Iowa struggles to pass hands-free driving laws, families and law enforcement speak out
”I think it’s obvious to everybody, not just us, that the problem is getting worse, especially with the phones.”
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - For years, Iowa legislators have proposed hands-free driving bills, but none have passed. But with April marking Distracted Driving Awareness Month, both Iowa State Troopers and families are demanding a change.
”I think it’s obvious to everybody, not just us, that the problem is getting worse, especially with the phones,” said Iowa State Trooper Bob Conrad, who’s advocated for hands-free driving legislature for years.
”I just had a person I stopped yesterday or the day before, that literally pulled up next to a marked squad car at a light on her phone, head down.” he said.
According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, drivers using a hand-held device while driving are 4 times more likely to get into a serious crash. For Peter and JoAnn Bengston, this statistic hits close to home.
In 2020, their daughter Ellen was killed by a distracted driver, but that driver never faced any consequences since Iowa doesn’t have a hands-free driving law.
“The ruling of the judge was, under the existing state law - it has the word ‘manually manipulating’ a phone - but because they didn’t quote-unquote prove he was manually manipulating the phone, she threw the case out,” said Peter Bengston.
According to state law, it’s illegal to text and drive.
But drivers can have their phones in their hands to look at maps and make a call.
Legislation proposed by State Senator Brad Zaun is aiming to change this, but the bill is combined with another one that would ban traffic cameras.
And neither Conrad nor the Bengstons say this would solve the problem.
“It was like ‘I’ll give you one safety measure, hands-free cell phone use, but I’m going to take away another tool, which is the traffic cameras that slows speeding down,” said Peter Bengston.
“I would like to see it pass on it’s own, by itself, because it makes sense,” said Conrad. “I would invite any of those legislators that aren’t supporting it to come out and spend a day with ‘em. And ride in the car and see how dangerous that really is.”
A KCRG Reporter reached out to Senator Zaun for comment, but as of the 5 pm Newscast on April 4th, they have not heard back.
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