Alabama: Cell phone laws, legislation

Last updated: June 15, 2024
Distracted driving news: A measure barring Alabama drivers from holding cell phones took full effect in mid-June 2024. Fines from $50 to $150, as well as points vs. the driver’s license. Police are limited to secondary enforcement, however, meaning they need an additional reason for a stop. SB 301 sponsor Jabo Waggoner saw his bill approved on the final day of the legislative session, after being watered down in the House.

Huntsville upgraded its distracted driving ordinance to primary enforcement, an upgrade over the new state law. The ordinance was approved in mid-October 2023 and went into effect Jan. 1, 2024. Fines up to $150. The sponsor was District 2 Council Member David Little, who was critically injured in a crash linked to distracted driving.

Current prohibitions:

• Holding of cell phones and similar devices prohibited while driving. Warning period for new hands-free law runs through June 2024.
• Text messaging prohibited for all drivers in the state of Alabama.
• Drivers under 18 with restricted licenses (GDL) barred from using cell phones and text messaging.

Read the Alabama texting & driving law

Fines: $50 (first offense) then $100 and $150. Points against driver’s license.

Distracted driving legislation (2023):
Senate Bill 301: Would prohibit holding of cellular devices while driving. No video use. Single-swipe OK. Secondary enforcement. Fines: $50 and 1 point, then $100 and 2 points, then $150 and 3 points. One-year warning period. Approved by the Senate in a unanimous vote of May 24. Approved by the House in a 57-37 vote of June 6. Signed into law by the governor June 14. (Waggoner)

House Bill 8: Seeks to outlaw the holding of a wireless communications device while driving. Also the viewing of videos or the taking of photos. 2 points vs. license then 3. Amnesty for first offenders who acquire a hands-free device after ticketing. Approved by Public Safety on March 22. (Wood)

Distracted driving notes (2023):
Sen. Jabo Waggoner said the secondary enforcement limit on Alabama’s hands-free law was the result of a compromise. “We have something on the books to start with, but I’ll strengthen it in the future,” he told Alabama Daily News.

State Rep. Randy Wood cheered passage of SB 301. Wood had revived revived the often-rejected hands-free measure in the House. The plan was shot down four times when presented by former Rep. K.L. Brown. Last year’s HB 24 died in a procedural vote, failing to achieve a three-fifths majority. In 2021, Brown’s plan was rejected by a single vote. “No matter what, it’s about safety,” Wood said. “It’s about saving lives.”

Wood apparently is struggling with his own legislation. Wood was unable to answer a lawmaker’s question in April about enforcement under the plan. (It’s for primary enforcement.)

Wood says he’s been told that if his HB 8 clears the House “they’ll pass it through the Senate. We just have to keep trying. …”

(text continues)

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2022 distracted driving notes:
State Rep. K.L. Brown returned in 2022 with another hands-free measure, but it went down to defeat in the House. Again, narrowly. HB 24 died in a procedural vote in the House, failing to achieve a three-fifths majority. In 2021, Brown’s plan was rejected by a single vote. The legislature also considered and rejected similar plans in recent years.

ALDOT reports that at least 49 roadway deaths in 2021 were linked to distracted driving.

2022 distracted driving legislation:
House Bill 24: Seeks to ban the holding of a wireless communications device while driving. Also the viewing of videos or the taking of photos. Failed on House procedural vote. (Brown)

2021 distracted driving legislation:
House Bill 90: Would outlaw the holding of a wireless communications device while driving. Also the viewing of videos or the taking of photos. Fines: $100 (first offense), then $200, then $300. Two points vs. license; three points for third offense and beyond. Primary enforcement. Defeated in a 47-48 vote of April 6. (Brown)

HB 611: Seeks to ban the holding of a wireless communications device while driving. Also the viewing of videos or the taking of photos. Fines: $100 (first offense), then $200, then $300. Two points vs. license; three points for third offense and beyond. Primary enforcement. Approved by Public Safety and Homeland Security on April 15. (Brown)

2021 distracted driving notes:
Lawmakers narrowly defeated a handheld cell phone ban for drivers in 2021, with the measure losing by a vote in the House on April 6. HB 90 would have made holding a mobile phone illegal, along with viewing videos or taking photos while behind the wheel. Sponsor state Rep. K.L. Brown returned immediately with HB 611, which is nearing another House vote. Fines from $100 to $300. Primary enforcement.

