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Will Iowa pass a hands-free driving bill? Lawmakers say 'this could be the year'

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DES MOINES — Iowa Republican lawmakers say this could be the year they 
finally ban motorists' handheld use of cellphones behind the wheel.

Law enforcement officials, advocates and grieving families of Iowans 
killed by distracted drivers packed a Senate committee room Wednesday to 
again implore lawmakers to ban motorists' handheld use of mobile devices 
behind the wheel.

“There should never be any young person, or any person in this state, that 
has to lose their life because someone chooses to text instead of drive,” 
Judith Collora, of Mount Pleasant, told lawmakers. “Driving is a 
privilege, and to choose to text instead of drive puts other people at 
risk. So we ask you to pass it, and hope that we can save some lives and 
save families the agony of losing their loved one. My daughter is never 
going to call me again and say, ‘Love you, Mom.’”

Collora’s daughter was killed nine days after her 30th birthday in 2023 by 
a driver distracted by his phone.

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A portrait and appreciation of Kristina Collora Pearson is seen in the 
Honoring the Human Form art exhibit in the Schwartzkopf Gallery at the 
Cherry Building in southeast Cedar Rapids on Sept. 27, 2023. The exhibit, 
by the The Cedar Rapids Drawing Group, honors Kristina Collora Pearson, 
one of the models depicted in the works who was killed in a car accident 
at 30. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Kristina Pearson and her partner went out to buy house paint during the 
afternoon of Aug. 7, 2023. As Pearson and Brown headed north on Boyrum 
Street in Iowa City, Drake Brezina, then 24, stared down at his cellphone 
as he drove his Chevrolet Silverado through a red light on Highway 6 — 
slamming into Pearson’s driver’s side door. The crash ruptured her spleen, 
tore her vertebral artery, fractured her skull, broke ribs and caused 
extensive internal bleeding.

Physicians were able to keep Pearson’s heart beating for about two and a 
half hours until the family could gather to say goodbye.

Brezina pleaded guilty, took responsibility for his distracted driving and 
was sentenced to five years of supervised probation, with a requirement he 
share his story as a warning of “the dangers of distracted driving, 
texting and other forms of distracted and impaired driving as a major 
problem in our society.”

Prosecutors requested the maximum 15 years in prison.

“We have to make the penalties more severe because, you know, if people 
just can walk away from it, what is there to make them stop texting?” 
Collora told reporters through tears.

She was accompanied by Berta Pearson, also of Mount Pleasant. Her 
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. 
The pair were placing construction barrels behind their stationary pickup 
truck, which had its yellow construction lights on, when a driver 
distracted by an app on her cellphone struck the two workers.

The driver, Emily Johnson, was found guilty of two counts of reckless 
homicide and two counts of unlawful use of an electronic communication 
device, and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 30 months of probation.

“We have to do something. We can't let more kids die just because somebody 
thought they needed to be on that silly phone,” Pearson said.

Bill would increase penalties for drivers caught using phone
A three-member subcommittee of Senate lawmakers voted unanimously 
Wednesday to advance legislation that would make it illegal to use a phone 
or mobile device while driving unless it's voice- activated or hands-free.

Senate File 22 would allow for mobile device use while driving only in 
voice-activated or hands-free mode. Any hand-held use of a device while 
driving would be prohibited.

The bill also would increase the scheduled fine for this violation from 
$45 to $100 and would make 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 is $500 and $1,000, 
respectively, and the driver’s license could be suspended.

The bill provides 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 and transit drivers.

Supporters, including bicyclists, motorcyclist, insurance companies, 
automakers, law enforcement and others emphasized the bill's potential to 
save lives.

They highlighted the need for clear legislation against texting and 
driving.

State and local law enforcement officials say 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 is allowed under current state law.

Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, raised concern about the bill's 
exclusion of farm equipment.

“The DOT said that there were 1,000 crashes the Midwest involving farm 
equipment and cars, and 30 deaths in Iowa with cars and farm equipment,” 
Petersen said. “… I would hate for us to be sending a message that it's OK 
for them to text” and drive farm equipment on the highway.

“I'm happy to sign off on the bill, but I hope that maybe we can keep our 
thoughts open as to making sure that everyone's safe, no matter where they 
live, in rural or urban areas,” she said.

