Indiana has passed a number of new laws that took effect on July 1st, 2020, and there are few that require attention.
Indiana is now a hands-free state, which means that Indiana drivers can no longer hold their phones while driving. This legislation is one that has been years in the making, as accidents have been on the rise resulting from lack of attention to the road because drivers are looking at their phones. It comes as no surprise that Indiana would finally take this measure, following the many other states who already have, in order to put an end to driver distraction. Let’s be clear, holding a cellphone while driving is definitely a distraction. And with all the new features that handheld devices have, it is definitely possible to focus on the road and answer phone calls or reply to text messages using bluetooth capabilities or Siri/Google Assistant. Let’s all work together towards making the streets a little safer!
In addition to handheld ban, Indiana has also raised the smoking age from 18 to 21, in a bid to fight against tobacco and vape use in underage teens. This law was bound to happen, after years of discussion regarding the dangers of vape on lungs and the increase in teen usage of vapes. With the many health concerns and unknowns surrounding vape, and an increase in usage by middle and high school kids, this law was inevitable. To go along with this, new tobacco retailers cannot be within 1,000 feet of a school, and fines have been increased for those retailers caught distributing to underage users. This also comes as no surprise, and makes a lot of sense. It’s past time for Indiana, and the entire country, to do better regarding the health of children and young adults.
While there are many other new laws, these are the two that will likely have the widest range in terms of their effect. If you’d like to know more about the new laws, feel free to send a message my way!