After Randall Siddens was killed in a crash by a distracted driver in 2019, his widow pushed lawmakers to pass a new state law.

Missouri

Missouri has enacted a new law banning the use of handheld cell phones while driving, following advocacy from Adrienne Siddons, whose husband was killed by a distracted driver. The law allows police to issue warnings and fines, with first offenses costing $150 and increasing for repeat violations.

Authorities report that distracted driving is a major factor in fatal crashes, with new telematics data suggesting it may be involved in up to one in three such incidents. The Missouri Department of Transportation is using this data to identify high-risk areas and inform targeted safety and educational programs. Siddons hopes the law will prevent other families from experiencing similar loss.

Widow's fight leads to Missouri distracted driving law

Fiddling with the radio, eating, and talking to passengers all take a driver's attention away from the road. But perhaps most dangerous of all is using a smartphone. Chris Van Cleve shows you how states are cracking down in tonight's Eye on America. On the interstate outside St. Louis, it took Missouri State Trooper Brock Teague just minutes to spot a suspected distracted driver, taillight out, and cell phone in hand. We're just out enforcing the new cell phone law that just took place. This time, she got a warning, but a ticket can cost $150 for a first offense, and it goes up from there for something Trooper Teague says he sees every day. They're just as dangerous, if not more, than a drunk driver on the highway. More dangerous than a drunk driver. That's saying a lot. Absolutely. Why do you think that is? They're not paying attention to the road. They're not paying attention to what they're supposed to be doing. That's what happened along this Columbia, Missouri road in 2019. A distracted driver who was video chatting and speeding crashed into volunteers picking up traffic cones after a triathlon. The crash killed Randall Siddons, a father of three. His youngest was born just a month before he died. They didn't get to know him, which is sad. He would have loved them. They would have loved him. His widow, Adrienne, pushed Missouri lawmakers to pass the hands-free law Trooper Teague is now enforcing. Once it touches your family and you realize just how it only takes an instance. Every day in the U.S., about nine people die in distracted driving crashes. Missouri is one of 32 states and the District of Columbia with laws banning handheld cell phones while driving. The state has relied on police crash reports for distracted driving data, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Now the Department of Transportation is aiming to identify distracted driving hotspots using data gathered anonymously and in mass from smartphones and vehicles. This telematics data can help identify erratic driving behaviors like hard braking and sudden swerving. Our crash reports would tell you that somewhere around 10 to 15 percent of our fatal crashes involve a distracted driver. When you look at the telematics data, it indicates that it's probably closer to one in three. John Nelson is Missouri's highway safety and traffic engineer. We've learned that like in the southeast part of our state, there's a higher rate of distracted driving happening there compared to other places in the state. And what do you think is driving that? I'm not really sure. It's a more rural part of the state, but for us to know that now we can know, hey, maybe we need to increase our educational programs in that area. Law enforcement agencies could increase their visibility in that area. What would be your message to people? Well, is it worth it? Would your family's life be worth that? And I think 100 percent of people would say no. A simple message as part of a statewide safe driving push, Adrienne Siddons hopes spares another family from her heartache. For Eye on America, I'm Chris Van Cleave in St. Louis.

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