TRAVERSE CITY -- 16-year old Halee Hamilton says driving is a huge responsibilty, that's why she never uses the phone while driving.

Halee says, "My parents always tell me pull over if it's that important."

That's exactly what Halee says she did driving home from a concert last week.

"I got a text message and looked down at my phone and I pulled into a gas station to respond and then his sirens went on," says the teen.

Even though she gave the police officer her phone to prove she never responded to the text, the police officer still gave her a $200 ticket.

Michigan State Trooper John Arthur says, "Anything having to do with a text message whether your sending it, reading it, or typing it, if you are driving a vehicle at the time you are breaking the law."

That's where Halee went wrong. According to the state law, a driver is not allowed to even read a message sent to them. So while Halee may not have text messaged anyone, the police officer saw her look down and read her phone, a mistake her father says is a costly one.

Jeff Hamilton says, "I didn't know it would be a $200 ticket. If you don't wear your seatbelt it's $60, speeding it's $60, so i figured $50 or $60 bucks. When the judge told me $200 i about had a stroke."

State troopers say the law isn't perfect, in fact catching someone texting while driving is hard to do.

Trooper Arthur says, "The size of a cell phone makes it difficult to witness it from a distance. You almost have to be along side the vehicle without them knowing you are there."

Since Michigan's driving while texting law went into affect more than a year ago, only six tickets made it into court in Grand Traverse County, four in Emmet County, and Wexford County still hasn't had any.