Eyes on the Road, Hands Off Your Phone

Understanding Missouri’s new distracted driving law.

In the year of education before citations began under Missouri’s new distracted driving law that took effect Jan. 1, Missouri Department of Transportation engineer Trent Brooks already had seen a difference.   

Brooks, who heads the Coalition for Roadway Safety Central Region, cited a study conducted by Cambridge Mobile Telematics. Its findings showed a 5.1 percent reduction in distracted driving and 1,000 crashes prevented. That reduction meant 660 fewer injuries, five fewer fatalities, and avoiding $22 million in economic damages.   

Speaking with Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers, Brooks said they have told him that following a vehicle with a distracted driver is like following a vehicle with a drunk driver. But when the vehicle is pulled over, the driver is on the phone and not drunk.   

Under the new law, a driver can’t have a phone in their hand or on their lap when driving. If the phone is on a mount or connected to a vehicle through a system like Apple CarPlay, that is legal.   

With a week remaining in January, Columbia Police had issued two citations for distracted driving, traffic Sgt. Curtis Perkins said in an email.   

Law enforcement can’t cite a driver if they’re on their phone with no other violations, Perkins said.   

“The new distracted driving law is a secondary offense, meaning you cannot pull someone over for just being on their phone and have to have another reason to stop the vehicle,” Perkins wrote. “We are enforcing the distracted driving law as we stop vehicles for other violations.”   

 A first conviction under the law results in up to a $150 fine, which Brooks characterized as “pretty significant.”  

A second conviction increases the fine to $250. A third conviction in two years results in a $500 fine.  The fine also is $500 if the violation is in a school zone or work zone. If there’s a crash resulting in serious injury, the fine can reach $1,000.   

If there’s a fatality, the driver may go to prison for seven years.   

“When these crashes occur, 54 percent of those killed are someone other than the driver,” Brooks said.   

There were 414 fatalities attributed to distracted driving crashes in Missouri between 2019 and 2023, but Brooks said that number is probably higher.  

“The issue is worse than what the statistics say,” he said.   

Though hands-free calling is allowed under the law, Brooks said that also is discouraged, because studies show that it also distracts drivers. For instance, drivers have died while FaceTiming, he said.  

The point of the law isn’t to issue citations, said Highway Patrol Troop F Sgt. Kyle Green.  

“We want to save lives,” Green said, agreeing with Brooks that the fines can be “a substantial hit.”   

With the snow and ice covering roads in January, Green said citing drivers hadn’t yet been a priority, though he noted that law enforcement is responding to too many crashes involving distracted driving.  

“The issue it causes for law enforcement are the crashes that result from it,” Green said, adding that a driver looking at their phone while driving can quickly cause a crash.   

“A lot of things can change on the road,” he said. “There might be a stop sign or a red light.” He recommends pulling over or giving your phone to a passenger if it rings or receives a text message.   

Previously, the law applied only to those under 21. The new law applies to all drivers.   

It’s yet to be seen how successful the new law will be, but it has promise, Brooks said, noting, “Certainly, it’s a very positive step.”