Judy Kramer
County Reporter
Missouri now joins 49 other states and the District of Columbia in prohibiting phone handling while driving.
Missouri Senate Bill No. 398 was signed by Governor Mike Parsons on July 6, and will take effect August 28, with penalty provisions being enacted January 1, 2025. The bill has many sections relating to motor vehicles, but according to https://kendallinjurylaw.com the “Siddens Bening Hands Free Law” section relates to limiting the use of handheld electronic wireless communication devices while driving for all age groups. Up until now, only young drivers were banned from using their phones while driving.
https://mobikefed.org sums up the law reporting that drivers can’t text, type, browse the internet, send messages, or watch videos on an electronic device; can’t hold or support an electronic device, record, or broadcast video, or participate in video conferences. Exceptions include reporting an emergency, viewing a map for navigation, listening to audio broadcasts, and handling a phone when a vehicle is lawfully stopped or parked. Law enforcement officers, emergency vehicle operators, commercial vehicles and bus drivers have a few exceptions to these rules under certain conditions.
Alarming statistics have shown that distracted driving is causing an increasing number of car accidents. www.thezebra.com reports that in 2020, distracted driving was a reported factor in 8.1 percent of fatal motor vehicle crashes. According to Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, 82 people died in the state in 2020 due to distracted driving crashes. 80 percent of those people were over 21 years old.
Recently retired Missouri Highway Patrolman Sgt. Lowe reported to the Benton County Enterprise that car crashes, when people are frequently texting, are a problem. He said that it would be nice if some of the big car manufacturers could use automated technology to alert a driver of danger when he or she begins phone handling. He said that although fines will not be issued until 2025, education, and any warnings a driver receives for hands-on phone use might help with some of the problems.
State Farm Insurance Agent in Warsaw, Suzie Brodersen, said that her clients have access to a phone app that identifies phone usage when traveling in a car. Her insurance company does not penalize clients for their phone usage, but she said that it makes them more aware of it.
“It is hard to measure the impact this makes on drivers,” said Brodersen. “But maybe it will cause a driver to think that a phone call or text can wait until the car trip is completed.”
Brodersen offered an experience that she had with distracted driving showing it only takes a second to do harm when not paying full attention to the road.
“Many years ago, before texting, I reached down for something while driving,” recalled Brodersen. “My car swerved, I overcompensated and ended up flipping the car over.”
Penalties for first-time violations of the Siddens Being Hands Free Law will be warnings up until January 1, 2025. After that date violations will result in a fine that increases with repeat offenses. Violations in a work or school zone may be more, and violations causing property damage or serious physical injury will be considered misdemeanors. Violations causing death are considered Class D felonies.
Senate Bill 398 in its entirety can be viewed at https://senate.mo.gov/23info/pdf-bill/tat/SB398.pdf .
