Iowa's hands-free law aimed at combatting distracted driving goes into effect July 1.
Under the new law, people can't hold their phone in any way while driving. This includes scrolling, typing or entering an address into GPS. Drivers also can't call or text unless their device is in a hands-free mode, and they can't video call, even if they're using voice commands.
Sgt. Alex Dinkla, public information officer for the Iowa State Patrol, said there are easy ways people can comply without going out and buying a new device. People can use Bluetooth, auxiliary cables or phone mounts on their dashboard to use their devices hands-free. He said using speakerphone also works.
"We just need to make sure that people are not tempted to want to grab that device and hold that device that way — both their hands are ready to react if they need to in an emergency situation," Dinkla said.
He said people should turn on "do not disturb" mode or a "driver focus" mode so they aren't tempted to reach for their phone by a notification chime or phone call.
Are there fines?
For the first few months, law enforcement will only issue warnings. Starting Jan. 1, 2026, they can issue citations with $100 fines. Dinkla said the initial grace period is to help change driver habits and educate the public about the new law.
"Too many people are comfortable with the minute they get behind the wheel, that's their time to be scrolling their devices, checking social media, responding to emails," he said. "We need to get back and change that driver behavior to make sure that people are not tempted to grab those devices."
The law also includes exceptions for emergencies and certain employees, like members of public safety and public transit employees.
Unlike Iowa's past distracted driving law, which permitted law enforcement to stop drivers who are texting or using another electronic device, the new law doesn't leave room for confusion, according to Dinkla.
"There was just a lot of gray area, a lot of unknowns: whether you're under 18, over 18, could you make a call, could you text, could you stream videos," he said. "There's just a lot of different questions that people were really confused with and just did not quite understand. This new hands free law, it speaks it right in the words — it's hands free."
Hands-free law was years in the making
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law in April of this year after several groups spent years lobbying for the proposal.
Jacob Nye, the business manager of IBEW Local 13, an electrician's union in southeast Iowa, said his union was personally affected when two members were struck by a distracted driver while working on the Great River Bridge in 2022. Nye called the legislation a "common sense law."
"[I] never thought that it was something that for an electrician would be a concern in our workplace, but we were proved wrong," he said. "So [it's] something we got behind and realized that a message needed to be sent to the public. I mean everybody, not just the young people, but all generations."
The group looped in the Iowa IBEW state conference, Iowa State Building Trades and the Iowa Federation of Labor to advocate for the issue. The union also joined the End Distracted Driving Coalition to help lobby for the bill.
Luke Hoffman is the executive director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, one of the founding members of the End Distracted Driving Coalition. Hoffman said the group had been lobbying on the issue for more than seven years. Now, he said, they're "ecstatic" about the new law going into effect.
"We think it's a fundamental leap forward for public safety, for all Iowans. Everybody is ultimately impacted by roadway safety," Hoffman said. "There's just so many people who have been impacted —victims and families of victims. So I think, for them, this is a big win as well. And we so did this for those folks."
Going forward, Hoffman said the coalition is focused on lobbying for safe passing laws, as well as 'super speeder' laws to increase bicyclist safety.
According to data from the Iowa Department of Transportation, there were more than 900 crashes last year caused by drivers distracted by their phone or another electronic device. Currently, 31 states ban handheld cellphone use while driving, according to an April 2025 report from the Governors Highway Safety Association.
