Tallahassee, Florida – Anthony Phoenix Branca Foundation President Demetrius Branca will embark on the fourth leg of his mission to reach all 67 Florida counties urging legislators to make it illegal to hold a cellphone while driving in Florida.

In the coming weeks, Branca will hit the Jacksonville area and southern Florida as part of the foundation’s awareness tour, Driving Change for Safer Florida Streets.

Branca’s testimony has already prompted five counties, five cities and one town to pass a hands-free resolution, including Alachua, Collier, Indian River, Leon and Union counties; cities of Fellsmore, Key West, Sebastian, Vero Beach and Winter Garden; and the town of Orchid. Numerous others have expressed interest in passing it ahead of Florida’s legislative session. It has also prompted the Florida House to introduce HB 501.

“We have had an immediate response from several senators and lawmakers after speaking,” says Branca. “This is opening a direct communication line to decision makers.”

Branca launched the Anthony Phoenix Branca Foundation after his son, Anthony, was killed by a distracted driver in 2014, just one month before turning 20. Since then, Branca has joined thousands across the nation and state who have had their lives forever altered by a preventable automobile tragedy.

Due to the extensive news coverage the tour has received, Branca has been contacted by Floridians who have also experienced a loss at the hands of a distracted driver asking how they can help. He welcomes the support and the camaraderie, but this weighs on Branca, who wants to prevent others from having their families ripped apart as his was a decade ago.

“Even after a decade, every single year without Anthony is excruciating,” says Branca. “It is made more excruciating since the data clearly shows that passing common sense laws could have saved Anthony, yet, the Florida legislature continues to fail it’s citizens year after year.”

Branca will travel to the next round of commission meetings in his truck and trailer emblazoned with the Driving Change for Safer Florida Streets logo — armed with data underscoring that hands-free laws have immediate, life-saving effects.

For example, 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. Current Florida laws, which Branca worked to get passed in 2019, do not take into account that phones are used for more than just texting. They also don’t give officers the power to enforce them. Last session, the Florida House ushered the Anthony Branca and Anita Neal Act, which would have required drivers in the state to remain hands-free while using cellphones, through committees with unanimous bipartisan support. However, it died when the Senate failed to move the bill through to its first committee.

Branca and Anita Neal Act, which would have required drivers in the state to remain hands-free while using cellphones, through committees with unanimous bipartisan support. However, it died when the Senate failed to move the bill through to its first committee.

That opposition has only fueled Branca on his mission to help others from suffering the unfathomable tragedy he has endured. “I can’t take any chances,” says Branca. “If something happened to [my son] Isaac and I didn’t do everything I could to change things, I would never be able to live with myself. Part of this is self-preservation. Another part is, I have this fury inside of me at the injustice of it all. That fury won’t let me rest – especially when I get this close.”