It’s an all too common sight on Iowa roads: a driver with a phone pressed to their ear, chatting away while their vehicle weaves in and out of its lane.

Such action could be the beginning of a crash and, in a worst case scenario, a tragedy.

Just how bad is this kind of distracted driving situation? The Iowa Department of Transportation released preliminary numbers for 2022, the most recent year for which statistics are available, that answer that question.

According to those statistics, there were 1,033 crashes in Iowa that year caused by people distracted by an electronic device. Those crashes killed six people and injured at least 446 others.

For several years now, state Rep. Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, has introduced a bill intended to help stop that carnage. Her proposal would prohibit talking on a handheld phone while driving or using any other electronic device while behind the wheel unless it is in a hands-free or voice activated mode.

Unfortunately, her common sense legislation ground to a halt in the House of Representatives each time.

The good news is that a very similar bill gained traction and passed in the state Senate last year. That means the bill is still eligible to be debated and voted upon this year.

We think it’s past time for it to be approved.

We urge the Legislature to pass this potentially life-saving bill this year and we call on Gov. Kim Reynolds to sign it into law.

We realize that drivers who are on a hands-free or voice activated phone can become so distracted that they could end up crashing. But we believe people looking at their phones, driving with just one hand on the steering wheel, or worse, neither hand on the wheel, is a far greater hazard. This bill would address that hazard, so it should become the law of Iowa.