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Prosecutors and safety advocates push for modernized distracted-driving law and stronger evidence rules
Summary
Multiple prosecutors, crash victims and safety advocates recommended modernizing statute 31-5-237 to cover modern smartphone/video behavior, increasing mandatory chemical testing for fatalities and improving phone-seizure and crash-team practices to build stronger felony cases.
Prosecutors, public-safety advocates and family members urged the committee to update Wyoming's distracted-driving statute and to strengthen evidence procedures in fatal crashes. Dan Henson, Natrona County district attorney, described multi-jurisdictional crash teams that pool reconstructionists and investigators to build stronger cases and said prosecutors need modern statutory tools. "When we start to look at the other things that perhaps should be in distracted driving for sure, prior DUIs ... there's probably a look back period on that," Henson said.
Multiple speakers asked the committee to require, where possible, blood or toxicology testing after a fatal crash and to ensure law enforcement can seize electronic devices and obtain data for investigation. Cole Layman requested mandatory chemical testing in fatal crashes and authority to seize phones, saying his father’s attackers manipulated phone data. Devin Brubaker and others also urged a separate bill to modernize 31-5-237 so it captures video calls, streaming and other non-text phone use that were not common when the statute was enacted in 2010.
