedia West Michigan Weekend a public affairsprogram and welcome in. This is West
Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio. I amso glad you've joined me. I'm Phil
Tower across all of our iHeartRadio brandsin West Michigan. And if you're hearing
noise in the background, that's becausewe are at Comerica Park now, just
(00:22):
a couple of days after opening dayat Comerica Park, which is it is
on a higher plane if you're abaseball fan, if you're a Tiger's fan,
it is like heaven on Earth.And we are here inside Comerica Park
for actually a media event which isone of the best media events I've ever
been to. It's called What's Newat Comerica Park. And we are with
(00:43):
the rock star director of Marketing forDetroit Tigers Baseball, Taylor Olsen. We
have had a great time and Ineed to introduce Taylor my special guest,
because this is why I'm here.I was pinch hitting on another show you
here on Wood Radio tonight at sixo'clock, and that is behind the mitten.
The co host and all around supertalent, Amy Sherman is with us.
(01:06):
Hi there Hi, mister Tower.So this is so cool. I'm
really First of all, I've gotmy Tiger's gear on. I am just
so stoked for this opportunity. ButTaylor, it's a couple of days after
opening Day. A lot of fansdon't get the chance to come down,
and if they never have, theyshould. But the entire season is ahead
of us, which is wonderful.You've worked all off season. First of
(01:30):
all, opening day is done.You've had a chance to take a breath
and go yes, okay. AndI know because we talked with you on
behind the Mitt and I don't wantto give that away. You kind of
love kind of walking around incognito atthe ballpark and just taking in the fan
experience. But first and foremost,let's talk about it for the listener on
the other end of the radio hearingus on this Sunday morning. They have
(01:53):
him into Coomerica Park for a while. You're always reinventing the experience. What's
new in twenty twenty four. Alot of things going on. We do.
We've had a very successful off season, I would say, just with
ballpark improvements ultimately to increase the fanexperience here. I mean, it's already
the must place based the must beplace. Wait wait, it's don't say
(02:20):
must see TV, this is radio. It's the it's the must be place
of the summer. Yeah, therewe go Comerica Park. So in the
off season, we've increased the sizeof our video board, so it's now
fifteen thousand square feet. Did youget to watch that be installed. Oh
yes, it's been a process,Oh my gosh. Yes, and it's
(02:45):
it's massive. So it's only goingto increase the fan experience here for obviously
our fans, like I mentioned,but also our players getting to look up
at that too. It is massive. It's a huge days across the field
added like you can't even see thetop of it. It's the largest in
the American League and the second largestin Major League Baseball. So the scoreboard's
(03:07):
been updated, which is incredible,highest technology that we could get, as
well as our sound system, sothat which is a two year project.
But we've started replacing all of thespeakers within Comerica Park really just so fans
if they're walking the concourse, they'renot missing any of the Tigers baseball that's
happening on the field. Yeah,and that's more than just you know now
(03:28):
at bat so and so this isjust so you're picking up the whole ballpark
experience. You've also got music happeningat the ballpark too, Yes, live
music every pregame. You can findthat around the concourse. You can find
that at every entry point into theballpark. We've got DJs that we'd love
bringing in again just to create thatambiance, create that that must feel experience
(03:53):
when you walk into the ballpark andas you're walking around the concourse too.
Happy hours, So get to theearly at the cost, the happiest of
ours. Oh, the happiest ofhours. Great food in bev at a
discounted rate for the first hour.It's our Miller Lte Home Run Happy Hour
again every game for the first hourafter gates open on the Comerica Landing.
(04:17):
Wow. So weekends are special.I mean, there's stuff going Friday night,
Saturday and Sunday. Kind of giveus an overview for fans what to
expect, because a lot of timesfolks, especially coming from the west side
of the state here in West Michigan, they aim toward a weekend and make
it a whole weekend. In Detroit, absolutely, So we've also got some
(04:39):
incredible opponents lined up for the weekendgames too. I mean, we've got
the Dodgers coming in in June,We've got the Yankees coming in in August.
Our weekends are incredible here at ComericaPark. Fridays. Every Friday is
a Friday Night Party in the Parkpresented by Cosumigos again where we have specialty
food and cocktails. Saturdays a giveawayson Saturdays. That's every single Saturday.
(05:02):
We'll have a giveaway for all ofour every singles in every single Saturday.
It just only be like five timesa year. That's oh my, that's
amazing. And that's for the firstfifteen thousand people that arrive at the first
fifteen thousand fans, that's correct.Well. And then our Sundays are really
our family days. We've got ourChevy Sunday Kids Days. Those those families
(05:23):
can expect face painting on the concourse. They can expect player autographs on the
concourse as well. And then toclose out the game, we've got kids
run the bases presented by Blue Cross, Blue Shield. So Michigan, yep.
So fun the line and you'll kindof be like, oh, it's
worth it, guys, and it'sworth it. You got it, you
gotta do it. We're with TaylorOlsen here on West Michigan Weekend on iHeartRadio.
