JC Canicosa, Louisiana Illuminator
Louisiana drivers will still be allowed to hold their cellphone while driving for now. An effort to change state law to require hands-free use of phones behind the wheel failed in the Legislature
House Bill 376 from Rep. Mike Huval, R-Breaux Bridge, would have prohibited drivers from “holding or physically supporting a wireless telecommunications device in either or both hands or with any part of the body.” It passed the House in a 56-39 vote but died in a Senate committee.
Currently, 24 states plus Washington, D.C. have made it against the law for drivers to use handheld cell phones. Huval said his bill wasn’t intended to stop people from using their phones in their cars but instead “promote safer driving.”
Critics of the bill were concerned the bill could lead to racial profiling.
When asked if he will bring the legislation back next year, Huval told the Illuminator, “I think I will.”
