Get ready for Georgia’s new hands free driving law

RINGGOLD, Georgia (WDEF) – Beginning on July 1st, it will be illegal to hold a cell phone in your hand while driving in Georgia.

That also means you can’t have it in your lap.

Georgia law enforcement officers are preparing for a major education program about the new law, which is designed to cut down on the thousands of dangerous incidents recorded every day as people try to text, or talk while driving.

Catoosa County Sheriff Gary Sisk tells us “we know it’s going to be a difficult issue…and plus, being here on the Tennessee State line where that law is not in effect.”

“So, as our Tennessee residents come to visit us in  Georgia, and go to Costco, and such, then we’ve got to educate those folks as well. When you cross that state line, you’re bound by that same law.”

Walker county sheriff Steve Wilson says there are some exceptions to the rule, like reporting an accident.

But for the most part in Georgia, “hands free means hands free.”

The law goes into affect on July 1st.