(05:46):
We're inside Comerica Park. It isa media day here at Comerica Park,
and you're hearing this on the Sundayjust after opening day. I got
to tell your Taylor Olson, directorof marketing for Tiger's Baseball, I drive
you especially drive all over the stateof Michigan. There is no more powerful
branding statement than that old English Dand it is the most pervasive brand all
(06:11):
over everywhere. People wear it.It's on their cars, it's on their
dogs, it's on their foreheads,it's on their behind it's everywhere. I
mean, that's got to be kindof overwhelming, but also just very very
encouraging to see how powerful that brandis. It's year long, but I
want to talk about it in termsof coming and just the swag, the
(06:34):
wearables. People are always looking toupdate their wardrobe with Tiger's gear. You've
also addressed that this year too,Yeah, absolutely, so a couple angles
to that. So we've got ourD Shop presented by Meyer. We've got
a lot of exciting brands coming inthat are represented in the D Shop,
so make sure to grab your yourfavorite Terek Scooble jersey or your favorite Spencer
(06:58):
Torkosen jersey the D Shop. Butwe've also, as I mentioned, our
giveaways on Saturdays, we find thatour fans really love wearables, so that
includes jerseys, that includes shirts,and this year we are really trying to
enhance our giveaways. One with thequality of our giveaways, but two with
sizing options. So we've got sizesfor the whole family. You mean,
(07:20):
when I get my free T shirt, I can pick what size? Yes,
yes, So we have Mie willhave five sizes to choose from this
year at the gates, again justto outfit the entire family. And we're
really excited about that enhancement this year. When you come to Komerica Park,
you do not need to think aboutdining anywhere else because you have more options
(07:42):
and you will even be able totake in They've also amped up the food
experience this year at Comerica Park forthe whole season. And don't forget we're
talking here in early April. You'vegot baseball into September, and there's I
mean, if you want to booka fall trip to see the Tigers at
Comerica. You can do that too, but you need to do that.
(08:03):
Let's give the website out. We'lldo it at the end of our conversation
as well. For tickets and justto learn more, where do they go?
Absolutely so for all of our giveaways, make sure to go to Tigers
dot com Backslash Giveaways. For allof our theme games, so we've got
an array of theme games including universitygames, heritage games, pop culture,
(08:24):
cause awareness. Fans can go toTigers dot com Backslash theme and then for
all tickets you can go to Tigersdot com Backslash Tickets. Yeah, and
you've got I know this because Iwas in college at CMU, Fire Up,
Fire Up. I was in nineteenyear old college students when the Tigers
(08:45):
had the most amazing season ever innineteen eighty four. You've got a nineteen
eighty four day on the calendar fortwenty twenty four, so I am bump
a lot of the older fans wholived through that amazing run in nineteen eighty
four, Tigers won like their firstthirty five games of the season. You're
going to celebrate that, which isgoing to be a very special day.
(09:05):
Talk about that real quickly if youwould play. Absolutely, we're really excited
about this. So obviously the fortiethanniversary of the nineteen eighty four World Series,
fortieth fortieth anniversary old, we're soold. We're very excited to celebrate.
We'll have alumni at the ballpark.We'll have a nice pregame celebration for
(09:26):
them. It's it's a great opportunityfor them to come together too, because
not everyone is local, so that'sreally nice and fans obviously to interact with
some iconic Tigers alumni and legends.That'll be that celebration is going to be
on August Saturday, August thirty.First, again, get your tickets Tigers
(09:46):
dot com back slash tickets. Butthat's going to be a really fun one
because we'll get those soon for surebecause I just bought mine. Another day,
another day that's going to be reallyexciting in August is August third.
That will be the day that wecelebrate Jim Leeland in Hall of Fame induction.
Yep, we're very excited about thatone. To bring Jim back to
the ballpark, celebrate him an amazingaccomplishment, and highlight all of his successes
(10:11):
and career accomplishments. We'll also havea giveaway on that day. It'll be
a Jim Leland starter pack including aTiger's baseball hat, a pair of sunglasses,
and a fake mustache. Love sothat everyone can gymify themselves. You
need one of those. Love It. That is the best I want to
(10:31):
talk about for families who want togo to Komerica Park, especially families with
someone who happens to be on thespectrum. This is something that's really important
this year. You understand there's nowa century Space here at Comerica Park in
partnership with the folks at Culture City. I'd like you to talk about that
(10:52):
because I know you and your wholeteam are very proud of this. We
are very proud of this. Wewant Coomerica Park to be the most accepting,
the most inclusive, the most positiveand accommodating ballpark that we can possibly
be, and we would be remissif we didn't work with Culture City to
create a sensory room here at theballpark so that everyone feels comfortable and can
(11:16):
have somewhere to go. This isa large ballpark that we're really proud of,
but sometimes that can be overwhelming forsome folks. So having a destination
such as the Culture City Sensory Roomis a huge leap forward for us and
the organization. Yeah, and Ido want to put a word in if
you're coming from out state and you'recoming into downtown Detroit, it is not
(11:37):
as overwhelming as you might have putit in your head. Really welcoming staff
here inside Cole America Park. Greatfriendly people who want to make that fan
experience one of the best experiences you'vehad all year. So keep that in
mind. It's really easy if yougot older, you're bringing grandpa and grandma
and maybe some mobility challenge people.It's a very accessible ballpark, so I
(11:58):
really want to roll out the redcarpet. Not as good as Taylor can
do it, but I really wantto encourage you to explore Comerica Park because
it is a special place, evenif you're not a baseball fan. And
you I've seen in years of watchingTigers baseball more women fans than ever.
You want to talk about just engagementand attraction with that whole lifestyle, I
(12:20):
see more women at the ballpark thanever before, and I love that because
that just speaks to the power ofthe brand and the place and everything else.
And you've got to love that too, Taylor Olson. I love that
we see it in our fan base, we see it in our front office.
There's never a time where I questionthat I don't belong at the table.
I love that, so I loveto see it as well. I
(12:43):
love seeing young girls and you knowfamilies that you know, parents that bring
their daughters, and just again,just increasing the fandom of the Detroit Tigers
through youth is so important. Butto your point, young girls especially is
amazing to see. And I knowa lot of our community impact programs have
(13:07):
worked with youth baseball teams in thepast. We are moving forward to working
with more youth softball teams as well, just in that effort to bring more
girls into the game. I loveit. I love everything about it.
We are just about out a time. Any final words of wisdoms from the
Detroit Tigers. You want to leavewith our West Michigan listeners. Absolutely,
(13:30):
you do not want to miss aTigers baseball game this season. We have
an incredible experience here at Comerica Park. But also our team is so young.
We've got so many exciting players thathave come through our system that are
really here to show off in frontof all of our fans, so we're
really excited to see them succeed.And yeah, come out to the ballpark.
(13:52):
Get your tickets Tigers dot com backslashtickets, and we'll see you here.
And look for Taylor lurking somewhere.I will be lurking. It's Comerica
Park. Taylor Olsen, director ofMarketing for Detroit Tigers Baseball, thank you
so much for joining us. Thankyou so much. And Amy Sherman,
thank you for being my guest cohost. Thanks on this segment of West
Michigan Weekend, stick around, ladiesand gentlemen. We have another segment still
(14:15):
to come here across this iHeartRadio station. I love this song, I love
nachos, loving everything. You mightbe buzzed. You know what I'd love
a ride when it's time to headout. If you see a buzz warning
sign, call for a ride whenit's time to go home. Buzz driving
is drunk driving. A message fromNITZA and the ad Council and welcome back
to West Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio.Thank you so much for tuning in on
(14:39):
this Sunday morning. It is themonth of April. It doesn't feel like
that perhaps outside, but it isthe month of April and a big focus
in this month. You've already perhapsread about this in the news here in
the state of Michigan on distracted driving. In fact, nearly two hundred people
recently pulled over for legal use ofcell phones in Saginaw County and police are
(15:03):
going to be out and very visibleall month long for distracted driving awareness and
an enforcement basically is what this comesdown to. I'm very pleased to welcome
to our program the director of Michigan'sOffice of Highway Safety planning to talk about
this. Katie Bauer is with uson our liveline. Katie, welcome to
(15:24):
the program. Hi, thank you, thank you very much for having me.
Well, this is You're very welcome. This is not a new thing.
You guys do this in basically inconcert with the police agency throughout Michigan
Sheriff's authorities, Michigan State Police.This is being labeled as a high visibility
(15:45):
enforcement effort during April. April is, by the way, national Distracted Driving
Awareness Month. This is a goodtime to focus on it, but this
is really a problem year round.Katie, right, Oh, definitely Distracted
driving is a huge issue. I'msure, just like you mentioned, we've
all seen people on the road stillon their cell phones, whether they're holding
(16:08):
their phone up to their ear orvisibly looking at it in their hand.
Yeah, it's still a problem.Even though we had a new law PASK
on June thirty s of twenty twentythree last year. Just changing the law
doesn't change people's behaviors. So thisis a great month to bring awareness to
(16:30):
it and hopefully start changing those riskydriving behaviors that we're all seeing on the
road. I don't think there's anybodylistening to us right now who isn't perhaps
a bit guilty of that, orthey've seen another driver here in Michigan holding
a phone or holding a phone.I've seen a lot of people looking down
in their laps while driving, andwho knows it could be something beyond a
(16:52):
phone. And that's really an importantpoint to make, Katie, is this
is more than just being distracted witha phone. We have, you know,
smart dashes now in so many cars. It's easy to get distracted by
your own technology and your automobile.Oh, most definitely, there is a
lot of technology and automobiles and you'veprobably seen in that some of the newer
(17:15):
vehicles, the screens are getting evenbigger. There are the size of a
small TV set in some cases.But yeah, so you know, the
technology in your vehicles are set togive you alert so that you know when
text messages, their phone calls arecoming through. So it is very easy
(17:36):
to take your eyes off the road. For people who have, you know,
a handheld device, there are certainways that you can connect your phone
to your vehicle and get a dashboardmount for your cell phone instead of having
it in your hand. It's notillegal to have your cell phone mounted on
your dash. We just don't wantpeople viewing things on their phones. You
(18:02):
know. We've seen law enforcement onthe road has seen people watching videos,
taking selfies, all sorts of thingson their phone's. You know, it's
okay to mount it on your dash, but one touch of the button to
make a phone call, to answera phone call, it's perfectly fine.
We just don't want anything more thanthat on the road. You know,
(18:23):
I have a little You mentioned thehands free thing that often sticks in your
air conditioning vent in your car.I have one. I think it was
eight dollars at Mire and I usethat thing every time I'm in the car,
and it's so basic, but it'sso helpful. And you know,
it's interesting you were talking about distracteddriving. It's really anything that distracts you.
(18:48):
I still see people, Katie,in Michigan and wherever you're going,
if you're driving to Florida for springbreak, I still see people on occasion
with a paperback against the steering wheel, reading a book while they're driving.
I still can't get that one outof my head. Yes, you know,
some of the conversations that I've hadwith law enforcement, of course they've
(19:11):
seen the same thing, but evenother people on the road. When we
talk about distracted driving, people puttingon makeup, trying to you know,
brush their hair. We've even hadreports of people trying to change their clothes
while driving. Off a shirt.Yes, yeah, so, And you're
absolutely right, it's not distracted driving. Month isn't just the use of an
(19:33):
electronic device. It's anything that isdistracting you while driving. You know,
having kids in the car, havingother people in your car that can distract
you. Also, the main messages, you know, we want people to
be responsible and just drive because youknow, once a crash occurs because of
distracted driving and somebody is seriously hurtor killed. You can't take that back.
(19:57):
And distracted driving a preventable behavior,so we do want to encourage people
to be responsible and just drive.And it also is deadly. It can
be often very deadly. I meanwe're kind of you know, laughing about
some of the things people do intheir cars, getting dressed or changing clothes,
(20:18):
you know, putting on makeup,or even something like leaning down to
pick up something that's fallen while you'redriving. It's a real dangerous thing.
It can be as you said,maybe watching a video on a screen in
a car, or paying attention toputting an address in your GPS while you're
driving, which is which is abig issue, but it often can be
(20:42):
you know, lead to harm ordeath of another motorist or multiple people.
It is a serious thing. Dowe know how often distracted driving is involved
in motor vehicle crashes? Well,in twenty twenty two, which is the
latest traffic crash facts that we haveavailable right now, there were fifteen,
(21:06):
four hundred and forty one confirmed motorvehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in Michigan,
and that resulted in fifty seven fatalitiesand about five nine hundred and five
injuries. It's a real thing.So and the other statistic that I find
(21:26):
pretty interesting is that about fifty percentof those crashes are a rear end crash.
