Iowa Is Looking to Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving

Your days of having your cell phone in hand while driving in Iowa may be coming to an end.

There's currently a bill working its way through the Iowa Legislature in Des Moines that would make it illegal to make hand-held mobile calls in the state while behind the wheel.

Senate Study Bill 3016 was introduced this week and has already been passed by a subcommittee.

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This isn't the first time that a proposed law of this type has been debated by Iowa officials. Over the years, other hands-free bills have been approved by the senate, but failed to pass the house.

Iowa currently bans hand-held cell phone calls for novice drivers, drivers with instruction permits, as well as intermediate license and restricted license holders.

There is already a statewide ban on texting while behind the wheel for all drivers.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, hand-held cellphone use is currently banned in 27 states.

The latest national figures show that nearly 3,000 people were killed annually in crashes that involved a distracted driver, and an estimated additional 400,000 people were injured.