Girl Scout Alex Rudick is one of the driving forces behind House Bill 611. She campaigns in honor of her cousin, who was killed in a car crash.

2019 distracted driving notes:
“This bill (HB 90) would keep anyone from talking on a cell phone, taking pictures, watching videos, any of that kind of thing while the car’s moving,” sponsor state Rep. K.L. Brown said. “A lot of families in our state have lost loved ones, several in particular that I’ve talked to, due to distracted driving.” The lawmaker lost a daughter in a car crash.

State Rep. Connie Rowe said of HB 90: “I really do think conceptionally it is fantastic. The practical application of it and the enforcement piece of it, I think it’s flawed.”

2019 distracted driving legislation:
House Bill 6: Would outlaw holding of a wireless communications devices while driving. Bans viewing or recording video or taking photographs while driving. Triples existing distracted driving fines to $50/$100/$150. Three points against license for serial offenses (three or more). Approved by the Public Safety Committee in a unanimous vote of March 20. Postponed indefinitely by sponsor on April 25. See HB 404, below. (Farley)

HB 404: Seeks to ban holding of a wireless communications devices while driving. Triples existing fines to $50/$100/$150. Three points against driver’s license for serial offenses (three or more). Approved by the Public Safety Committee on April 18. Approved by the House in a 77-9 vote of May 21. Approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 22. Died in Senate. (Brown)

Senate Bill 1: Would bar drivers from holding a wireless communications devices while driving. No viewing or recording video while driving. Triples existing distracted driving files to $50/$100/$150. First-time offenders get amnesty with proof of hands-free device purchase. Died in Senate. (McClendon)

2019 distracted driving notes:
State Rep. K.L. Brown carried the 2019 handheld cell phone legislation after Rep. Allen Farley walked away from his identical bill. The unusual move was described as “politics.” HB 404 won the House’s endorsement but failed to clear the Senate in the session’s final moments. It would have banned holding of wireless communications devices such as smartphones and tripled existing fines for distraction. State Sen. Jim McClendon, who tried for a half dozen years before getting his texting & driving bill passed into law, has filed similar handheld cell phone legislation.

State Rep. Allen Farley wouldn’t comment on why he suddenly retreated from his own handheld cell phone measure. A colleague described the move as “politics.”

Farley named his HB 6 after Camryn Callaway, who died while driving and using her smartphone in 2018. Her mother testified before the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, saying it’s “a huge wake-up call when you have to bury your own child for something that is 100 percent preventable.” The measure is now nicknamed “CiCi’s Law.”

2018 distracted driving notes:
State Sen. Jim McClendon, who tried for a half dozen years before getting his texting & driving bill passed into law, says “it’s time to stiffen those penalties.” Alabama texting tickets start at a mere $25. He acknowledges that the penalties he envisioned in 2012 were watered down in order to get the texting ban through the Legislature. Distracted driving penalties should be “up to par” with equally dangerous offenses, he told WBRC news.

Alabama troopers have handed out almost 1,500 tickets for violating the texting ban in the nearly five years the state’s law has been in effect. There are no other restrictions on cell phone use by adult drivers. While lawmakers considered distracted driving legislation in 2015 and 2016, none apparently was filed in 2017 or 2018.

2017 distracted driving notes:
State troopers report they’ve written 1,485 tickets for violating the texting ban since it went into effect in August 2012.

2016 distracted driving legislation:
Senate Bill 196: Would establish crime of endangering a highway worker in a construction zone. Violations include texting & driving in a work zone. Ranges from class C misdemeanor to class C felony. Did not get out of committee. (Pittman)

2016 distracted driving notes:
State Sen. Trip Pittman has filed legislation for 2016 that would establish the crime of endangering a highway worker. Offenses that could trigger penalties include texting while driving through a construction zone. The measure, named in honor of highway worker Marshall James Walton, who died in a 2015 accident, is Senate Bill 196.

2015 distracted driving legislation:
House Bill 198: Would outlaw distracted driving in Alabama. Cites “inattention” due to use of wireless telecommunication devices, reading, writing, grooming, interacting with pets. Fine: $25, then $50, then $75. Primary enforcement. Two-point violation. aka Bryant’s Law. Approved by the Public Safety Committee on April 16. Died in procedural vote of April 22. (Harper)

2015 distracted driving notes:
State Rep. Alan Harper saw defeat for his general distracted driving bill of 2015 that would have outlawed inattention due to use of cell phones and activities such as grooming. The House voted against the bill in mid-April. The plan had the same penalties as the current state law against texting & driving, and was created in part by a group of high school students.

