Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — Governor Kim Reynolds has signed the bill that will make it illegal to handle a smart phone while driving, starting July 1st.
Reynolds was surrounded by dozens of people for the bill signing ceremony, including the families of Iowans who have died in accidents caused by distracted drivers.
Roland Taylor of Terril was driving an antique tractor on Highway 71 in Clay County when his tractor was hit from behind and he was thrown into a ditch. Governor Reynolds called Taylor’s daughter, Angie Smith, last week when the bill finally passed the Iowa House.
Smith spoke with reporters after the bill signing ceremony.
Nina Todd of Shenandoah has been lobbying for this law since being critically injured in an accident in late 2010.
Todd held photos of her sons in her arms during the bill signing ceremony and she asked the governor to sign the photos.
Peter Bengston’s 28-year-old daughter, Ellen, was on a Sunday afternoon bicycle ride just outside Charles City on August 2nd of 2020 when she was struck and killed by a distracted driver.
A judge threw out the vehicular homicide charge filed in this case because the prosecutor was unable to prove the driver was touching his phone when he hit Bengston. The bicyclist’s father says it’s been frustrating that it took lawmakers so long to pass this law.
Governor Kim Reynolds says the data from neighboring states shows making it illegal to handle a cell phone while driving will reduce accidents.
Reynolds cited a recent study indicating a 10 percent reduction in distracted driving in Iowa will prevent over 12 hundred crashes, 700 injuries and six deaths. Starting July 1st, Iowa law enforcement officers may begin giving warnings to motorists caught illegally handling a phone while driving. Then, starting January 1st of next year, those who violate the law will be fined one hundred dollars.
