MOULTRIE, Ga. — Moultrie police are looking forward to a new law that they hope will reduce accidents caused by distracted drivers.

House Bill 673 — also known as “The Hands-Free Law” — was proposed in March, signed in May and will take effect on Sunday.

In a nutshell, according to headsupgeorgia.com, the new law means that a driver cannot have a phone in their hand or use any part of their body to support their phone; however, there are exceptions to the law such as reporting an emergency and being lawfully parked in a vehicle.

Being stopped at a stop sign or red light is not “lawfully parked.”

In the state of Georgia texting while driving and other forms of distracted driving have caused a huge rise in motor vehicle deaths from 2014 to 2016. In 2016 alone more than 1,500 people died in Georgia due to distracted driving.

Moultrie police Lt. Michael Cox believes those numbers will drop after the bill takes effect.

“It will cut down on distracted driving for sure,” said Cox. “We had the no need to speed campaign going on and part of that was because of the number of wrecks we were having and part of those wrecks were caused by distracted driving.”

For the city of Moultrie, police understand that they will have to be tougher and more cognitive of what people do behind the wheel.

“If an officer sees a cell phone in your hand while you are operating a motor vehicle, you will get stopped,” said Cox. “It will be up to the discretion of the officer if you get a citation or a warning.”

The crackdown on distracted driving is in full swing as 15 other states have adopted hands-free driving laws.

The creation of this bill left Georgia representatives split. Critics of the bill say that it’s an overstep of government boundaries, while supporters think this bill is essential to saving lives.

House Bill 673 has one simple message, according to Cox: It can wait.

“Any message can wait, any phone call can wait,” he said. “It’s not worth it. Taking your eyes off the road for a second can be very fatal.”

If you want more information regarding House Bill 673, feel free to visit headsupgeorgia.com for frequently asked questions and concerns.