Is using your phone while driving a part of your daily routine? Do you see people on their phone often while at the wheel? All of this may change soon for the residents of Alabama.

Phone use while driving is responsible for a quarter of accidents in the United States, leaving nearly 400,000 people injured a year. 20% of students surveyed at Bob Jones have been in a car accident due someone else texting while at the wheel. Although we’ve made multiple advancements in technology to try and eliminate this factor, distracted driving is still a dilemma drivers face on a day-to-day basis.

However, a new solution is being proposed to Alabama to further prevent this. Republican Senator Jim McClendon is introducing a law that makes it illegal to hold your phone while driving, let alone use it. Similar to the Georgia law recently passed, drivers will not be able to physically access their phone while in motion. For each time this law is violated, the driver will be charged with fines.

Although this may be a burden for some, it is meant to have good intentions and reduce fatalities on the road. Whether it’s trying to put in an address into the GPS or change the song you’re listening to, just a few seconds of broken concentration can cause a fatal accident. 

The law only means you can’t hold your phone while driving or use any body part to support it. There are plenty of accessories you can purchase that clip onto the dashboard of your car to hold your phone for you in order to see GPS, and there is bluetooth for phone conversations.