Harper’s HB 198 was developed in conjunction with a group of high school students. “Bryant’s Law” was named to remember the son of their former teacher, who died in a distracted driving crash.

State troopers handed out 548 citations and warnings citations under Alabama’s texting & driving law in 2014. ALEA troopers are are handing out most of the citations under the distracted driving law, which went into effect Aug. 1, 2012. Law officers report difficulty in stopping and citing text-messaging drivers, but legislators do not seem interested in revisiting the texting statute — or expanding the Alabama distracted driving laws to include handheld cell phones.

2013 distracted driving notes:
Law officers are reporting difficulty in stopping and citing text-messaging drivers, as is typical in states that still allow use of handheld cell phones and use of GPS apps. Officers have to determine if a driver is texting or simply dialing a phone number:

In mid-May 2013, the Alabama Department of Public Safety said 155 citations had been written under the Alabama distracted driving law.

2012 distracted driving notes:
About 150 tickets have been written in the 11 months since Alabama’s long-awaited texting & driving law went into effect Aug. 1, 2012. Read more about passage of the Alabama texting law.

Anniston is considering a general distracted driving measure that would bring fines as high as $500. “It addresses the guy that is eating a hamburger and talking on the phone and looking at his GPS all at the same time while driving down the road,” says Councilman Jay Jenkins, who proposed the law. Jenkins agreed to table the plan Sept. 11 in order to insert more specific language.

Huntsville is considering repeal of its texting & driving ordinance because of the new Alabama state law. The city’s 2010 law allows only secondary enforcement, while the state law gives police the ability to stop and cite people who text & drive for that reason alone. The city’s fines are higher, but the state is assessing 2 points.

The plan to ban texting and driving in Alabama cleared the House and Senate on April 26, winning unanimous approval.

This was a big victory for Rep. Jim McClendon, one of the nation’s most persistent lawmakers when it comes to distracted driving. McClendon, R-Springville, saw his distracted driving legislation rejected or ignored at least six times. In 2011 and 2012, McClendon’s texting and driving bills cleared the House only to die in the Senate.

“This will save lives on our highways, make our highways safer and protect our families,” McClendon said after the legislation received final approval April 26.

The House earlier approved a plan barring school bus drivers from using cell phones and other digital devices.

The Senate’s version of McClendon’s HB 2 added several exemptions, including ones for emergency workers and for drivers texting in an emergency. The rub probably was an exemption to allow texting if “normal traffic” is obstructed and the vehicle is in park or neutral. The compromise bill approved April 26 allows texting in a vehicle if it is “parked on the shoulder of the highway, road, or street.” The bill also exempts GPS use but not programming.

Another amendment that sought to add a host of other distracted driving behaviors (eating, make-up, etc.) didn’t come to a vote.

State Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, opposed text messaging legislation in the past but voted for HB 2 as it cleared the House on Feb. 21. “I saw a young lady come that close to death with an 18-wheeler because of texting,” he told the AP.

An amendment that would have given texting the same penalties as drunken driving was rejected during the House debate on HB 2.

“This is something the people want,” McClendon says of his plan to ban texting & driving. He points to state Republican party polling that shows 91 percent of people in Alabama support a texting ban. “That’s every race, every age,” he told the Anniston Star. “You’re really hard-pressed to get 90 percent of Alabamians to agree on anything.”

Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, expected a positive reaction to HB 2 or his Senate version of it. “The stock has gone up on that (texting) bill,” the Senate majority leader told the Birmingham News. It “will be given a higher priority in the Senate than it has in the past.”

Oxford has banned text messaging while driving, with fines up to $500 and the possibility of jail time. City Council approval came Feb. 14.

Rep. Joe Hubbard, D-Montgomery, said of his plan to ban cell phone use by school bus drivers: “At the end of the day, our children are our most precious commodity, and we must protect them.”

