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Things we do behind the wheel can cause us to be visually distracted where we take our eyes off the road, to be manually distracted where we take our hands off the wheel and to be cognitively distracted where we take our mind off of what we're doing.

Most of us associate the use of phones with distracted driving.

While Iowa has a ban on cell phone use for novice drivers (under 21) with a ban on texting for all drivers and Missouri has a ban on texting for novice drivers (under 21,) in Illinois it is illegal for any driver to compose, read or send text messages at any time while driving and it is illegal for any person under the age of 19 to use a cell phone at all.

Are there laws that impact GPS or navigational systems?

While Illinois, Missouri and Iowa’s texting and cell phone laws do not prohibit use of a GPS or navigation system, we want to remind you that these devices should be mounted properly ... they should not be mounted in the window, but on the dash securely.

Also keep in mind that law enforcement can deem the use of such devices as distracted driving, so we suggest that you program your GPS prior to driving. If you need to make adjustments to your data, you should consider pulling over or handing it off to your co-pilot!

Lt. Brad Lacey, Commander of the Illinois State Police District #20 out of Pittsfield says, "A lot of people will hang things from the rearview mirror and the law reads you cannot have your view obstructed from the driver's seat. And you put a, like you say, a GPS device in the view of the driver it can be a violation."

Click here for more information in Illinois on distracted driving.

Drive safe this holiday season and help us set a good example by taking our pledge to Just Let It Ring! Click here to take the pledge and possibly save lives, plus, stay tuned for more great prizes to be announced!

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