Ban on phones in Iowa drivers’ hands headed to Gov. Reynolds

DES MOINES — Tears flowed from the eyes of Judith Collora and Berta Pearson as they soaked in the news. For them, the moment was a long time coming.

After years of advocacy from family members like them of Iowans killed by distracted drivers, years of urging from Iowa law enforcement officers and years of legislative road blocks, a proposed state law requiring drivers to use cellphones only in hands-free mode passed the Iowa Legislature on Wednesday and is on its way to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk to sign.

The Iowa House, where the legislation has faltered in years past, passed the bill Wednesday by a broad, 84-11 margin. Having passed the Senate on a 47-1 vote last week, Senate File 22 goes to Reynolds for her approval.

Reynolds’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but she called for the bill’s passage in January during her annual Condition of the State address to the Iowa Legislature.

Collora and Pearson watched from the Iowa House gallery as the bill cleared its final legislative hurdle Wednesday. They were overcome with emotion once it passed.

“We’re going to save some lives,” Pearson said shortly after the bill passed, tears pouring from her eyes.

Pearson and Collora are from Mount Pleasant, and both have been frequent visitors to the Iowa Capitol, imploring lawmakers to pass the hands-free requirement. Collora’s daughter, Kristina, was killed nine days after her 30th birthday in 2023 by a driver distracted by his phone. Pearson’s grandson, Pearson Franklin, a 20-year-old utility worker, was killed along with a colleague in October 2022 while working on a bridge in Burlington as a driver distracted by an app on her cellphone struck them.

“It’s not just for my Pearson. He’s already gone. It’s for the rest of them,” she said.

Advocates have sought law chance since 2017

Wednesday’s passage marks the culmination of a yearslong effort by families and public safety officials to strengthen Iowa’s distracted driving laws.

State and local law enforcement officials have pushed for the legislation for the better part of the past decade — arguing the state’s prohibition on texting while driving, enacted in 2017, is nearly impossible to enforce because drivers can say they instead were making a call or using the device’s GPS, which still was allowed under state law.

Bills limiting cellphone use by mandating voice-activated or hands-free technology while driving have been introduced in the Iowa Legislature since 2019, but all attempts at passage had been unsuccessful.

The legislation overwhelmingly passed the Iowa Senate in previous years, but the Iowa House hit the brakes.

This year, the Iowa Bicycle Coalition and more than 25 other groups representing law enforcement, health care, labor, cellphone carriers, insurance companies and automakers launched a statewide campaign to press Iowa lawmakers to finally pass a hands-free driving law. Supporters emphasized the bill's potential to save lives and highlighted the need for clear legislation against texting and driving.

Reynolds also drew attention to the distracted driving issue during her Condition of the State address, where for the first time she publicly pressed lawmakers to pass a hands-free driving bill.

“For the sake of all our loved ones on the road, let’s finally pass legislation that requires drivers to keep their eyes on the road and away from their phones,” she said.

Despite bipartisan and law enforcement support, a wing of Republicans in the GOP-controlled House had objected to the legislation in previous years, saying it infringes on individual rights and that lawmakers should look at other ways to more broadly crack down on activity that diverts attention from driving.

Ten Republicans and one Democrat voted against the bill Wednesday in the House.

Rep. David Young, a Republican from Van Meter who is in his first year as chair of the House’s Transportation Committee, pushed for the bill’s passage. Young said he made the bill a priority on his legislative agenda this year, and gave credit to his colleague Rep. Ann Meyer, a Republican from Fort Dodge, who managed the bill, and to Reynolds for highlighting it in her Condition of the State address.

Young also credited the families who spoke to lawmakers about the bill.

“I think the difference this year was families of those who’ve been killed or maimed, or were in an accident because of somebody who’s distracted driving with a device, whether it was themselves or someone else, they brought their stories to the Capitol this year in a clear and crisp and consistent way, and I think that made a lot of the difference,” Young said.

Similar laws in states including Alabama, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio have proved effective at reducing crash rates, according to a 2024 report by the Governors Highway Safety Association.

The Iowa State Patrol and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau conducted a survey during the 2024 Iowa State Fair that found nearly 85 percent of the more than 1,300 Iowans surveyed supported legislation mandating hands-free phone use. And 96 percent said they regularly see others driving with a cellphone in hand.

Some House Democrats expressed concern Wednesday with a provision that would exempt drivers of farm vehicles from the hands-free requirement, but supported the bill and expressed an urgency to get something to Reynolds’ desk.

What will be the fines be?

The bill prohibits any use of electronic devices while driving except when using the device in hands-free mode or with voice-activated commands, including technology built into the car.

Iowa law currently prohibits the use of hand-held devices to write, send or view electronic messages while driving. The bill expands the law to prohibit “holding, viewing or manipulating an electronic device” while driving.

It increases the fine from $45 to $100 and makes it a moving violation that can be considered for purposes of administrative suspension of a driver’s license or to establish habitual offender status. If serious injury or death occurs, the fine would be $500 and $1,000, respectively, and the driver’s license could be suspended.

Police officers would be required to issue warnings until Jan. 1, 2026.

Voice-activated or hands-free mode does not include accessing non-navigational video content, participating in a video call, streaming video, accessing gaming data or reading an electronic message or notification.

The bill provides exceptions when the vehicle is completely stopped, either off the roadway or as far from the center as possible if it can't be moved. There are also exceptions for first responders while on duty and health care professionals in the course of emergency situations.

It also provides exceptions for receiving a weather or emergency alert, reporting an emergency situation, for those operating farm machinery and for certain radio operators, utility workers while in a utility maintenance vehicle, those accessing fleet management systems, and public transit workers and drivers for ride-hailing service like Uber and Lyft while working when the vehicle is not in motion.

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