According to the Center for Disease Control, more than 1,000 people a day are injured in car accidents caused by distracted drivers nationwide.
That statistic is making one Macon driving school change the way they teach teen drivers.
17-year-old Arianna Hutcheson recently got her driver's license in April, but she says she and her friends are worried about the new hands-free law.
"We're honestly kind of scared because [not] texting is not that big of a deal, but my main thing is [that] I'm a new driver, so I really do not know where a lot of things are at yet," Hutcheson said.
Hutcheson went to Right Start to get her license, and her instructor Chico Scott says the new hands-free driving law made him change his teaching approach.
"There will be more emphasis on it because of the fines and fees that come with it," Scott said.
Students Like Hutcheson know despite their convenience, cell phones can be deadly.
"I have had friends that have died in car accidents due to the distraction of cars," Hutcheson said.
According to the CDC more than 2,000 teens were killed in car accidents in the United States in 2015, which is one reason Right Start is taking a new approach.
At the driving school, students talk not only about the hands-free driving law, but they also talk about other distractions like eating behind the wheel or even drinking.
Scott says he teaches students to always focus on the road because the brain can't handle multiple tasks while you're driving.
"Our brain is trying to process one of our senses, two of them in particular, one of them is hands by reaching in the sack, the other is perceiving the image, and now try to juggle that info by looking at the windshield," Scott said.
Owner Violet Poe and Scott believe that their new approach will keep teen drivers like Hutcheson safe on the road.
"We have to know the laws of the road, in order to know what you're doing on the road, and knowing how to drive, you must know the law of the road," Scott said.
13WMAZ has compiled a guide to the new hands-free law. You can click here for comprehensive coverage.