So people are you know, rearending rear ending people because of a
distraction. And I thought that statisticwas pretty telling. Also, Yeah,
and this is you know, thiscould be more than a cell phone too.
(21:49):
I'm looking at the Michigan State Police. They did an update to this
code last year. It's any kindof a electronic mobile electric device, anything
that's not medical. Of course thatwould be exempt from the law if you
have to wear some kind of amedical device. But it could even be
a reader, you know, likea like a tablet reader or something like
(22:11):
that. Anything that's going to distractyou from driving. By the way,
we're speaking with Katie Bauer, directorof the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning.
You can learn more about not beingdistracted while you're driving at Michigan dot
gov forward slash Distracted Driving during thishigh visibility enforcement effort here in the month
(22:34):
of April and Michigan, Katie Bauer, what are people going to see as
they're driving in the roads, well, they will see more law enforcement visible
law enforcement on the roads and lookingfor those distracted drivers could be you know,
people who are not paying attention,and you've seen people on the roadways
(22:55):
kind of veering to the sides andonce you get up next to them,
you can tell that they're on oron their device. But any behavior like
that, law enforcement is going tobe looking for that. We've even had
reports of law enforcement who have observedpeople at a at a stop light,
a traffic sign, stop sign,and they pull up their phone and look
(23:17):
at it. That's illegal. Youcan't sit at a stop light or a
traffic sign and look at your phoneand start scrolling through a text message.
Those behaviors are are illegal, andlaw enforcement will pull people over and find
that a lot of people still aren'taware of what the law is and they're
(23:41):
surprised to find out that that's aviolation. They think that just because they're
stopped, they're okay to look.But if you need to look at your
phone, if you need to makea phone call or pick up a call,
you need to pull over to asafe place and not be in the
drive position of a view. Iam so glad you said that, and
(24:02):
I want to say this again onthe radio for the thousands of people hearing
us right now. I hope youheard what Katie Bauer, director of Michigan
Office of Highway Safety Planning, justsaid. When you are stopped at a
stop light, at a traffic light, it is still illegal to hold the
phone in your hand to text orrespond to a text, or to pick
(24:23):
it up and answer a call,even if you're not moving. Katie,
that is a violation of the handsfree cell phone law. Absolutely, yep.
And it's very tempting. Just likeyou said earlier in the phone call
today, it is tempting when yousee a tech message come in or a
(24:44):
phone call come in, you knowyou want to pick it out, you
want to answer it, you wantto see who's trying to get in touch
with you. But it's a bigbehavior again that we need to start changing.
Usually, those messages that are comingto you are not of an urgent
matter, and we just have toremember that. You know, I'll get
to it when it's when it's safefor me to do so well, And
(25:07):
the best way to be remembering thatif you are a habitual offender is you
get pulled over, it is acostly traffic stop. First time offense for
violating Michigan's hand free hands free drivinglaw is a one hundred dollars ticket and
or sixteen hours of community service,both costly penalty. The second time you're
(25:30):
pulled over violating the hands free drivinglaw a two hundred and fifty dollars ticket
and or twenty four hours of communityservice notice I said, and or it
could be that two hundred and fiftydollars ticket and twenty four hours of community
service. That's three full business daysof community service. The third time you
(25:51):
are found in violation of hands freedriving that law here in Michigan within a
three year period, the driver isasked to comple fleet or made to complete
a driving improvement course. This isa serious thing, and even one hundred
dollars ticket probably a pretty good motivationalfactor to get a lot of people to
break this habit. Katie Bauer,Yep, you're right, and those are
(26:14):
the fines. But in addition tothat, if a crash occurs and the
at fault driver was holding or usinga mobile device, the fines are doubled,
so that two hundred and fifty dollarsfine can now be a five hundred
dollars fine if you are at fault. Wow, Okay, that is something
that could be effactable. Like yousaid, fourteen thousand plus accidents involving distracted
(26:41):
driving in Michigan in twenty twenty twoalone. It is a huge factor.
And this enforcement the higher visibility.As you just heard Katie say earlier,
you're going to definitely notice more policeon the road, more police looking for
distracted drive. If you see somebodywho is driving distracted clearly paying attention more
(27:04):
to their phone than to operating thevehicle, other than making sure you stay
well away from that vehicle. Arethere any other recommendations, Katie? Yeah,
Actually I have a recommendation for parentswho have small kids in their vehicles
with them. Your children are watchingyou, and they're seeing your behaviors,
and when they grow up to becomedrivers, they're seeing that mom and dad
(27:27):
are doing it. They're brothers andsisters, they're doing it. Be a
good role model for those young youngstersthat you have in the car so that
they know that hey, I'm momand dad aren't doing this and this is
something that I shouldn't be doing either. We need to teach them young,
just like when kids grow up andyou know, they need to wear their
(27:48):
bicycle helmets, and we have allof those other safety things that are becoming
normal behaviors. This needs to bea normal behavior too. It's just don't
be distracted by your phone. Thatis really good, good wisdom, and
great final words from Katie Bauers.We talk about National Distracted Driving Month here
in the state of Michigan. Beon alert. There are extra police on
(28:10):
the road looking for you to makesure you are not being a part of
distracted driving. Katie Bowers, directorof the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning.
Katie, thank you so much forjoining me, thank you for having
me, and thank you for bringingsome awareness to this life safety and effort
that will be happening all months ofApril. I am most confident we did
(28:33):
exactly that. She's been our gueston this segment of West Michigan Weekend from
iHeartRadio. Hey, that's our programthis week. Thank you so much for
joining me. We'll catch you againnext Sunday right here on this iHeartRadio station.
