CELL PHONE AND TEXTING LAWS STATE BY STATE | Dallas, Texas Personal Injury Attorney Blog

Several cities and towns have enacted local laws prohibiting the use of cell phone devices while driving.  States are soon to follow suit, and many states have enacted legislation restricting or banning cell phone device use altogether.  You need to be aware of these changes in order to drive safe.  If you are hit by someone using a cell phone device while driving, you may have other legal remedies of recovery available to you in light of these laws, such as “negligence as a matter of law” causes of action because the offender actually  broke the law, and that was a proximate cause of the accident or collision.

This chart outlines all state cell phone and text messaging laws. Some local jurisdictions may have additional regulations. Enforcement type is shown in parenthesis.

• Handheld Cell Phones: 8 states (Calif., Conn., Del., Md., N.J., N.Y., Ore. and Wash.), D.C. and the Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving.
  • Except for Maryland, all laws are primary enforcement-an officer may cite a driver for using a handheld cell phone without any other traffic offense taking place.
• All Cell Phone Use:No state bans all cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) for all drivers, but many prohibit all cell phone use by certain drivers:
  • Novice Drivers: 28 states and D.C. ban all cell phone use by novice drivers.
  • School Bus Drivers: Bus drivers in 18 states and D.C. may not use a cell phone when passengers are present.
• Text Messaging:30 states, D.C. and Guam ban text messaging for all drivers. 11 of these laws were enacted in 2010. 26 states, D.C., and Guam have primary enforcement. In the other four, texting bans are secondary.
  • Novice Drivers: An additional 8 states prohibit text messaging by novice drivers.
  • School Bus Drivers: 2 states restrict school bus drivers from texting while driving.
• Some states such as Maine, N.H. and Utah treat cell phone use and texting as part of a larger distracted driving issue. In Utah, cellphone use is an offense only if a driver is also committing some other moving violation (other than speeding).

Crash Data Collection: Many states include a category for cell phone/electronic equipment distraction on police accident report forms. Recently proposed federal legislation would require states to collect this data in order to qualify for certain federal funding.

Preemption Laws: Many localities have passed their own distracted driving bans. However, some states – such as Fla., Ky., La., Miss., Nev., and Okla. – prohibit localities from enacting such laws.

¹ Hawaii does not have a state law banning the use of handheld cell phones. However, all of the state’s counties have enacted distracted driving ordinances.
² Idaho has a “Distraction in/on Vehicle (List)” attribute as part of its Contributing Circumstances element, and officers are supposed to list the distractions in the narrative.
³ Illinois bans the use of cell phones while driving in a school zone or in a highway construction zone.
⁴ Maine has passed a law making it against the law to drive while distracted in the state.
⁵ In Michigan, teens with probationary licenses whose cell phone usage contributes to a traffic crash or ticket may not use a cell phone while driving.
⁶ Dealt with as a distracted driving issue; New Hampshire enacted a comprehensive distracted driving law.
⁷ South Carolina has a Distracted/inattention attribute under Contributing Factors.
⁸ Texas has banned the use of hand-held phones and texting in school zones.
⁹ Utah’s law defines careless driving as committing a moving violation (other than speeding) while distracted by use of a handheld cellphone or other activities not related to driving.

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.