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Wmur..........

concord, n.h. —drivers in new hampshire will have to put down their phones in the car when a new law goes into effect july 1.

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the hands-free law makes it illegal for drivers to use any handheld device that requires data entry -- such as cellphones, gps devices and tablets -- unless voice commands are used.
The department of transportation has been running a yearlong education initiative about the dangers of texting and driving ahead of the implementation of the new law. In a psa, tressa flanders describes the pittsfield accident that left her then-17-year-old son in a wheelchair when he was ejected from a car. The driver, who prosecutors said was reading a text message at the time of the crash, is in prison.
"turn it off," flanders says in the psa. "it's not that important. It's really not. It's a text message. It doesn't matter if you send one text or thousands a day. Turn it off if you're in the car."
state police lt. Mark shapiro said the new capabilities of handheld devices have forced the need for the new law.
"the problem became what we have today when this became a handheld computer," shapiro said. "that's what opened up the avenue to this law."
the law prohibits the use of such devices even when the vehicle is stopped in traffic, such as at a stop sign, red light or traffic jam. It will be illegal to read, view, post or compose an electronic message from a handheld device.
Also banned will be receiving or initiating a phone call, accessing the internet and inputting information into a gps while driving.
The law allows for a "one-touch rule" -- a single press of a button can be made to accept a bluetooth or speaker phone call.