Hands-Free Driving Law, With $500 Fine, Passes House

Hoosiers could be fined up to $500 for using their cell phones while driving – unless hands-free – under a bill approved by the House.

Indiana would become the 22nd state to pass a hands-free driving law.

The bill is fairly simple: if you’re holding your cell phone while driving without using hands-free or voice-operated technology, police can write you a ticket. Rep. Holli Sullivan (R-Evansville), the bill’s author, says there needs to be a “culture shift” to address a problem she says has reached epidemic proportions.

“You can see more heads looking down at their phones than you can see looking at the road ahead of them now,” Sullivan says.

The bill has broad support – it passed 86 to 10. But a few, like Rep. Jim Lucas (R-Seymour), still don’t like it.

“I mean, at what point don’t we start holding people accountable for their own actions,” Lucas says.

The bill now heads to the Senate.

Contact Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.