Greg LaVallee, right, testifies at a legislative hearing in Minnesota last year, holding a photo of his son, who was killed by a driver who was using a cellphone. Minnesota passed a hands-free law, which went into effect last August, and three more states will be enacting similar laws this week.Jim Mone/The Associated Press
Starting July 1, three more states will be banning drivers from using cellphones behind the wheel, unless they’re hands-free.
Idaho, Indiana and South Dakota will join 22 states and the District of Columbia, which already have hands-free laws for all drivers.
Virginia also has passed a similar law, which will go into effect Jan. 1, 2021.
More states may be joining them. Hands-free bills are pending in state legislatures in Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, said Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a nonprofit research group funded by auto insurance companies.
Talking or texting on a cellphone is a form of distracted driving and it’s dangerous, highway safety officials warn. Distracted driving, which also includes eating and drinking or fiddling with the entertainment or navigation system, takes the driver’s attention away from the task of safe driving.
Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia already have texting bans for all drivers. Only Montana and Missouri don’t.
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Better late than never, but not for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there were lobbyists trying to prevent the law from being.
Hell, I figured it had been hands free all along. But I’m a redneck that stays here.
ReplyDeletePass all the laws you want, but if they're not enforced, nothing changes. How many people in Maryland do you see with a phone up to their head?!
ReplyDeleteWay too many and don't forget driving, right hand on wheel, phone in left and left ear, hunched over leaning on the left door. No way any depth perception is in play....going 60-70 on route 50. Crazy indeed!
Delete!:53 has a good point , however I will add that the police , if you can find one now-a-days don't respond to such calls , hell they won't respond to gun fire . We don't have police anymore , who will enforce the law ? Surely not the police , you people have gotten rid of them . I see many people on their phones while driving , mostly females who give me the finger when I yell at them , the men acknowledge me and put it down.
ReplyDeletechit,
ReplyDeleteAll the Ghetto Mommas in Da Bury
all have their cell phones near their
wig and fake nails while driving the ESCALADE.