I'm Phil Tower. Thank you forlistening. iHeartMedia West Michigan Weekend,
a public affairs program
iHeartMedia West Michigan Weekend a public affairsprogram and welcome in. This is West
Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio. I amso glad you've joined me. I'm Phil
Tower across all of our iHeartRadio brandsin West Michigan. And if you're hearing
noise in the background, that's becausewe are at Comerica Park now, just
(00:22):
a couple of days after opening dayat Comerica Park, which is it is
on a higher plane if you're abaseball fan, if you're a Tiger's fan,
it is like heaven on Earth.And we are here inside Comerica Park
for actually a media event which isone of the best media events I've ever
been to. It's called What's Newat Comerica Park. And we are with
(00:43):
the rock star director of Marketing forDetroit Tigers Baseball, Taylor Olsen. We
have had a great time and Ineed to introduce Taylor my special guest,
because this is why I'm here.I was pinch hitting on another show you
here on Wood Radio tonight at sixo'clock, and that is behind the mitten.
The co host and all around supertalent, Amy Sherman is with us.
(01:06):
Hi there Hi, mister Tower.So this is so cool. I'm
really First of all, I've gotmy Tiger's gear on. I am just
so stoked for this opportunity. ButTaylor, it's a couple of days after
opening Day. A lot of fansdon't get the chance to come down,
and if they never have, theyshould. But the entire season is ahead
of us, which is wonderful.You've worked all off season. First of
(01:30):
all, opening day is done.You've had a chance to take a breath
and go yes, okay. AndI know because we talked with you on
behind the Mitt and I don't wantto give that away. You kind of
love kind of walking around incognito atthe ballpark and just taking in the fan
experience. But first and foremost,let's talk about it for the listener on
the other end of the radio hearingus on this Sunday morning. They have
(01:53):
him into Coomerica Park for a while. You're always reinventing the experience. What's
new in twenty twenty four. Alot of things going on. We do.
We've had a very successful off season, I would say, just with
ballpark improvements ultimately to increase the fanexperience here. I mean, it's already
the must place based the must beplace. Wait wait, it's don't say
(02:20):
must see TV, this is radio. It's the it's the must be place
of the summer. Yeah, therewe go Comerica Park. So in the
off season, we've increased the sizeof our video board, so it's now
fifteen thousand square feet. Did youget to watch that be installed. Oh
yes, it's been a process,Oh my gosh. Yes, and it's
(02:45):
it's massive. So it's only goingto increase the fan experience here for obviously
our fans, like I mentioned,but also our players getting to look up
at that too. It is massive. It's a huge days across the field
added like you can't even see thetop of it. It's the largest in
the American League and the second largestin Major League Baseball. So the scoreboard's
(03:07):
been updated, which is incredible,highest technology that we could get, as
well as our sound system, sothat which is a two year project.
But we've started replacing all of thespeakers within Comerica Park really just so fans
if they're walking the concourse, they'renot missing any of the Tigers baseball that's
happening on the field. Yeah,and that's more than just you know now
(03:28):
at bat so and so this isjust so you're picking up the whole ballpark
experience. You've also got music happeningat the ballpark too, Yes, live
music every pregame. You can findthat around the concourse. You can find
that at every entry point into theballpark. We've got DJs that we'd love
bringing in again just to create thatambiance, create that that must feel experience
(03:53):
when you walk into the ballpark andas you're walking around the concourse too.
Happy hours, So get to theearly at the cost, the happiest of
ours. Oh, the happiest ofhours. Great food in bev at a
discounted rate for the first hour.It's our Miller Lte Home Run Happy Hour
again every game for the first hourafter gates open on the Comerica Landing.
(04:17):
Wow. So weekends are special.I mean, there's stuff going Friday night,
Saturday and Sunday. Kind of giveus an overview for fans what to
expect, because a lot of timesfolks, especially coming from the west side
of the state here in West Michigan, they aim toward a weekend and make
it a whole weekend. In Detroit, absolutely, So we've also got some
(04:39):
incredible opponents lined up for the weekendgames too. I mean, we've got
the Dodgers coming in in June,We've got the Yankees coming in in August.
Our weekends are incredible here at ComericaPark. Fridays. Every Friday is
a Friday Night Party in the Parkpresented by Cosumigos again where we have specialty
food and cocktails. Saturdays a giveawayson Saturdays. That's every single Saturday.
(05:02):
We'll have a giveaway for all ofour every singles in every single Saturday.
It just only be like five timesa year. That's oh my, that's
amazing. And that's for the firstfifteen thousand people that arrive at the first
fifteen thousand fans, that's correct.Well. And then our Sundays are really
our family days. We've got ourChevy Sunday Kids Days. Those those families
(05:23):
can expect face painting on the concourse. They can expect player autographs on the
concourse as well. And then toclose out the game, we've got kids
run the bases presented by Blue Cross, Blue Shield. So Michigan, yep.
So fun the line and you'll kindof be like, oh, it's
worth it, guys, and it'sworth it. You got it, you
gotta do it. We're with TaylorOlsen here on West Michigan Weekend on iHeartRadio.
