Illinois Gov. Signs Law Making Virtual Meetings In Car Illegal

In a post-pandemic world, it's been very hard to get out of important and useless meetings. But a new law signed by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker will be the excuse you need or a hard thing to get used to.

As much as you think I'm going to tell you how Gov. Pritzker is taking away your freedoms with this new law, it's actually a really good thing. Think of it more as an adaptation to an existing law that has been on the books for quite some time.

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Illinois Gov. Signs Vehicle Code Law

Back in July, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law HB2431 which will make it really hard to attend virtual meetings while doing this other task.

The law was introduced back in February and after being signed on July 28th, it won't go into effect until January 1st, 2024.

The bill took six months to finally get signed and many people are arguing with the new law.

No Zoom, Zoom, While Car Go Vroom, Vroom In Illinois

What exactly is HB2431? The law amends the Illinois Vehicle Code and provides that a person may not operate a motor vehicle on a roadway while using an electronic communication device.

This includes using an electronic communication device to participate in any video conferencing application or to access any social media site. That means no using Zoom, Teams, FaceTime, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X, or anything else that fits under those umbrellas.

Is There Anyway Around This Law?

Not really. The only thing the law exempts a driver can use an electronic communication device in hands-free or voice-operated mode. That means you can press a single button to activate or terminate voice communication when a person is using the electronic communication device to watch or stream video, participate in any video conferencing application, or access any social media site.