Missouri’s hands-free cellphone law is now being enforced

ASHLAND, Mo. (KMIZ)

New Year's Day is the first day that law enforcement can issue a ticket for drivers using a cellphone while driving.

The Siddens-Bening hands-free law prohibits drivers from holding or touching cell phones while behind the wheel. The law is named in part after Randall Siddens, 34, of Columbia, died from injuries he sustained from being hit by a driver in 2019 who was video chatting on a cellphone and speeding

During a ride-along with the Ashland Police Department, Officer Jason Ozenberger told ABC 17 News how to spot a distracted driver.

"The first thing we're gonna be looking for, obviously, is somebody literally holding a phone up in front of your face," Ozenberger said. "If you're using your phone while you're driving, you're probably going to fail to maintain your lane of travel. So it's just going to be clues like that that we're going to be focusing on for enforcement of the cell phone policy."

As cellphone offenses stack up, so does the penalty. A $150 fine may be issued for the first offense, $250 for a second offense within two years, and higher numbers for more offenses. However, drivers cannot be pulled over for just using a cellphone, similar to Missouri's seat belt law.

"It's going to be a secondary law, like a seatbelt violation," Ozenberger said. "So if we can determine that someone's using their phone in a style that they're not supposed to be while we're in the car, they can receive the citation for that, but it's not going to be something that we actually see it, that it's going to be a primary violation that gets pulled over for."

Check back for updates.