AAA: Missouri hand‑held use down 16%

AAA Missouri said Missouri drivers are spending less time holding phones behind the wheel, with new telematics data showing a 16% drop since the state’s hands-free law took effect in 2023. (dailyjournalonline.com) (columbiamissourian.com) The data were presented Tuesday, April 28, at Missouri’s sixth annual Distracted Driving Awareness Day at the State Capitol by AAA Missouri, the Missouri Department of Transportation, the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and victim advocates. (krcgtv.com) AAA said the analysis came from Cambridge Mobile Telematics and measured a reduction in time spent on phones while driving after the Siddens Bening Hands-Free Law began in late August 2023. (columbiamissourian.com) (revisor.mo.gov) The law bars drivers from physically holding or supporting a phone, typing or reading text-based messages, recording or posting video, and watching videos while operating a vehicle. It allows hands-free calling, mounted navigation and single-touch or voice-activated functions. (savemolives.com) (revisor.mo.gov) Missouri’s penalty phase did not start immediately. The law took effect on August 28, 2023, but officers began issuing enforceable penalties on January 1, 2025, after a warning period focused on education. (modot.org) (ace.aaa.com) Since that penalty phase began, the Missouri State Highway Patrol has issued more than 4,000 citations and warnings, and Captain Scott White said two were tied to fatal crashes. KRCG reported that total at more than 4,200 warnings and citations as of Tuesday’s event. (ace.aaa.com) (krcgtv.com) The state’s larger crash record remains grim. AAA Missouri said distraction played a role in about 1 in 10 fatal crashes in Missouri from 2014 through 2024, killing 1,058 people. (ace.aaa.com) Missouri Department of Transportation data show 106 people were killed in distracted-driving crashes in 2023, and the agency says cell-phone-related crashes are among the fastest-growing causes of crashes in the state. (savemolives.com) Officials also tied this year’s campaign to teen outreach. Sixty-seven Missouri high schools joined AAA’s Buckle Up Phone Down High School Showdown, a pledge-based safe-driving contest run with the state’s highway safety partners. (krcgtv.com) (savemolives.com) Stephany Bening, whose husband was killed by a distracted driver five years ago, said she pushed for the law after learning Missouri had no broad hands-free ban at the time. The statute now carries fines that can reach $150 for a first conviction and much steeper penalties if a violation causes a death. (krcgtv.com) (ace.aaa.com) Missouri’s road-safety agencies are using the early drop in hand-held phone use to argue that the combination of a statewide ban, enforcement and school-based campaigns is starting to change driver behavior. (dailyjournalonline.com) (ace.aaa.com)