Iowa State Patrol has issued 8,000 warnings to drivers using cellphones under new state law

DES MOINES — Many drivers in Iowa could be in for a $100 surprise come the new year unless they put down their phones, at least one Iowa law enforcement official says.

Iowa drivers are becoming more aware of a new state law that bans them from using their hands to operate a mobile device while driving, local and state law enforcement officials say. Under the new state law, drivers in Iowa are prohibited from using their hands to operate cellphones or other mobile devices. Drivers are now permitted to use those devices only in hands-free modes.

The new, so-called “hands-free” law, went into effect July 1 with a sort of soft launch: through the end of the year, officers can only issue warnings for violations. Starting Jan. 1, officers can begin issuing tickets and fines.

And it appears there will be plenty of tickets and fines, according to what Sgt. Paul Parizek, Public Information Officer for the Des Moines Police Department, said he and his fellow officers are seeing in the state’s biggest city.

“Speaking with the traffic unit, they anticipate that there will be a lot of citations issued, because they continue to see a lot of violations,” Parizek said.

The new law increased the penalties for distracted driving to a $100 fine and made the violation eligible for consideration when law enforcement officials consider suspending an individual’s driver’s license.

Some Iowa law enforcement agencies have been tracking how many warnings they have issued for handheld use of phones and other devices since the new law went into effect.

The Iowa State Patrol has been active, issuing nearly 8,000 warnings from July 1 through Oct. 31, the first four months under the new law, according to figures provided by the state.

“I think at this point, we’re into November, we’re going on five months with the law being enacted, I think most drivers that we stop and talk to now are at least aware of the law, that it’s hands-free,” Iowa State Trooper and Public Resource Officer Seth Bean said. “So a lot of the stops are still very educational, just instructing people when they can’t use their phone.”

Among other Iowa law enforcement agencies that had figures to share with The Gazette, these were the number of warnings they issued from July 1 through Oct. 31:

Cedar Rapids Police have not focused enforcement on the new law, but have made stops when witnessing “obvious use,” a city spokesman said. That can include handheld phone use as a primary reason for a traffic stop or among other reasons like speeding or other violations.

The department spokesperson said they will continue to address the change in law through social media and in contacts with drivers.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has been giving verbal warnings along with information about the new law, a department spokesman said. While the department has not been tracking the number of verbal warnings, it did during one day of targeted enforcement and education, when 26 warnings were issued, Lt. Demetrius Marlowe said.

Many law enforcement officers said their agencies are using these first six months under the new law, when only warnings can be issued, to educate drivers about the new law and the dangers of operating devices while driving.

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Bean said the Iowa State Patrol’s monthly figures have declined each month, and that he is hopeful that means drivers are becoming increasingly aware of the new law.

Bean said the State Patrol issued roughly 2,600 warnings in July, 1,900 in August, 1,700 in September and 1,600 in October; he cautioned, however, that is not necessarily a direct indication of the new law’s impact.

“So it’s slowly going down. I hope that’s because people are on their phone less and we’re seeing less of it. But that’s hard to derive that statistic for sure,” Bean said.

Bean also noted that Iowa has had one of the lowest rates of traffic deaths in years. As of Thursday, there had been 244 traffic fatalities in Iowa in 2025; that’s 20 percent fewer than the previous year’s rate and the previous five-year average rate.

Again, Bean said it cannot be determined for certain whether that lower traffic death rate can be attributed to the new state hands-free law.

“Can we tie that directly to the hands-free bill? I don’t know. But I think it is making an impact,” Bean said. “There’s still people out there on their phones. But I think people understand that they need to be paying attention to what’s going on around them.”

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