Your Phone Behind the Wheel
Iowa Code § 321.276 — no use of an electronic device while driving, unless hands-free or stopped off the road
A person may not use an electronic device while driving unless the vehicle is at a complete stop off the traveled portion of the roadway. Use includes holding, viewing or manipulating the device. Using it in a voice-activated or hands-free mode is not a violation, and a navigation system built into the vehicle, with the destination entered before it moves, is not an electronic device under the section.
- Reporting an emergency, and receiving safety alerts such as weather warnings, are excepted.
- So are public safety officers and health care professionals on duty, and a few listed jobs.
- The section does not let a peace officer confiscate a device from a driver or occupant.
- A violation is a simple misdemeanor punished as a scheduled violation.
Sources for this section (1)
- Iowa Code § 321.276 — Use of electronic device while driving
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Iowa attorney.