Hands Free Florida (HFF) petition drive
We write to call everyone's attention to the Hands Free Florida (HFF) petition drive. The petition asks the Florida State Legislature to pass a law to make holding mobile devices while driving illegal. Hands-free means that you cannot hold your mobile phone while driving.
If Hands-Free Florida is adopted, one can still use GPS and make phone calls (using hands-free technology common in contemporary vehicles) while driving, but the mobile phone cannot be in one's hand while driving.
Statistics on traffic crashes make plain the importance of a hands-free law for reducing distracted driving. Of the many traffic crashes in Florida, two thirds (2/3) are caused by distracted driving.
Distracted driving is six (6) times more dangerous than drinking and driving. Simply holding a mobile device in one's hand is four (4) times more likely to lead to a crash than if one has both hands free.
Florida has a "no texting while driving law" but it is very hard to enforce. Thirty-four (34) other US states have passed enforceable hands-free laws. These are easier for law enforcement to enforce; they need only observe the mobile device in someone's hand while driving.
In the first 12 states to pass hands-free laws, traffic fatalities dropped within months.
A hands-free law will make traffic safer for everyone: motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. You can find more information and sign the petition here: https://www.handsfreeflorida.org/.
Thanks for considering this and taking action not only by signing the petition, but by sharing it with others, and contacting your state representatives to urge their support.
Stephen Perz, President, GCC
Dean Mimms, Vice President, GCC
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