Distracted driving crashes have increased by 43 percent over the last 
decade, according to Iowa Department of Transportation crash data.

There were 351 traffic-related deaths in Iowa in 2024, down from the 378 
deaths in 2023, but still high compared to previous years. Wrong-way 
drivers, high speeds, unbuckled seat belts and distracted driving have 
contributed to those high numbers, according to the Iowa State Patrol.

With governor’s support, bill’s backers say ‘this could be the year’
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 have been unsuccessful.

The legislation overwhelmingly passed the Iowa Senate in 2023, but the 
Iowa House hit the brakes. It failed to advance during last year’s 
legislative session, after the proposal was combined with legislation that 
would ban traffic enforcement cameras.

Despite bipartisan and law enforcement support, a wing of Republicans in 
the GOP-controlled House have objected to the legislation saying it 
infringes on Iowans’ individual rights, and that lawmakers should look at 
other ways to more broadly crack down on activity that diverts attention 
from driving — not just talking or texting on a phone.

Lawmakers this year, though, say they’re cautiously optimistic, hoping the 
governor's backing will be the nudge needed to win majority backing in the 
House to get it past the finish line.

During her annual Condition of the State address Tuesday, Republican Gov. 
Kim Reynolds, for the first time 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.

Rep. David Young, a Republican from Van Meter and chair of the House 
Transportation Committee, has introduced similar legislation in the House 
— House Study Bill 64 — and assigned it to a five-member subcommittee.

He said the bill will be discussed in committee over the next few weeks, 
with plans to include the Iowa Secretary of Transportation and public 
safety officials.

“I met with Transportation Secretary today, and in Iowa (for those) ages 
14 to 17, the No. 1 cause of death is traffic accidents,” he said. “And he 
had mentioned that within a year distracted driving fatalities in Iowa 
have gone up 66 percent. So we need to stop those numbers, and hopefully 
this can help.”

Young told reporters Wednesday he’s optimistic legislation will pass with 
bipartisan support, bolstered by the governor's endorsement.

“This should be the year — I think could be the year” a law gets passed, 
Young said. “I see almost 30 groups out there — and it's growing — get 
behind this and be so public about it, as well as to have the governor 
mention it in her condition of the state, gives us some momentum too.”

The Iowa Bicycle Coalition and more than 25 other groups representing law 
enforcement, health care, labor, business, transportation and insurance 
have launched a statewide campaign to press Iowa lawmakers to finally pass 
a hands-free driving law.

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

“We believe it's going to save lives, plain and simple, and we believe 
this is the seat belt law of our generation,” said Luke Hoffman, executive 
director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition.

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.

“I think what's happened is the technology has kind of got improved, and I 
think people feel more comfortable with it now,” said Sen. Mark Lofgren, a 
Republican from Muscatine who is leading efforts to pass the bill in 
Senate. “I mean, I don't want to be over confident here, but I think we've 
got the best momentum going on now that we've ever had. There's no doubt 
about that.”

Gazette reporters Vanessa Miller and Emily Andersen contributed to this 
report.

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com

https://www.thegazette.com/state-government/will-iowa-pass-a-hands-free-
driving-bill-lawmakers-say-this-could-be-the-year/

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Will Iowa pass a hands-free driving bill? Lawmakers say 'this could be the year' "P. Coonan" <nospam@ix.netcom.com> - 2025-01-23 20:26 +0000
  Re: Will Iowa pass a hands-free driving bill? Lawmakers say 'this could be the year' "badgolferman" <REMOVETHISbadgolferman@gmail.com> - 2025-01-23 22:41 +0000
  Re: Will Iowa pass a hands-free driving bill? Lawmakers say 'this could be the year' Allodoxaphobia <trepidation@example.net> - 2025-01-24 00:59 +0000
    Re: Will Iowa pass a hands-free driving bill? Lawmakers say 'this could be the year' AJL <noemail@none.com> - 2025-01-23 19:55 -0700
  Re: Will Iowa pass a hands-free driving bill? Lawmakers say 'this could be the year' Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-01-24 22:08 +0000
    Re: Will Iowa pass a hands-free driving bill? Lawmakers say 'this could be the year' Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> - 2025-01-24 22:57 -0800

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