2012 distracted driving legislation:
House Bill 2: Would outlaw text messaging via wireless telecommunications devices while driving in Alabama. Primary enforcement. Fines: $25 (first offense) then $50 and $75. Two points against driver’s license. Includes racial profiling safeguard. Favorable report by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee on Feb. 8. Amendment to toughen penalties rejected in a 67-15 vote Feb. 21. Approved unanimously by the full House on Feb. 21 and sent to the Senate, where it was amended and approved via a 24-7 vote taken April 24. Senate addition of exemptions to texting ban rejected by the House. Resolved by conference committee. The bill won unanimous approval from both houses April 26. Latest activity: Signed into law by the governor May 8. Takes effect in August. (McClendon)

HB 229: Prohibits use of cell phones by school bus drivers while vehicle is in motion. Includes email, cameras, computers, music devices, games. Also two-way radios. Fine up to $500 with up to 2 points against license. Approved by the House in an 83-1 vote March 14. (Hubbard)

2011 distracted driving legislation (dead):
HB 102: Would outlaw text messaging via wireless telecommunications devices while driving in Alabama. Primary enforcement. Fines: $25 (first offense) then $50 and $75. Two points against driver’s license. Includes racial profiling safeguard. Cleared the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee via a voice vote on March 9. Approved by the full House in an 86-2 vote on March 31, 2011, and transmitted to the Senate. Latest legislative action: Marked for “further consideration” in the Senate. (McClendon)

Distracted driving notes (2011):
The House approved Rep. Jim McClendon’s plan to ban text messaging while driving in Alabama in near-unanimous vote taken March 31. The bill then moved to the Senate, where it was marked for “further consideration.” The 2010 distracted driving measure, also from McClendon, died in the Senate after committee members rewrote it to favor plaintiffs in crash lawsuits (detail below).

HB 102 sponsor McClendon was asked during an April 27 Senate debate about the risks of racial profiling via a distracted driving law. “You’re talking about harassing kids, and I’m talking about saving lives. … I cannot stop police officers from stopping people unnecessarily, but I do know that texting while driving is as dangerous as drunk driving.” McClendon also dismissed concerns over enforcement by saying he sees people texting all the time — so why can’t police.

HB 102 includes a provision that all law enforcement agencies must provide monthly reports on the number of minority drivers stopped under the texting law. The Senate president cited racial profiling as one of the reasons to reject McClendon’s HB 35 of 2010.

Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, plans to amend McClendon’s HB 102 with an exemption for mounted GPS devices. The change would benefit car rental services and companies that have workers on the road, such as the Alabama Power Co., which requested the change.

Alabama is is second only to Mississippi in the number of teenage driving fatalities. The state Department of Public Health launched a campaign Aug. 26 to warn about the potentially fatal consequences of distracted driving for teens.

The new group Alabamians Against Distracted Driving has about 2,000 members, organizer Dee Fine says. Fine, a victim of a distracted driver, calls on the Kentucky Legislature to “have the courage to pass primary meaningful laws” against cell phone use and texting while driving.

City & country distracted driving laws:
At the local level, Alabama is one of the most active states in outlawing distracted driving. Ordinances against text messaging and using handheld cell phones while driving continue to proliferate due to inactivity at the state level.

Birmingham, Decatur, Huntsville, Montgomery, Madison, Vestavia Hills, Gadsden, Jacksonville, Roanoke and at least eight other communities in Alabama have banned texting while driving. The latest additions in 2011 are Scottsboro (January), Fairhope (March), Spanish Fort (April) and Florence (July).

Almost a year after Montgomery’s distracted driving ordinance went into effect, police have written about 275 tickets. Police started writing tickets for driving while text messaging or using a handheld cell phone in mid-September 2010. Enforcement remains secondary, meaning police cannot pull over violators for that reason alone. City Council Vice President Tracy Larkin, the bans’ sponsor, told the Montgomery Advertiser that primary enforcement should be coming soon. Fines are $50 (first), then $100/$500 with the possibility of jail time. Enforcement of Montgomery’s distracted driving law began Sept. 12, 2010, following the (6-1) City Council vote of Aug. 4.

Florence banned text messaging while driving on July 6, 2011. The law should be in force by August, with fines starting at $100. Councilman Andy Betterton pushed for the safety ordinance, which calls for primary enforcement.

Mobile is holding off on a local ordinance against use of wireless communications devices that aren’t hands-free. The is awaiting the outcome of legislation at the state level.

