Put down your device
State legislators gave their final approval last week to a proposal banning motorists from using handheld cell phones on Indiana roads to combat distracted driving.
The Indiana House voted 81-11 and the Senate 49-1 in favor of the bill allowing cell phone use by drivers only with hands-free or voice-operated technology, except in emergencies.
The measure will broaden the state’s current ban on texting while driving that officials point out is unenforceable and doesn’t ban actions such as emailing or using Snapchat, Twitter and other apps. Offenders will be ticketed a maximum of $500 for breaking the law.
The new law would take effect in July, but any tickets issued to violators won’t result in state Bureau of Motor Vehicles points toward a driver’s license suspension until July 2021.
Distracted driving was to blame in at least 860 injury crashes and 48 fatalities in Indiana last year, according to state police.
The proposal now goes to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who has endorsed it. Twenty-one other states already have similar bans.
The Republic has made its stance clear on the issue in previous editorials, and supports the legislation that could save lives in the future.
