April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and law enforcement across the state is focusing on Iowa’s new Hands-Free Driving law with a Special Traffic Enforcement (sTEP) program through this Friday (04.10).
Trooper Tom Williams is with the Mason City District office of the Iowa State Patrol. He says the goal is to educate drivers on the importance of driving distraction-free and to help drivers comply with the hands-free law going forward.
Williams adds that the new law also bans texting and driving, even when your vehicle isn’t moving.
Still, Williams says the new law does allow you to talk on your cell phone….if you do it properly.
Other options to go hands-free include using voice commands, speaker phone, AUX cords, or Bluetooth.
Iowa’s Hands-Free Driving Law went into effect with a warning period on July 1, 2025, with citations issued by law enforcement starting on January 1, 2026.
From January 1st through March 25th, the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) estimates over 2,400 citations and over 1,900 warnings have been issued. The GTSB says the passing of the law is a key factor contributing to the historic low number of traffic fatalities recorded in 2025.
Now a moving violation in Iowa, penalties for violating the Hands-Free law (Iowa Code 321.276) include a fine of $170.
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