(05:46):
We're inside Comerica Park. It isa media day here at Comerica Park,
and you're hearing this on the Sundayjust after opening day. I got
to tell your Taylor Olson, directorof marketing for Tiger's Baseball, I drive
you especially drive all over the stateof Michigan. There is no more powerful
branding statement than that old English Dand it is the most pervasive brand all
(06:11):
over everywhere. People wear it.It's on their cars, it's on their
dogs, it's on their foreheads,it's on their behind it's everywhere. I
mean, that's got to be kindof overwhelming, but also just very very
encouraging to see how powerful that brandis. It's year long, but I
want to talk about it in termsof coming and just the swag, the
(06:34):
wearables. People are always looking toupdate their wardrobe with Tiger's gear. You've
also addressed that this year too,Yeah, absolutely, so a couple angles
to that. So we've got ourD Shop presented by Meyer. We've got
a lot of exciting brands coming inthat are represented in the D Shop,
so make sure to grab your yourfavorite Terek Scooble jersey or your favorite Spencer
(06:58):
Torkosen jersey the D Shop. Butwe've also, as I mentioned, our
giveaways on Saturdays, we find thatour fans really love wearables, so that
includes jerseys, that includes shirts,and this year we are really trying to
enhance our giveaways. One with thequality of our giveaways, but two with
sizing options. So we've got sizesfor the whole family. You mean,
(07:20):
when I get my free T shirt, I can pick what size? Yes,
yes, So we have Mie willhave five sizes to choose from this
year at the gates, again justto outfit the entire family. And we're
really excited about that enhancement this year. When you come to Komerica Park,
you do not need to think aboutdining anywhere else because you have more options
(07:42):
and you will even be able totake in They've also amped up the food
experience this year at Comerica Park forthe whole season. And don't forget we're
talking here in early April. You'vegot baseball into September, and there's I
mean, if you want to booka fall trip to see the Tigers at
Comerica. You can do that too, but you need to do that.
(08:03):
Let's give the website out. We'lldo it at the end of our conversation
as well. For tickets and justto learn more, where do they go?
Absolutely so for all of our giveaways, make sure to go to Tigers
dot com Backslash Giveaways. For allof our theme games, so we've got
an array of theme games including universitygames, heritage games, pop culture,
(08:24):
cause awareness. Fans can go toTigers dot com Backslash theme and then for
all tickets you can go to Tigersdot com Backslash Tickets. Yeah, and
you've got I know this because Iwas in college at CMU, Fire Up,
Fire Up. I was in nineteenyear old college students when the Tigers
(08:45):
had the most amazing season ever innineteen eighty four. You've got a nineteen
eighty four day on the calendar fortwenty twenty four, so I am bump
a lot of the older fans wholived through that amazing run in nineteen eighty
four, Tigers won like their firstthirty five games of the season. You're
going to celebrate that, which isgoing to be a very special day.
(09:05):
Talk about that real quickly if youwould play. Absolutely, we're really excited
about this. So obviously the fortiethanniversary of the nineteen eighty four World Series,
fortieth fortieth anniversary old, we're soold. We're very excited to celebrate.
We'll have alumni at the ballpark.We'll have a nice pregame celebration for
(09:26):
them. It's it's a great opportunityfor them to come together too, because
not everyone is local, so that'sreally nice and fans obviously to interact with
some iconic Tigers alumni and legends.That'll be that celebration is going to be
on August Saturday, August thirty.First, again, get your tickets Tigers
(09:46):
dot com back slash tickets. Butthat's going to be a really fun one
because we'll get those soon for surebecause I just bought mine. Another day,
another day that's going to be reallyexciting in August is August third.
That will be the day that wecelebrate Jim Leeland in Hall of Fame induction.
Yep, we're very excited about thatone. To bring Jim back to
the ballpark, celebrate him an amazingaccomplishment, and highlight all of his successes
(10:11):
and career accomplishments. We'll also havea giveaway on that day. It'll be
a Jim Leland starter pack including aTiger's baseball hat, a pair of sunglasses,
and a fake mustache. Love sothat everyone can gymify themselves. You
need one of those. Love It. That is the best I want to
(10:31):
talk about for families who want togo to Komerica Park, especially families with
someone who happens to be on thespectrum. This is something that's really important
this year. You understand there's nowa century Space here at Comerica Park in
partnership with the folks at Culture City. I'd like you to talk about that
(10:52):
because I know you and your wholeteam are very proud of this. We
are very proud of this. Wewant Coomerica Park to be the most accepting,
the most inclusive, the most positiveand accommodating ballpark that we can possibly
be, and we would be remissif we didn't work with Culture City to
create a sensory room here at theballpark so that everyone feels comfortable and can
(11:16):
have somewhere to go. This isa large ballpark that we're really proud of,
but sometimes that can be overwhelming forsome folks. So having a destination
such as the Culture City Sensory Roomis a huge leap forward for us and
the organization. Yeah, and Ido want to put a word in if
you're coming from out state and you'recoming into downtown Detroit, it is not
(11:37):
as overwhelming as you might have putit in your head. Really welcoming staff
here inside Cole America Park. Greatfriendly people who want to make that fan
experience one of the best experiences you'vehad all year. So keep that in
mind. It's really easy if yougot older, you're bringing grandpa and grandma
and maybe some mobility challenge people.It's a very accessible ballpark, so I
(11:58):
really want to roll out the redcarpet. Not as good as Taylor can
do it, but I really wantto encourage you to explore Comerica Park because
it is a special place, evenif you're not a baseball fan. And
you I've seen in years of watchingTigers baseball more women fans than ever.
You want to talk about just engagementand attraction with that whole lifestyle, I
(12:20):
see more women at the ballpark thanever before, and I love that because
that just speaks to the power ofthe brand and the place and everything else.
And you've got to love that too, Taylor Olson. I love that
we see it in our fan base, we see it in our front office.
There's never a time where I questionthat I don't belong at the table.
I love that, so I loveto see it as well. I
(12:43):
love seeing young girls and you knowfamilies that you know, parents that bring
their daughters, and just again,just increasing the fandom of the Detroit Tigers
through youth is so important. Butto your point, young girls especially is
amazing to see. And I knowa lot of our community impact programs have
(13:07):
worked with youth baseball teams in thepast. We are moving forward to working
with more youth softball teams as well, just in that effort to bring more
girls into the game. I loveit. I love everything about it.
We are just about out a time. Any final words of wisdoms from the
Detroit Tigers. You want to leavewith our West Michigan listeners. Absolutely,
(13:30):
you do not want to miss aTigers baseball game this season. We have
an incredible experience here at Comerica Park. But also our team is so young.
We've got so many exciting players thathave come through our system that are
really here to show off in frontof all of our fans, so we're
really excited to see them succeed.And yeah, come out to the ballpark.
