DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa State Patrol reports Trooper issued six-times more citations for texting while driving in the past year, after a new law allows law enforcement officers to stop drivers who are texting. This past year, Troopers issued 1,131 citations for texting while driving.  That is up from 182 citations the year before. John Gaspar, a research scientist with the National Advanced Driving Simulator, found that it takes two seconds to impair a driver’s safety.  It usually takes 5 seconds to send or read a text.  At 55mph, that is the same as driving the length of a football field with your eyes closed. The Center for Disease Control says that every day an average of 9 people are killed and more than 1,000 people are injured because of a distracted driver.  Teens are affected most by texting while driving.

Troopers in the Iowa State Patrol have developed innovative methods for finding drivers who are texting.  They take these violations seriously because it puts the texting driver at risk, along with everyone else on the road who may be affected by the distracted driver. The Patrol’s Sgt. Nathan Ludwig says “Put down your phone and focus on your driving. Every day and every night, Troopers are on the lookout for drivers who are texting when they should be focused on their driving.”

A new texting-while-driving law that took effect one year ago made texting while driving a “primary” offense.  That means an officer can stop a driver and issue a citation for texting while driving.  Before last July, it was a “secondary” offense, meaning that officers could only issue a citation for texting while driving if the officer stopped the driver for some other offense.

July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017:     182 citations issued by Iowa State Patrol
July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018:  1,131 citations issued by Iowa State Patrol