Indiana ban on drivers using handheld phones nears approval

by Associated Press
| March 10, 2020 9:30 AM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — State legislators are close to giving their final approval to a proposal banning motorists from using handheld cellphones on Indiana roads as a way of combating distracted driving.

The Indiana House voted 81-11 in favor of the bill Tuesday morning, with the state Senate poised to do the same during its afternoon session. The new law would permit cellphone use by drivers only with hands-free or voice-operated technology, except in emergencies.

The measure would broaden the state’s current ban on texting while driving that officials say is unenforceable and doesn’t include actions such as emailing or using Snapchat, Twitter or other apps.

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.

Republican Rep. Holli Sullivan of Evansville, the bill’s sponsor, said that delay is to allow more time for a public awareness campaign about the dangers of distracted driving.

Distracted driving was to blame in at least 860 injury crashes and 48 crashes with deaths across Indiana last year, according to state police.

The Senate’s approval would send the bill to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who has endorsed it. Twenty-one other states already have similar bans.