(13:52):
Get your tickets Tigers dot com backslashtickets, and we'll see you here.
And look for Taylor lurking somewhere.I will be lurking. It's Comerica
Park. Taylor Olsen, director ofMarketing for Detroit Tigers Baseball, thank you
so much for joining us. Thankyou so much. And Amy Sherman,
thank you for being my guest cohost. Thanks on this segment of West
Michigan Weekend, stick around, ladiesand gentlemen. We have another segment still
(14:15):
to come here across this iHeartRadio station. I love this song, I love
nachos, loving everything. You mightbe buzzed. You know what I'd love
a ride when it's time to headout. If you see a buzz warning
sign, call for a ride whenit's time to go home. Buzz driving
is drunk driving. A message fromNITZA and the ad Council and welcome back
to West Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio.Thank you so much for tuning in on
(14:39):
this Sunday morning. It is themonth of April. It doesn't feel like
that perhaps outside, but it isthe month of April and a big focus
in this month. You've already perhapsread about this in the news here in
the state of Michigan on distracted driving. In fact, nearly two hundred people
recently pulled over for legal use ofcell phones in Saginaw County and police are
(15:03):
going to be out and very visibleall month long for distracted driving awareness and
an enforcement basically is what this comesdown to. I'm very pleased to welcome
to our program the director of Michigan'sOffice of Highway Safety planning to talk about
this. Katie Bauer is with uson our liveline. Katie, welcome to
(15:24):
the program. Hi, thank you, thank you very much for having me.
Well, this is You're very welcome. This is not a new thing.
You guys do this in basically inconcert with the police agency throughout Michigan
Sheriff's authorities, Michigan State Police.This is being labeled as a high visibility
(15:45):
enforcement effort during April. April is, by the way, national Distracted Driving
Awareness Month. This is a goodtime to focus on it, but this
is really a problem year round.Katie, right, Oh, definitely Distracted
driving is a huge issue. I'msure, just like you mentioned, we've
all seen people on the road stillon their cell phones, whether they're holding
(16:08):
their phone up to their ear orvisibly looking at it in their hand.
Yeah, it's still a problem.Even though we had a new law PASK
on June thirty s of twenty twentythree last year. Just changing the law
doesn't change people's behaviors. So thisis a great month to bring awareness to
(16:30):
it and hopefully start changing those riskydriving behaviors that we're all seeing on the
road. I don't think there's anybodylistening to us right now who isn't perhaps
a bit guilty of that, orthey've seen another driver here in Michigan holding
a phone or holding a phone.I've seen a lot of people looking down
in their laps while driving, andwho knows it could be something beyond a
(16:52):
phone. And that's really an importantpoint to make, Katie, is this
is more than just being distracted witha phone. We have, you know,
smart dashes now in so many cars. It's easy to get distracted by
your own technology and your automobile.Oh, most definitely, there is a
lot of technology and automobiles and you'veprobably seen in that some of the newer
(17:15):
vehicles, the screens are getting evenbigger. There are the size of a
small TV set in some cases.But yeah, so you know, the
technology in your vehicles are set togive you alert so that you know when
text messages, their phone calls arecoming through. So it is very easy
(17:36):
to take your eyes off the road. For people who have, you know,
a handheld device, there are certainways that you can connect your phone
to your vehicle and get a dashboardmount for your cell phone instead of having
it in your hand. It's notillegal to have your cell phone mounted on
your dash. We just don't wantpeople viewing things on their phones. You
(18:02):
know. We've seen law enforcement onthe road has seen people watching videos,
taking selfies, all sorts of thingson their phone's. You know, it's
okay to mount it on your dash, but one touch of the button to
make a phone call, to answera phone call, it's perfectly fine.
We just don't want anything more thanthat on the road. You know,
(18:23):
I have a little You mentioned thehands free thing that often sticks in your
air conditioning vent in your car.I have one. I think it was
eight dollars at Mire and I usethat thing every time I'm in the car,
and it's so basic, but it'sso helpful. And you know,
it's interesting you were talking about distracteddriving. It's really anything that distracts you.
(18:48):
I still see people, Katie,in Michigan and wherever you're going,
if you're driving to Florida for springbreak, I still see people on occasion
with a paperback against the steering wheel, reading a book while they're driving.
I still can't get that one outof my head. Yes, you know,
some of the conversations that I've hadwith law enforcement, of course they've
(19:11):
seen the same thing, but evenother people on the road. When we
talk about distracted driving, people puttingon makeup, trying to you know,
brush their hair. We've even hadreports of people trying to change their clothes
while driving. Off a shirt.Yes, yeah, so, And you're
absolutely right, it's not distracted driving. Month isn't just the use of an
(19:33):
electronic device. It's anything that isdistracting you while driving. You know,
having kids in the car, havingother people in your car that can distract
you. Also, the main messages, you know, we want people to
be responsible and just drive because youknow, once a crash occurs because of
distracted driving and somebody is seriously hurtor killed. You can't take that back.
(19:57):
And distracted driving a preventable behavior,so we do want to encourage people
to be responsible and just drive.And it also is deadly. It can
be often very deadly. I meanwe're kind of you know, laughing about
some of the things people do intheir cars, getting dressed or changing clothes,
(20:18):
you know, putting on makeup,or even something like leaning down to
pick up something that's fallen while you'redriving. It's a real dangerous thing.
It can be as you said,maybe watching a video on a screen in
a car, or paying attention toputting an address in your GPS while you're
driving, which is which is abig issue, but it often can be
(20:42):
you know, lead to harm ordeath of another motorist or multiple people.
It is a serious thing. Dowe know how often distracted driving is involved
in motor vehicle crashes? Well,in twenty twenty two, which is the
latest traffic crash facts that we haveavailable right now, there were fifteen,
(21:06):
four hundred and forty one confirmed motorvehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in Michigan,
and that resulted in fifty seven fatalitiesand about five nine hundred and five
injuries. It's a real thing.So and the other statistic that I find
(21:26):
pretty interesting is that about fifty percentof those crashes are a rear end crash.
