Minnesota hands free via new cell phone law

Minnesota has become the 17th state to ban the use of handheld cell phones. The state’s hands-free law — considered one of the legislative session’s top achievements — goes into effect Aug. 1.

Motorists will need to use hands-free technology in order to operate their smartphones. Limited hands-free operation is permitted for GPS and the playing of music.

Fines for holding a cell phone under the measure pushed through by State Rep. Frank Hornstein will range from $50 (first offense) to $275.

Gov. Tim Walz offered families of those lost to distracted drivers “the deepest apologies that it took this long.”

“Many of the families who have been affected by distracted driving, and who have been tirelessly advocating for this law, are the reason we’re here today,” Walz said before signing the act into law April 12. “Minnesotans deserve safe roads and this bipartisan bill helps prevent senseless accidents and improves our public safety.”

While the governor hailed the new law as a major bipartisan effort, it didn’t come to his desk without drama. Hornstein’s House File 50 had to go to a conference committee as the House and Senate couldn’t agree on wording and even entered into debate over cell phone use by wearers of hijabs. Racial profiling also became an issue. The House spent a night engaged in lengthy debate over a series of rejected amendments, some nonsensical. Even after the conference committee did its work, one lawmaker charged that the bill was “not ready for prime time.”

In the end, though, the measure sailed through its final votes and landed on the desk of Gov. Walz, who had promised to sign an expansion of the state’s distracted driving laws and wasted no time in doing so. The final votes in the House and Senate came earlier this week.

Just before the House’s initial vote to approve Hornstein’s measure, he gave a shout out to former Rep. Mark Uglem, who carried 2018’s handheld cell phone bill (but did not seek re-election).

The new distracted driving law covers the major activities considered problematic by safety advocates, including cell phone calls, text messaging, video use, games, social media, viewing images and game playing.

GPS use is permitted if the driver does not type in information while the vehicle is moving, or hold the electronic device. Music software use is permitted, but not typing or scrolling to access the programming.

Hornstein pointed to Georgia and other states with strong distracted driving laws as proof that a handheld cell phone ban can be effective. “The data from those states is very clear,” he told reporters back in January. “This works, this saves lives.”

• Read more about distracted driving laws in Minnesota.
• Read the Minnesota handheld cell phone law.