Hands free driving legislation pre-filed in Kentucky

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Tennessee recently became a hands-free driving state and Kentucky could soon follow suit.

State Rep. James Tipton and Rep. Steve Sheldon have pre-filed legislation in the Kentucky House that aims to prohibit the use of personal communication devices while operating a motor vehicle.

It means that if the bill passes, drivers will no longer be allowed to hold a cell phone in their hand.

“I think people shouldn’t be on their phones while driving at all. I feel like they should be put away. I feel like it would make everything much safer,” said Jessica Winters, a Bowling Green resident.

The fine for not complying with the bill is $100 for the first offence and $200 for each subsequent offense.

The bill also states that for a first offense a person may choose to attend a state traffic school instead of paying the fine.

Kentucky State Police say driving while on your phone is a dangerous problem.

“If you’re driving 70 miles per hour, you are doing roughly 100 feet per second, so if you take just 3 seconds to look down at your phone to see who is texting or calling, you just traveled a football field essentially blindfolded,” said Trooper Daniel Priddy with Kentucky State Police.

Not everyone is in agreement with this legislation, however.

“That’s not something that’s easily enforced, people are still going to do it. I don’t think it’s their call to make. I don’t think it’s actually going to make any difference,” said Richard Gregor, a Bowling Green resident.

It is already illegal in the state for anyone under the age of 18 to use a cell phone while driving.