As of July 1st 2015 New Hampshire will officially be going “hands free”. While this may be a bother to some it really is great news! In the last 4 years 116 fatal crashes on our New Hampshire roadways have been caused by distracted driving and all 116 of these could have been avoided. Texting can cause visual, manual, and mental distraction while behind the wheel and an average text can take about five seconds to send or read. These five seconds while traveling 50 miles an hour is enough time to cover a regulation football field!
Now some of us may be wondering what exactly does driving hands free really mean. Good news! I got a handy outline right here!
-
No use of hand held electronic devices capable of providing voice or data communication while driving or temporarily halted in traffic for a stop sign or traffic signal or other momentary delays
-
This includes cell phones, GPS, tablets, iPods, iPads or other devices that require data entry
-
Emergency calls to 911 or other public safety agencies will be allowed
-
Bluetooth or other hands free electronic devices will be allowed
-
One hand non-cellular 2-way radio use will be allowed
-
Teen drivers under the age of 18 will not be allowed to use any electronic devices except to report an emergency