Spanish Fort approved its ban on texting while driving on April 18, 2011. Jasmine Lee, a Daphne student who reigns as the Alabama Junior Teen Queen, brought the idea to the City Council. The law has teeth: Serial offenders could end up spending three months in jail. Fines: $100 with a possibility of 10 days in jail (first offense), $200/30 days (second), $500, three months (subsequent offenses).

More Spanish Fort: The police chief sought primary enforcement for driving while texting and/or using handheld cell phones. “It serious enough to me and my guys, that if they are texting while driving, it is serious enough to pull them over for,” Police Chief David Edgar said in late March.

Scottsboro’s overall distracted driving ordinance went into full effect April 1, 2011, after a three-month waiting period. Fines range from $25-$100 (first offense) and then $50-$250. Protests from police derailed plans for a specific texting while driving ban. Mayor Melton Potter told council members: “This is something we need to look at and send a statement that it is a serious problem.”

Fairhope joins the list of Alabama cities that ban text messaging while driving. The City Council’s unanimous vote came on March 14. “If it saves one life, it’s well worth the effort we put into it,” Mayor Tim Kant says.

Athens has banned text messaging while driving in city limits. Fines $100 then $200 then $500, with the possibility of jail time. The ban includes various uses of wireless telecommunications devices, but cell phone use remains legal. Councilman Harold Wales pushed through the new Athens distracted driving ordinance, approved unanimously on Nov. 8, 2010. It was based on the texting laws passed in Huntington and Madison.

Daphne’s City Council outlawed texting while driving in a unanimous vote Nov. 1. Daphne prohibits drivers from using any wireless communications device to text or download data (cell phones, computers, iPhones, iPads, Blackberries, etc.). The ban was proposed by a high school student. Secondary enforcement. Fines: $100/$200 with the possibility of jail time.

Decatur has outlawed texting while driving, with the new ordinance set for primary enforcement. The Oct. 4 vote (4-1) bans use of all wireless handheld devices while behind the wheel, except for making phone calls. Drivers also are prohibited from entering data into GPS systems. Fines $100 then up to $500, jail time possible. The law took effect Dec. 1, 2010.

Huntsville and Madison adopted text messaging bans in September 2010. They call for secondary enforcement, meaning police need another reason to stop and cite a texting suspect. Fines $100 (first offense) up to $500 along with possible jail time.

Birmingham has banned texting while driving, setting a fine of $100. The unanimous vote came July 13. The city, ironically, is home to Sen. Rodger Smitherman, who derailed a statewide texting law in 2010 by inserting language into the bill that was seen as pork for attorneys (above).

Florence’s City Council rejected a plan to ban handheld electronic devices for drivers, although the vote in August 2010 was a tie. Councilman Andy Betterton said he may try again.

Decatur is considering a citywide ban on text messaging while driving. Councilman Ronny Russell is the sponsor.

Gadsden banned text messaging in city limits on June 22. Fines $25 (first), then $50/$75. “I think eventually there will be some kind of state guidelines,” the mayor said.

Jefferson County’s sheriff has placed “Don’t Text and Drive” bumper stickers on all patrol cars.

2010 cell phone, texting legislation (dead):
Alabama House Bill 35: Would ban text messaging and use of handheld GPS devices while driving on Alabama’s highways and roads. Fines of $25 (first offense) then $50 and $75, plus court costs and a point. Calls for primary enforcement, meaning police and deputies may pull over drivers when a violation of the law is suspected. Approved Jan. 13 by the public safety committee. Approved by the Alabama House on Jan. 19 (95-3 vote). Blocked in the Senate Judiciary Committee in a disagreement over language that made text messaging while in a crash a presumption of negligence. (McClendon)

SB 196: Would outlaw drivers’ use of text messaging devices and mobile GPS units. Primary enforcement. Fines $25/$50/$75. Died in Senate Judiciary Committee. (Waggoner)

2010 legislation notes:
Rep. Jim McClendon saw his HB 35 approved by the full House in a 95-3 vote. It was sent to the Senate, but did not advance there. He plans to return with the bill in 2011.

Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, attempted to sub McClendon’s bill for his own during debate in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but the chairman set aside the plan due to member disagreements over the primary status for enforcement. “I don’t understand anybody being against it,” Waggoner said. “To me, it is a no-brainer.”

