(West Des Moines, IA) -- July 1st is the first day of Iowa's new hands-free cell phone law, and metro drivers are already being pulled over. The West Des Moines Police Department took WHO Radio News Reporter Claire Burnett on a ride-along to explain how Iowa's new hands-free cell phone law will be enforced.
"So right here we are actually going to stop her. She's holding her phone, and she looks pretty young," said Sergeant Tony Danti with the West Des Moines Police Department. "We just went from someone not knowing the law to now someone who does."
Danti pulled over a young driver who was typing on her phone while driving. She was only issued a verbal warning.
For the first six months, police are just focusing on educating the public. Starting January 1, 2026, citations will be issued with a $100 fine for violations. The law, signed by Governor Kim Reynolds back in April, allows for this grace period to help Iowa drivers unlearn some habits.
Now that the law is officially in effect, law enforcement is looking for certain things when deciding whether or not to pull drivers over.
"If you look to the right here, he can't be doing that. So before that, I would have to prove that he was texting. But now, under the new law, just holding that phone in itself is illegal. As of yesterday, he could be typing in a GPS coordinate, and that would be fine. I would have to prove he was texting somebody. Now, just holding that phone is a way to stop him," said Danti.
The driver in question was completely unaware that Sergeant Danti was stopped next to him and was just staring at his phone. Danti said that it shows just how distracted drivers are when they are on their phones.
The previous law was very vague, making it difficult for drivers to know what was expected of them and difficult for law enforcement to stop motorists for texting and driving. Under the new law, drivers cannot be scrolling on their phones unless the vehicle is in park, even if stopped at a red light. Drivers get one tap to turn their phones on or off or answer a call. Voice-activated features, Bluetooth, speakerphone, dashboard mounts, and auxiliary cables are all acceptable ways to follow the law.
Danti pulled up next to another driver who had his phone in a phone mount and wasn't touching the device.
"He has a mount, and he's just looking down. That's what we want to see," said Danti.