OTTUMWA, IOWA -- In Iowa, the texting will have to wait.
A new law in Iowa has banned everyone from writing, sending, or reading a text message on their cell phones while operating a motor vehicle on the roadway.
“Currently it’s a secondary law, which means a law enforcement officer would need to have another reason to stop a vehicle before they can even do anything involving the texting ban right now,” said Sergeant Mickey Hucks, Ottumwa Police Department. “So, for instance, they would have to see a seatbelt violation before they could actually stop somebody they saw texting.”
Primary violations can also include swerving and careless driving.
As a secondary law, this also means police officers may only issue warnings. Until June 30, 2011, when the law takes full effect, police officers cannot issue tickets.
The law also calls for no cell phone use, period, by people under the age of 18.
Hucks says the police department does not have specific statistics on accidents caused by texting and driving, as it is difficult to prove. But, he says there are already enough distractions on the road without adding another, and requests that drivers pull over to text.
The use of global positioning systems, navigation systems, or even dialing a phone number to make a call (if over the age of 18), are still allowed.
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