Iowa Senate Working on Hands-Free Cell Phone Bill

DES MOINES, Iowa — Dwight Dufoe makes his residing as a motive force and says human beings using their mobile phones on the road is his biggest puppy peeve.

“They have their head down and they are speaking and they may be focusing on speak me. They’re now not searching. They simply don’t pay attention. It’s simply loopy from time to time,” Dufoe said.

Dufoe supports the invoice which could make all cell smartphone use whilst using unlawful unless it’s miles hands-free. The invoice has exceeded out of subcommittee and now actions on to a complete committee hearing.

 

State Senator Jeff Danielson, one of the lawmakers running at the invoice, says it isn’t pretty much annoying drivers on the road.

“People do it because they assume they’re secure. They overestimate their very own capability, but what we recognize is calling at a cell smartphone and the use of a mobile smartphone at the same time as you’re using has the identical error price as being inebriated,” stated Danielson.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly three,500 human beings were killed in 2016 in crashes involving distracted riding. Danielson says a complete ban must be simpler for police to implement over the present day bill that forbids texting and using.

“The hassle was there may be one exemption, and that is in case you use your telephone for GPS navigation. So, how does law enforcement observing you in the automobile whilst you’ve got the smartphone up on your face and you are going through the motions, they don’t understand whether or not this is GPS or now not,” he said.

However, a few are less positive. Wisconsin native Mikki Fjelstad says her home nation forbids all telephone use in work zones, but it hasn’t made a distinction.

“People still use them, communicate on them, textual content on them. You can inform while they are when you’re at the back of them,” said Fjelstad.

The new bill might growth the contemporary penalty from $30 bucks to $one hundred bucks. Courts can also tack on as much as extra $500 and droop a license for as much as ninety days.

An exception could be made within the case of an emergency.