Rock and talk hands free, avoid a hefty ticket – and stay alive – with this nifty gadget

Distracted driving costs* more than 8 lives per day, and over 3,000 lives per year, leading to well over 300,000 injuries per year. Roughly one in four vehicle crashes is a result of distracted driving, which results in one in every five injuries from an accident on the road. 8% of fatal crashes, 14% of injury crashes, and 13% of police reported crashes overall are caused by distracted driving. And while there are a lot of forms of distracted driving, from eating to arguing to fiddling with the radio dial, the most common distraction on the road is cell phones, which distract drivers an astonishing 10% of their driving time.

A new law which passed the Iowa Senate in March by an overwhelming margin of 47 to 3 currently awaits Governor Reynolds signature. Considering the bill's passage by such a wide and bipartisan margin, and the Governor's own support of the law since 2019 when she told reporters "I think it makes sense," to require any phone usage be hands free while driving, it is all but certain that very soon it will be illegal to handle your phone as you drive in Iowa.

Newer models of cars offer solutions, usually built into the radio or entertainment system, to use your phone hands free, ranging from a bluetooth connection feature, to an auxiliary (aka "aux") cord with either 3.5mm or USB connections to hook up your phone to your car. Very old car radios with cassette players can use cassette adapters.

Cassette adapters and aux cords can introduce noise, like a background hum, hiss, or static to music and conversation. And if you have to use your USB jack, you can't charge your phone.

A bluetooth connection gives crystal clear sound without wires. If your vehicle has a built-in bluetooth connection, that's great, but it may not also have a touch to talk feature. Even if it does, it may require you to tap or swipe a touch screen, either on your car's dash, or your phone, and we all know how frustratingly hard to do that can sometimes be even when you're not driving. And, all too often the built-in bluetooth connection still relies on the microphone on your phone, which is meant to be used close to your mouth. And, of course, anything built into your car is not transferable to another car – even though your phone is.

But one device that works with nearly all cars new and old, is as mobile as your phone, small enough to slip in your pocket, provides a physical touch to talk button, has a built in far field microphone, and will rapidly charge your phone's battery and keep it charged is a lighter plug Bluetooth to FM transmitter. This nifty little gadget plugs into your car's cigarette lighter or charger plug, and bridges your phone's bluetooth signal to your car's FM radio, using a vacant spot on the dial you can set in advance. It also provides one or more USB charging ports to keep your phone charged up. Most include a push to talk button, which makes answering an incoming call as easy as can be, while keeping your eyes on the road. And because they generally come equipped with a microphone that isn't designed to be used close to the mouth, you don't have to yell when on the phone, and can talk normally.

One local retailer, Eagle Grove's Ben Franklin store, has responded to the imminent passage of Iowa's hands free law (as well as the arrival of Eagle Grove's new streaming radio station, Eagle Grove Classic Hits) by stocking a high quality charger/transmitter that comes loaded with all the features listed above. And best of all, it only costs $25, right here in town!

Using this device, drivers can listen to streaming music from the local radio station, or nearly any station on earth, as well as to their personal playlists, hands free through their car speakers. Driving directions and the phone ringer can interject when a turn is imminent, or a call is coming in. Driver's can answer calls using the push to talk button right on the adapter, without ever touching their phone. And they can talk without shouting. Plus, if their phone has a smart assistant app like Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or Apple's Siri, they can give tell their phone to reply to a text or email hands free, find a business hands free, "play Eagle Grove Classic Hits on Tune In", place a call hands free, and so on – all without touching their phone or raising their voice. All while keeping their phone, and even a passenger's phone, fully charged. And when they switch cars, they can take it with them.

*Statistical data from the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration.