Senators urged to ban hand-held cellphone calls while driving

DES MOINES - It would be illegal to make hand-held cellphone calls while driving, and texting while driving would become a primary offense, under legislation being sought by the Iowa Department of Public Safety with the blessing of Gov. Terry Branstad.

Patrick Hoye, a former head of the Iowa State Patrol who now leaders of the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau, told members of the Senate Transportation Committee on Monday that texting and driving is contributing to a spike in distracted driving crashes and fatalities and 'an epidemic of people crossing the centerline” on Iowa roadways.

'We just think it's lifesaving legislation,” Hoye said in advocating for Senate Study Bill 1041. 'We think it will make a difference.”

Current Iowa law prohibits the use of an electronic device to write, send, or read a text message while operating a motor vehicle for all drivers and bans cellphone use by minors under age 18. The texting violation is considered a secondary offense that cannot be the sole reason for a traffic stop. This still resulted in about 250 citations last year, Hoye said.

The proposed legislation would expand the prohibition to include any electronic message, including telephone calls, and it would make the use hand-held devices while driving - whether to make a call or text - illegal and primary grounds to make a traffic stop subject to a $30 fine per violation. The bill would provide an exception allowing the use of electronic devices in hands-free or voice activated mode.

Sen. Tod Bowman, D-Maquoketa, the chairman of the Iowa Senate Transportation Committee, said he expected the bill would come before a subcommittee soon but he was uncertain of the bill's future. 'The bill goes further than what we passed last year,” he said.

Sen. Wally Horn, D-Cedar Rapids, said he was not convinced lawmakers needed to take the extra step of banning all hand preoccupying cellphone use.

'I just don't know if we're reacting too quickly,” he said. 'I'm just not convinced that it's time.”

Hoye compared distracted driving to drunken driving and noted that 14 states, including Illinois, have passed hands-free standards similar to what Iowa public safety agencies are proposing.

Sgt. John Thompson of the Illinois State Police testified at Monday's committee meeting that his state experienced a jump in texting convictions in 2014 and a decline in fatal crashes and deaths associated with distracted driving even after raising the interstate speed limit to 70 mph last year.

'It's scary out there to see what people are doing in vehicles other than driving,” said Thompson.

He said that since the law passed in Illinois, drivers are likely more covert in their cellphone use, but overall he believes they are following the new law for the most part.