Advocates has announced support in a letter to the House Transportation Subcommittee of the Iowa legislature for Senate File (SF) 22/House Study Bill (HSB) 64 to curb distracted driving while offering recommendations to improve the bills’ efficacy based on research and experience.
Distracted driving not only results in crashes, deaths and injuries, but it also unnecessarily expends taxpayer dollars. Nationally, crashes in which at least one driver was identified as being distracted imposed an economic cost of $98.2 billion in 2019.
Distracted driving’s impact and incidence must be addressed. Smart phone capability, usage and the broadening range of distracting electronic communication platforms and options (including apps, social media, gaming, video chatting) have grown rapidly. These devices can now easily accomplish myriad uses without holding or consistently physically engaging with a device (voice-to-text and/or dash mounted options), yet these uses may continue to foster driver distraction. As such, laws that seek to ban hand-held device use must also address cognitive and visual distractions. To meaningfully address the prevalence and dangers of distracted driving, visual, manual and cognitive distractions should be restricted for drivers, and additional restrictions should be imposed upon inexperienced novice drivers.
Read the full letter, including additional recommendations to improve the bill, here.