Iowa Lawmakers' cracking down on Distracted Drivers - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

Iowa Lawmakers' cracking down on Distracted Drivers

By: Christine Souders

csouders@cbs4qc.com

It's been almost two years since Iowa banned texting while driving, but police say the current law is hard to enforce, and needs some work. 

Now, Iowa lawmakers may rework the law to help police crack down on distracted drivers.

Currently, Iowa law forbids texting while driving as a secondary offense, so police can't pull drivers over simply for texting while driving, but the Senate is considering a bill that would change that.

Sarah Hinders admits she's easily distracted by her phone during her commute to work, "You're always looking down, you want to make sure your spelling the words right. I know I'm guilty of not paying attention more when I'm texting and driving."

And another driver we talked to also confessed when she see's a cop while texting behind the wheel, her immediate reaction isn't to stop, but to do this..."I just kind of put my phone down," said Kari Neff.

Police said that's part of what makes enforcing the texting while driving law in Iowa so difficult.

Often times, police said they can't even prove someone is texting until it's too late.  

"In several circumstances where during the investigation during the time of the crash and during the time of the text and there's a text half written and wasn't sent," said Trooper Dan Loussaert of the Iowa State Patrol.

Right now, Iowa lawmakers are looking into making texting while driving a primary offense, meaning police don't need another reason to pull you over.

"If we see somebody and they're texting, I don't have to look for another violation to stop them for," said Loussaert.

And even repeat offenders said this could change bad habits.

"I think it will make us a lot more cautious. I know there's a lot of accidents that have happened because people have been texting, so that makes me feel a lot better on the road," said Hinders.

In Illinois, Wednesday a proposal to ban the use of cell phones while driving all together was endorsed by a house committee. Illinois police can already pull you over without another reason if they see you texting.