Missouri's hands-free driving bill would bar texting — and holding your phone in your hand — while driving.
A bill that seeks to crack down on distracted driving has cleared the Missouri Senate — and has just over a month to achieve passage in the House before the close of the session.
The Siddens Bening Hands-Free Law (Senate Bill 56 and 61), named for two victims of distracted driving, would bar people from holding their phone in their hands while driving — which includes texting but also holding a phone up to your ear.
The Missouri Senate gave the bill its approval just over a week ago. Now advocates are waiting for House Speaker Dean Plocher to assign it to a committee. Clearing a committee would be essential for the bill to reach a vote of the full Missouri House by May 12 — without that, advocates will be stuck going back to scratch at a future session.
They feel urgency to prevent that fate. Missouri ranks as the fourth most dangerous state in the U.S. for drivers, with 881 roadway fatalities in 2019 and 987 in 2020. The state saw 197,564 crashes attributed to distracted drivers from 2012 to 2021, with 801 fatalities.
One reason might be that, barring a cellphone-specific law, law enforcement here must rely upon a "Careless and Imprudent" driving law that dates back to 1911.
Data from other states suggest a new law could be an easy way to save lives. According to the Hands-Free Missouri coalition, "In 12 states that passed hands-free laws, traffic deaths decreased 16 percent within two years of the law passing. After Georgia passed its hands-free law in 2018, for example, phone use while driving dropped 22 percent in the first month alone."
Cindy Mense, CEO of Trailnet, urges people who are passionate about this issue to reach out to Speaker Plocher and push for a committee assignment.
"We urgently need everyone who is able to call AND email House Speaker Dean Plocher’s Office and Tell Speaker Plocher you want SB56/61 referred to the House Public Safety Committee immediately and that you want him to allow SB56/61 to have a vote on the House floor THIS YEAR," she writes. They can call him at 573-751-1544 or email him at [email protected].
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