The grace period following passage of Iowa’s new law banning texting while driving is over and enforcement will begin this week. Starting July 1st, a citation can be issued to drivers with either a full drivers license, or those with a permit. Pella Police Lt. Paul Haase says while there hasn’t traditionally been much of a problem with this in Pella, but because there have been so many accidents attributed to texting while driving, it’s a good law to increase safety. A fine for texting and driving will run $127. Knoxville Police Chief Dan Losada admits that the texting and driving law will be tricky for officers to enforce. If a person is simply punching in a phone number, that is not a violation of the law. But Losada thinks that the law is a good starting point, and it’ll be easier to craft a better law as they see what works and doesn’t with this one. He reminds teens that anyone under the age of 18 isn’t allowed to use a cell phone at all while driving, whether it be texting or a phone call. Losada recommends that the safest thing for anyone to do while using their cell phone is to just pull over to the side of the road and make your call or text so you are not distracted.

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