So, you think there’s a chance with your summer crush? These days, taking a relationship to the next level is nearly impossible without connecting through an app or with a text. We don’t dispense romance advice, but we’ll say that texting while driving is super risky and the probability of a crash is higher than landing a match made in heaven.
Drivers are 23 times more likely to crash if they’re engaged in texting while behind the wheel. And the largest number of distracted drivers in fatal crashes in 2022 were in the 25-34 age group – that’s a prime summer crush time of life.
With Iowa’s Hands-Free Driving Law, there’s no love loss if drivers are caught holding cell phones, laptops, PDAs, tablets, and gaming devices while driving. Citations start being issued on January 1, 2026. Keep your love life in check by knowing the new rules.
When texting summer crushes is a heartbreaker (and a law breaker):
- 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.
So, call me maybe? Not a good idea while driving either!
In 2025, in Iowa, 166 people have been killed in traffic crashes. That’s an increase of 11 since last Friday. In Iowa in 2024, there were 356 traffic-related deaths. To see statistics published daily by the Office of Driver Services, visit the daily fatality report.