Legislature sends texting ban to Culver’s desk

“Put down the cell phone, and hopefully all the other distractions, and focus on the road.”

That's what Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, wants drivers to take away from a bill that passed the Iowa Legislature on Tuesday that prohibits texting while driving in Iowa.

The House voted 66-33 to approve the ban and sent the measure to the Senate, which passed it 37-12 and sent the bill on to Gov. Chet Culver.

House floor manager Rep. Curt Hanson, D-Fairfield, called the bill - the result of a House-Senate conference committee - “a great merger” of ideas that yielded a bill “better than what we started with.”

The committee combined the House's hard ban on the use of hand-held electronic entertainment or communication devices with the Senate's ban on reading, writing or sending text and e-mail messages while driving.

The compromise version of HF 2456 allows texting exemptions for drivers engaged in public safety duties, health care professionals in emergency situations, truck drivers receiving digital dispatch messages, and drivers receiving safety-related information such as emergency, traffic or weather alerts.

The ban does not apply to global positioning or navigation systems. And it allows drivers to use iPods or other devices if they are operated through controls permanently installed on a vehicle, such as the radio.

“This isn't about safety,” said Rep. Greg Forristall, R-Macedonia, who pointed out that a truck driven by someone distracted by a digital dispatch message is probably more of a danger than a Mini Cooper driven by a text-messaging driver.

Co-floor manager Rep. Dave Tjepkes, R-Gowrie, said the bill is not perfect, but it was a first step toward reducing driver distractions.

During the ban's first year, violators will receive warning tickets. After that, the offense will merit a $30 fine; Danielson said it comes to about $100 with court costs. And if texting causes an accident that results in serious injury or death, penalties increase up to a $1,000 fine and 180-day license suspension.

Texting can be the primary reason for law enforcement to stop young drivers, but not other drivers subject to the ban.

Hanson, a retired driver's education teacher, liked that the law applies to adults as well as teen drivers.

“Many adults realize how dangerous this is,” he said. “Now they will set the example. They won't be doing one thing while telling kids not to do it.”