Iowa drivers should be required to put down their cellphones, 70% of Iowans say
© Copyright 2022, Des Moines Register and Tribune Co.
More than two-thirds of Iowans want legislators to ban motorists from holding cellphones or other electronic devices while they’re driving, a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows.
Seventy percent of Iowa adults favor such a ban, according to the new poll, while 27% oppose the idea, and 3% are unsure. The idea has majority support among Republicans, Democrats and independents; young adults, middle-age residents and seniors; and rural, suburban and city folk.
Public support for a cellphone ban remains nearly identical to what the Iowa Poll found when it asked the same question in March 2020. In that poll, 71% of Iowans favored a proposed ban, 27% opposed it, and 2% were unsure.
The current Iowa Poll, conducted by Selzer & Co., is based on a sample of 813 Iowa adults. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points and was conducted from Feb. 28 to March 2.
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Iowa law already bars texting while driving. Legislators are now considering a proposal to ban the use of any handheld electronic device while driving. The bill would still allow the use of hands-free or voice-activated cellphone calling systems, which are increasingly common in cars and trucks. The bill also lists other exceptions, including allowing the use of handheld electronic devices by public safety officials and health care workers responding to emergencies, or for anyone reporting emergency information.
Poll participant Gordon Baker, 71, of Newton, favors banning the use of handheld cellphones while driving.
"They're too much of a distraction. Have you seen all the accidents that have happened?" said Baker, who is a political independent and a retired Maytag employee.
Baker said hands-free calling systems offered in many cars seem like a safer alternative.
"It'd be a whole lot better than hanging onto a phone and trying to talk on it while driving," he said.
Poll participant Mark Murray, 62, of Sheldahl, doesn't favor a ban. Although he thinks drivers generally shouldn't use cellphones while in traffic, he contends the government has no right to regulate such behaviors.
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"Pretty soon, you'd have to wear goggles to fry bacon in the morning" to protect from spattering grease, said Murray, a political independent who works as a remodeling contractor.
Murray said he feels the same way about seat belt laws, which he thinks are an intrusion. He added that if someone caused a crash because they were talking on a cellphone, they should be charged with something else, such as distracted driving.
Banning all use of cellphones by drivers is unnecessary, he said.
"You could pass a law saying the speed limit should be 10 mph. Think about how many lives would be saved," he said.
The Iowa State Patrol reported in January the number of traffic fatalities in the state hit 354 in 2021, up from 337 in 2019 and 343 in 2020.
Officials blamed many of the deaths on excessive speed or lack of seat belt use. They said distracted driving also contributed to the problem. Motorists have been caught using their phones, putting on makeup, reading books or watching movies while driving, the State Patrol said.
Tony Leys covers health care for the Register. Reach him at tleys@registermedia.com or 515-284-8449.
About the poll
The Iowa Poll, conducted Feb. 28-March 2, 2022, for the Des Moines Register and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 813 Iowans ages 18 or older. Interviewers with Quantel Research contacted households with randomly selected landline and cellphone numbers supplied by Dynata. Interviews were administered in English. Responses were adjusted by age, sex and congressional district to reflect the general population based on recent American Community Survey estimates.
Questions based on the sample of 813 Iowa adults have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. Questions based on the subsample of 612 likely voters in the 2022 general election have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 4.0 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the true population value by more than plus or minus 3.4 percentage points or 4.0 percentage points, respectively. Results based on smaller samples of respondents — such as by gender or age — have a larger margin of error.
Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit to the Register and Mediacom is prohibited.
Iowa Poll Methodology
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Most Iowans want drivers to put down their cell phones Iowa Poll shows
