Indiana's new hands-free driving law goes into effect July 1

MARSHALL COUNTY, Ind.-- Indiana will soon join nearly 20 other states in going hands-free while driving. The new law goes into effect on July 1.

As long as your car is in motion, your phone can’t be in your hands. That goes for texting, making phone calls, using the navigation system on your phone, and scrolling through your apps. However, you can make phone calls, and text through voice commands on your phone.

Indiana State Police Sgt. Ted Bohner said it’s going to be a big change for Hoosiers, but it’s an effort to reduce distracted driving. Sgt. Bohner said there are three types of distracted driving; visual, manual, and cognitive.

“If you think about it, the phone does all three, taking your eyes off the road, it’s a manual distraction when it’s in your hand and cognitively when you’re thinking about your conversation, your text message and so on,” Sgt. Bohner said.

The new law will help reduce bad crashes and fatalities on Indiana’s roads. Holding your phone while driving can be a tough habit to break. Sgt. Bohner mentions a couple of alternatives for holding your phone.

You can use a phone mount, pair it with your car through Bluetooth, use an auxiliary cable, or an adapter that can be plugged into a USB.

“Or you can even just go as simple as using it on speakerphone, just not holding the phone in your hand. You can use an earbud that has a microphone on it. It’s best that you use one earbud so that you can hear what’s going on around you as well,” Sgt. Bohner said. “We know that this is going to be a big change, so that’s why the big push is going to be education.”