JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Nowadays, it seems like every time you\u2019re on the road, you spot someone looking at a phone while driving. Florida passed a hands-free law in 2019 to curb distracted driving \u2014 but law enforcement says it\u2019s still a persistent problem.<\/p>\n
The Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office wrote nearly 160 tickets last year for texting and driving, and officers say the issue is growing.<\/p>\n
A crash happens in Florida about every 44 seconds, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The agency says about one in seven crashes involves distracted driving. It also reports distracted driving killed more than 300 people statewide last year \u2014 the highest total since 2021.<\/p>\n
Officer Timothy Prince with the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office says distracted drivers often admit they aren\u2019t paying attention. \u201cI\u2019ve given a lot of tickets for that and they say, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m sorry, I was on my phone, I wasn\u2019t paying attention to the speed,\u2019\u201d Prince said. \u201cAnd if you weren\u2019t paying attention to speed, that means you weren\u2019t paying attention to the car in front of you either.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prince said social media and side hustle work like Uber Eats or Door Dash can make the distraction worse, especially when drivers hold their phones to use those delivery and rideshare apps. \u201cIt\u2019s because of social media,\u201d he said. \u201cThe other thing is a lot of people doing the side hustles \u2014 DoorDash or Uber \u2014 they have to use their app\u2026 So they\u2019re holding their phone. But you don\u2019t understand the severity of it because if you are dead, you can\u2019t even work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some drivers told News4JAX they don\u2019t think the hands-free law is changing behavior.<\/p>\n