By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Officials with the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety are continuing to encourage drivers to not be distracted.
MoDOT Northwest District Engineer Marty Liles says they are continuing to urge drivers to remember to do two things as they hit the roadways
"Buckle up and ensure you always have your seat belt on and two as you're driving keep your phones down, pay attention to what you need to be doing, which is traveling down a roadway," Liles tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
The state of Missouri recently enacted a Hands-Free Law, prohibiting drivers from using their cell phones unless it’s with a hands-free device.
Seargent Shane Hux with Troop H of the Missouri Highway Patrol says currently the patrol is working to educate drivers that get pulled over for using their cell phone.
"They are grateful for the education part of it, and we are not taking any type of enforcement action, rather giving them a warning, until January 1st, 2025, just to allow us to continue that educational process," Hux explains.
The new hands-free law states that drivers cannot use their phones unless it's through a hands-free device or for purposes such as GPS.
Liles says the Coalition of Roadway Safety is constantly in schools teaching kids the importance of buckling up, no matter how far they are traveling.
"And how that can actually save their life, in hopes that not only they realize that, and they start creating that habit for themselves but maybe they can instill that habit into their parents as well," Liles says.
The coalition aimed to raise awareness of the Buckle Up Phone Down challenge during the seventh annual Buckle Up Phone Down Day on Wednesday