Index: Cell phone laws, legislation by state
Last updated: July 30, 2010 · Print this report
See what your state’s cell phone and texting laws for drivers require — or are about to require. The majority of U.S. states have restrictions on drivers’ use of cell phones and text messaging devices, or are wrangling with various plans to limit their use.
Text messaging while driving legislation has been quite successful since 2009, as law officers increasingly encounter accidents caused by young people who were busy texting.
View distracted driving laws and legislation by state:
Alabama – Alaska – Arizona – Arkansas – California – Colorado
Connecticut – Delaware – District of Columbia – Florida – Georgia – Hawaii
Idaho – Illinois – Indiana – Iowa – Kansas – Kentucky – Louisiana – Maine
Maryland – Massachusetts – Michigan – Minnesota – Mississippi – Missouri
Montana – Nebraska – Nevada – New Hampshire – New Jersey – New Mexico
New York – New York cities, counties – North Carolina – North Dakota
Ohio – Oklahoma – Oregon – Pennsylvania – Rhode Island – South Carolina
South Dakota – Tennessee – Texas – Utah – Vermont – Virginia
State of Washington – West Virginia – Wisconsin – Wyoming
There are much greater distractions than cell phone use.
Consider banning people from waving and yelling at drivers during election campaigns and waving signs at drivers.
Consider banning costumed people or moving non-human objects and characters from attempting to get the attention of drivers to buy food or support their cause.
Flashing neon signs and moving messages on a screen distract drivers.
We are allowed to talk to others in the car as we drive. So, the hearing impaired sign to each other while driving as they take their eyes off the road and their hands off the wheel to do so.
But you call those things freedom of speech. We have laws allowing freedom of speech. So we can’t ban those distractions.
How is talking on a cell phone NOT free speech?
Ban all the distractions on our roads before you start on phones.
Cell phone usage constitutes freedom of speech.
I totally agree. Where are the laws on cigarettes and driving.. There are so much more dangerous distractions…. strip joint bilboards….etc…..nanny state…indeed.
Wow. Seriously?….smoking is a far cry from being the same as using the phone while driving. Maybe start to look at the evidence towards your cognitive response while talking on a phone and driving. I’m seriously tired of people throwing lines in the air without research. There is no reason in hell we really need to be on the phone and drive. It has been proven to be worse than drunk driving…its just a matter of time before the law gets serious and huge fines are given….but thats after the fact that many people will die or be hurt do to someone’s ignorance.
Along with the passage of legislation there needs to be conversation and education. It is tragic to see that a over a quarter of our teens of driving age text while driving, and car crashes account for nearly a third of teenage deaths. These are statistics, but so much of this is preventable. We can save lives not by legislation alone, but through education and technology. Hands-free calling and texting is available now.