North Iowans Speak on Speed Camera Ban, Using Smartphones Hands-Free

A state senator who’s tried for years to ban traffic cameras is pairing a proposed ban with a plan to crack down on motorists who use their smartphones while driving. 

Republican Senator Brad Zaun of Urbandale held a subcommittee hearing on the issues Tuesday (01.30), with relatives of Iowans killed by drivers distracted by smartphones pleading to just advance the requirement that drivers’ smartphones be in hands-free mode on the road. 

Peter Bengston told senators his daughter, Ellen, was riding her bicycle just south of Charles City in 2020 when she was struck and killed by a driver who was opening an app on his cell phone. 

Veronica Young held a photo of her 22-year-old son, Derrius, who was killed near Sumner on February 5, 2023, by a driver who ran a stop sign. 

State troopers and police officers from across the state urged Zaun to drop his proposal to ban traffic cameras in Iowa after July 1st of 2025, with Fayette Police Chief Ben Davis noting he doesn’t have the staff that metro areas have and traffic cameras are important in his town. 

Zaun began his effort to ban speed cameras in 2011 after a camera ticketed his vehicle speeding in Cedar Rapids, but it was his son behind the wheel at the time.  He says the cameras are fundamentally against our constitution.

Last year, the Iowa Senate did pass a bill to require that drivers only use a smart phone in hands-free mode, but it stalled in the House.