RALEIGH — It appears a ban on using hand held cell phones while driving in North Carolina won't happen this year. The Hands Free North Carolina Act—which would have prohibited holding a cell phone while operating a vehicle—was shut down during a Senate committee earlier this summer.

While the bill did not make it out of the General Assembly, it did pass the House, allowing it to be reconsidered during the next session.

“The proposed legislation that was being considered in North Carolina to make it a hands-free state is actually dead for this session,” said Tiffany Wright, a spokesperson for AAA Carolinas. “It will come back and be debated again for next session; it did make the crossover deadline. It will still be debated upon next year. As we know, it’s an election year, and bills like this are difficult to pass during that time. We’ve always been about eliminating distractions behind the wheel, specifically handheld cell phone use.”

The bill was modeled after Georgia’s hands-free law which passed in July 2018. Under the proposed legislation, it would be illegal for a driver to have a cell phone on any part of his or her body while driving and increase the penalty for anyone who does not oblige.

“We wanted there to be stricter penalties. We wanted to see points on license,” said Wright. “We wanted to see all of that happen because I really do think you have to hit folks in the wallet a lot of times to change behavior.”

Under the bill, violators could receive a $100 fine if caught using a cell phone while driving.

“Just because you put the cell phone down doesn’t mean that you’re distraction free. But this is a step in making people keep both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road,” said Wright. “This is farther than it’s gotten in the past few years. We’re going to do our best to get this law passed. We were behind on the texting ban as well, as you all know. We’re dedicated to this.”

AAA Carolinas helped write the Hands Free NC Act because curbing distracted driving is a big part of their goal.

Wright says AAA Carolinas is still prepared to be a part of the long fight in getting the hands-free legislation passed.