Tallahassee dad’s mission to stop drivers from holding cellphones prompts local commissions
representing nearly 7 million Floridians to pass hands-free proclamations

Tallahassee, Florida – The Florida Senate Transportation Committee unanimously green-lit a bill that would strengthen the Sunshine state’s weak texting-and-driving laws in an effort to reverse Florida’s dubious distinction as one of the deadliest places to drive in America.

Despite bipartisan Senate support for the hands-free bill, SB 1318, its companion bill, HB 501, has not been added to the House Government Operations Subcommittee’s agenda. Last year similar legislation moved unanimously through the House, but stalled in the Senate.

This year’s bills, introduced by Sen. Erin Grall and Rep. Allison Tant, would shore up Florida’s current texting-and-driving law, which includes numerous loopholes that allow drivers to use their phones for everything other than texting, making enforcement next to impossible.

Anthony Phoenix Branca Foundation President Demetrius Branca, a Tallahassee dad whose son Anthony was killed by a distracted driver in 2014 just one month before his 20th birthday, has traveled around 6,200 miles since December telling his story and asking municipalities to pass a hands-free resolution he hopes will pressure legislators to update laws.

During this tour, called Driving Change for Safer Florida Streets, Branca’s testimony, along with other Hands-Free Florida coalition members, compelled local officials in 10 counties, eight cities and four towns – representing around 7 million Floridians – to adopt the resolution.

“Local commissions representing Florida’s two largest counties, Miami-Dade and Broward, unanimously passed resolutions telling lawmakers that their constituents want them to make Florida hands-free,” says Branca. “We applaud the Senate for listening, and implore the House to do the same. Letting people die on the country’s deadliest roads should not be an option.”

Fort Lauderdale, Broward County’s largest city, is home to the single deadliest mile in the nation, with 50 times the number of fatal crashes than the average highway mile, according to a study by personal injury law firm Elk + Elk. Broward County also claims one of the country’s top 10 deadliest 10-mile stretches; Miami-Dade claims two such segments of road.

Some lawmakers have privately expressed concern that hands-free laws infringe upon civil liberties, an argument coalition members reject.

“Hands-free laws are not like seatbelt or helmet laws; if you choose not to wear a seatbelt or a helmet, you are endangering yourself, but it does not impact other drivers,” says Steve Kiefer, chairman of The Kiefer Foundation. “Distracted driving is much more like drunk or impaired driving, which not only endangers the driver, but puts other drivers, pedestrians and bikers at risk.”

Kiefer launched his foundation in 2016 after his son Mitchel, an aspiring neurosurgeon, was killed by a distracted driver who was on Snapchat. Since then, Kiefer has successfully lobbied to get hands-free laws passed in 31 states, with the goal of implementing this lifesaving legislation in all 50 states.

Such laws have immediate, life-saving effects. Oregon, which has the nation’s strictest hands-free laws with fines up to $1,000, is 31% less distracted than the national average and 16% less distracted than the other top states. In 2023, these laws prevented over 5,000 crashes, 2,880 injuries, 23 fatalities, and over $200 million in economic damage.

Facts and figures (citation links included on accompanying facts and figures sheet):

• In 2023, Florida drivers were in 391,428 crashes causing 3,331 deaths and more than 250,000 injuries, according to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
• Florida ranks 47th in the nation for its fatality rate at 1.52 [fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled].
• Drivers who use their phones are 240% more likely to crash than drivers who don’t, according to Cambridge Mobile Telematics.
• Florida drivers pay an average of $3,183 per year for full auto insurance coverage — 37% more than the national average, according to a Bankrate report. For minimum coverage, rates are around $1,128 per year, 45% more than the U.S. average.
• Who has passed a hands-free resolution?
  • Counties: Alachua, Broward, Collier, Holmes, Indian River, Leon, Miami-Dade, Osceola, Monroe, St. Johns, Union; on the agenda April 8 in St. Lucie
  • Cities: Boca Raton, Fellsmere, Fort Myers, Gainesville, Key West, Sebastian, Vero Beach and Winter Garden
  • Towns: Orchid, Palmetto Bay, Key Biscayne, Indian River Shores