(The Center Square) – The Labor Day holiday will be the first busy travel weekend for enforcement of a new Missouri law prohibiting texting while driving.
Drivers cannot physically hold or support a cell phone with any part of their body under the new Siddens Bening Hands Free Law, part of Senate Bill 398. The law took effect on Aug. 28.
Drivers cannot manually type, write, send or read text-based messages. Any recording, posting, sending or broadcasting video, including video calls and social media posts, and watching videos or movies while driving also is banned. The law allows phone calls to be made with hands-free or voice-operated features or functions.
A law enforcement officer who stops a noncommercial motor vehicle for a violation of the law’s provisions will only issue a warning until Jan. 1, 2025. The law also states no person should be stopped, inspected or detained solely for a violation of the law. When penalties become effective, a first conviction is up to a $150 fine, the second is up to $250 and the third is up to $500. Drivers can face criminal charges for crashes resulting in property damage, injury or death.
The law also requires a law enforcement officer who stops a noncommercial motor vehicle for a violation to inform the driver of their right to decline a search of their smartphone. Warrants can’t be issued to confiscate or access a smartphone based on a violation unless the investigation involves serious bodily injury or death.
The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety reported 382 fatal crashes were caused by distracted driving, including 153 during 2020 and 2021, the last two years with data available. The organization quoted information provided by AT&T that nearly nine in 10 people engage in some level of activity on their smartphone while driving.
According to AAA, the best time to travel by car will be after 6 p.m. on Saturday and on Labor Day, quoting an analysis by INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights.
“The best times to travel by car over Labor Day weekend are early in the morning or in the evening,” Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX, said in a blog post by AAA. “If you must travel during heavy traffic, navigation apps and local departments of transportation can help steer drivers around long delays.”
