We think Iowa lawmakers have missed a chance to make the state’s roads safer for everyone.

How did they do that? By failing to approve a bill that would prohibit drivers from using electronic devices unless they are in a hands-free mode.

State Rep. Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, introduced the bill three years ago after hearing horror stories from people who were in crashes or nearly in crashes because another driver was using their phone instead of paying attention to the road.

Meyer has now submitted the bill in three consecutive legislative sessions. And in each of those sessions, it was set aside.

We have yet to hear a valid reason for opposing something that seems so basic it probably should have been the law when cell phones debuted years ago. But each year there are apparently enough complaints to shelve the bill. Perhaps legislative leaders could someday publicly explain the reasons why that occurs.

Most recently, the hands-free provision was included with a proposed ban on using traffic cameras for speed enforcement. That basically doomed both concepts.

To her credit, Meyer isn’t giving up on the idea. It’s too late to try again in the current legislative session, which is entering its final weeks. But with no primary or general election opposition, Meyer is all but certain to be back in the House of Representatives in 2025. And she already is formulating a plan to amend a current law to achieve a prohibition on using electronic devices behind the wheel unless they are in hands-free mode.

Meyer has said that if she can ever get a hands-free measure to the floor of the House for a vote by all the members, it would pass. We have no reason to doubt her.

We admire her tenacity on this issue. We are convinced it will save lives.

We encourage her to keep trying and ask other lawmakers to join her in getting this important legislation passed.