Happy Independence Day! It's a time for parades, barbecues, fireworks, and spending time with loved ones as we celebrate our great nation’s 249th birthday. It bookends a week that started with Iowa becoming the 31st state to enact the Hands-Free Driving Law. The time has come for Iowans and visitors to put down the phone and dial into eliminating distractions from our driving.
You can’t say we haven’t shown our hand. A 2024 Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau survey of more than 1,300 Iowans from nearly every county revealed that 90% of respondents considered using a cell phone while driving to be extremely dangerous, while 50% admitted to driving with a phone in their hand.
The legislation prohibits drivers from using electronic communication devices while driving – unless the device is used hands-free. As you hear freedom ring today, there’s a safer way to answer it.
What actions are prohibited:
- Holding a phone in any way.
- Manually scrolling, typing, or interacting with phones.
- Entering an address into GPS while driving.
- Streaming videos or making video calls – even with voice commands.
- Viewing texts, videos, or social media.
- Calling, texting, or dialing unless using hands-free or voice activation.
This means voice activation is the new normal, and there are several options to help you be hands-free: phone mounts, auxiliary cables, speakerphone features, Bluetooth, and other voice command systems.
What counts as a device:
- Cell phone
- Laptops
- PDAs
- Tablets
- Gaming devices
We encourage you to get familiar with the new law and consider what hands-free options will work best for you and your vehicle. You can find distracted driving resources at DriveSmartIowa.com.
In 2025, in Iowa, 126 people have been killed in traffic crashes. That’s an increase of seven since last Friday. In Iowa in 2024, there were 355 traffic-related deaths. To see statistics published daily by the Office of Driver Services, visit the daily fatality report.