(Des Moines) A Virginia Tech Study shows some distraction present caused 80 percent of crashes nationwide within three seconds of the impact. Over the last seven years in Iowa, 217 lives have been lost to distractive driving crashes.
Iowa State Patrol Trooper and District #4 Public Information Officer Shelby McCreedy says in 2022 in Iowa; there were 9,192 crashes involving distraction. Additionally, in 2021 there were 30 fatalities due to distracted driving.
Trooper McCreedy reminds us that Iowa does NOT have a hands-free law. There are 24 states across the nation that are hands-free; thirty-six states, including Iowa, ban teenagers from using cell phones; 47 states have some cellphone laws in place and the states that do not are Arizona, Missouri, and Montana.
McCreedy says the current law in Iowa states drivers 18 years of age and older can hold a cell phone in hand and talk on it, one-touch dial, hang up, and use it as a navigation device. She says the legislation is proposed to go further and make Iowa a hands-free state.