So people are you know, rearending rear ending people because of a
distraction. And I thought that statisticwas pretty telling. Also, Yeah,
and this is you know, thiscould be more than a cell phone too.
(21:49):
I'm looking at the Michigan State Police. They did an update to this
code last year. It's any kindof a electronic mobile electric device, anything
that's not medical. Of course thatwould be exempt from the law if you
have to wear some kind of amedical device. But it could even be
a reader, you know, likea like a tablet reader or something like
(22:11):
that. Anything that's going to distractyou from driving. By the way,
we're speaking with Katie Bauer, directorof the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning.
You can learn more about not beingdistracted while you're driving at Michigan dot
gov forward slash Distracted Driving during thishigh visibility enforcement effort here in the month
(22:34):
of April and Michigan, Katie Bauer, what are people going to see as
they're driving in the roads, well, they will see more law enforcement visible
law enforcement on the roads and lookingfor those distracted drivers could be you know,
people who are not paying attention,and you've seen people on the roadways
(22:55):
kind of veering to the sides andonce you get up next to them,
you can tell that they're on oron their device. But any behavior like
that, law enforcement is going tobe looking for that. We've even had
reports of law enforcement who have observedpeople at a at a stop light,
a traffic sign, stop sign,and they pull up their phone and look
(23:17):
at it. That's illegal. Youcan't sit at a stop light or a
traffic sign and look at your phoneand start scrolling through a text message.
Those behaviors are are illegal, andlaw enforcement will pull people over and find
that a lot of people still aren'taware of what the law is and they're
(23:41):
surprised to find out that that's aviolation. They think that just because they're
stopped, they're okay to look.But if you need to look at your
phone, if you need to makea phone call or pick up a call,
you need to pull over to asafe place and not be in the
drive position of a view. Iam so glad you said that, and
(24:02):
I want to say this again onthe radio for the thousands of people hearing
us right now. I hope youheard what Katie Bauer, director of Michigan
Office of Highway Safety Planning, justsaid. When you are stopped at a
stop light, at a traffic light, it is still illegal to hold the
phone in your hand to text orrespond to a text, or to pick
(24:23):
it up and answer a call,even if you're not moving. Katie,
that is a violation of the handsfree cell phone law. Absolutely, yep.
And it's very tempting. Just likeyou said earlier in the phone call
today, it is tempting when yousee a tech message come in or a
(24:44):
phone call come in, you knowyou want to pick it out, you
want to answer it, you wantto see who's trying to get in touch
with you. But it's a bigbehavior again that we need to start changing.
Usually, those messages that are comingto you are not of an urgent
matter, and we just have toremember that. You know, I'll get
to it when it's when it's safefor me to do so well, And
(25:07):
the best way to be remembering thatif you are a habitual offender is you
get pulled over, it is acostly traffic stop. First time offense for
violating Michigan's hand free hands free drivinglaw is a one hundred dollars ticket and
or sixteen hours of community service,both costly penalty. The second time you're
(25:30):
pulled over violating the hands free drivinglaw a two hundred and fifty dollars ticket
and or twenty four hours of communityservice notice I said, and or it
could be that two hundred and fiftydollars ticket and twenty four hours of community
service. That's three full business daysof community service. The third time you
(25:51):
are found in violation of hands freedriving that law here in Michigan within a
three year period, the driver isasked to comple fleet or made to complete
a driving improvement course. This isa serious thing, and even one hundred
dollars ticket probably a pretty good motivationalfactor to get a lot of people to
break this habit. Katie Bauer,Yep, you're right, and those are
(26:14):
the fines. But in addition tothat, if a crash occurs and the
at fault driver was holding or usinga mobile device, the fines are doubled,
so that two hundred and fifty dollarsfine can now be a five hundred
dollars fine if you are at fault. Wow, Okay, that is something
that could be effactable. Like yousaid, fourteen thousand plus accidents involving distracted
(26:41):
driving in Michigan in twenty twenty twoalone. It is a huge factor.
And this enforcement the higher visibility.As you just heard Katie say earlier,
you're going to definitely notice more policeon the road, more police looking for
distracted drive. If you see somebodywho is driving distracted clearly paying attention more
(27:04):
to their phone than to operating thevehicle, other than making sure you stay
well away from that vehicle. Arethere any other recommendations, Katie? Yeah,
Actually I have a recommendation for parentswho have small kids in their vehicles
with them. Your children are watchingyou, and they're seeing your behaviors,
and when they grow up to becomedrivers, they're seeing that mom and dad
(27:27):
are doing it. They're brothers andsisters, they're doing it. Be a
good role model for those young youngstersthat you have in the car so that
they know that hey, I'm momand dad aren't doing this and this is
something that I shouldn't be doing either. We need to teach them young,
just like when kids grow up andyou know, they need to wear their
(27:48):
bicycle helmets, and we have allof those other safety things that are becoming
normal behaviors. This needs to bea normal behavior too. It's just don't
be distracted by your phone. Thatis really good, good wisdom, and
great final words from Katie Bauers.We talk about National Distracted Driving Month here
in the state of Michigan. Beon alert. There are extra police on
(28:10):
the road looking for you to makesure you are not being a part of
distracted driving. Katie Bowers, directorof the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning.
Katie, thank you so much forjoining me, thank you for having
me, and thank you for bringingsome awareness to this life safety and effort
that will be happening all months ofApril. I am most confident we did
(28:33):
exactly that. She's been our gueston this segment of West Michigan Weekend from
iHeartRadio. Hey, that's our programthis week. Thank you so much for
joining me. We'll catch you againnext Sunday right here on this iHeartRadio station.
I'm Phil Tower. Thank you forlistening. iHeartMedia West Michigan Weekend,
a public affairs program
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