The text messaging bill couldn’t get out of committee in the Senate due to the actions of President Pro Tem Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, and Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville. The texting-while-driving measure was rewritten by Bedford and other Senate attorneys to insert language that a text-messager was presumed at fault in an accident. They refused to let the bill advance without that language. A major state insurer had objected to that provision.

Days after the bill died, the Huntsville Times editorialized: “Opponents of this ban should be ashamed of themselves for killing this life-saving bill. … Bedford, Alfa (insurance group) and whoever else torpedoed the text ban law are wrong on this one. … (Their) excuses, frankly, don’t make sense.”

Smitherman said primary enforcement invites racial profiling by law officers.

McClendon had texting and handheld cell phone bills debated in the House and Senate in 2009. His HB 157 was approved in the House but failed in the Senate. “Fatalities on our highways are simple enough to prevent,” McClendon said. “If you don’t use seat belts, you put yourself at risk. When you text message, you put everybody at risk.”

Huntsville’s ban on texting while driving goes into effect Sept. 20. Mayor Tommy Battle is the sponsor. Fines will be $100 (first offense) and then up to $500 plus possible jail time. Enforcement is to begin 60 days after the July 22 vote, which was unanimous.

The Associated Press polled Alabama state legislators and found that 84 percent of House members approved the bill, and 79% of senators wanted to see it pass (most but not all legislators responded to the pollsters). The same poll taken last year produced similar numbers (below).

A coalition of state and federal transportation officials had vowed to see through Alabama legislation banning drivers’ use of cell phones and texting devices. They gathered at the Alabama Distracted Driving Summit in Birmingham on Dec. 4, 2009. The summit was co-sponsored by the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s University Transportation Center and the University Transportation Center for Alabama.

Ray LaHood, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, delivered the Distracted Driving Summit keynote. “There are proven strategies we can use to help combat this epidemic, but it will also take leadership and coordination to protect our communities and the traveling public. … (This summit) — the first of its kind outside Washington — helps continue the national conversation on distracted driving and will put more good ideas on the table to prevent needless deaths. I hope other states will follow its lead.”

“Secretary LaHood issued a challenge to the states to move quickly to address the issues of distracted driving,” said Russ Fine, director of the UAB Transportation Center. “Alabama’s response has been gratifying, as this summit has brought together leaders in state government, transportation safety, science, law enforcement and public policy to begin that process and provide a safer driving environment for all Alabamians.”

2009 distracted driving legislation (dead):
HB 157 would ban drivers from text messaging. Approved by House.

HB 282 seeks to restrict young drivers from using any “audio” hands-free or hand-held device that is not required for operation of the vehicle. Applies to drivers 16 years old or younger, or 17 years old who have been driving for less than six months.

2008-09 legislation notes:
Rep. Jim McClendon saw his text messaging bill clear the House in February 2009 but run into opposition in the Senate from Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, who wanted to water down the bill. “(The legislation) prohibits, writing, sending or reading text message while operating motor vehicle,” McClendon said in late April. “She wants to delete those words.”

McClendon’s bill to ban handheld cell phone use by drivers, HB 158, was defeated on a 5-3 vote. McClendon said he was pleased to get one of the driving safety bills through committee.

McClendon’s text messaging bill sought penalties starting at $25 and three points up to a 60-day suspension of the driver’s license after a fourth conviction.

Texting poll: An Associated Press poll taken during January shows that Alabama legislators are solidly in favor of a text-messaging law:

81 percent of House members responding said they would support a ban on text messaging while driving, while just 1 percent were opposed and 18 percent said they were undecided. In the Senate, 77 percent of respondents said they would support the bill, while 10 percent were opposed and 13 percent undecided.

Rep. McClendon, who heads a state safety committee, introduced HB 17, the 2008 bill banning drivers under 18 from using cell phones. * McClendon told Hands-Free Info that the legislative session ended with the bill stuck in committee, “blocked by chairman of rules Ken Guin, D-Walker County.” Greenhill said of the teen-targeted legislation: “The bill should address everyone or no one.”

HB 17 was endorsed by the Birmingham News: “Alabama legislators should place more restrictions on teen drivers, including a ban on their use of cell phones while behind the wheel. … No, it’s not good for any of us to be gabbing on cell phones when we’re steering a deadly weapon. But it’s certainly not good for inexperienced drivers to be doing so or, worse, to be sending text messages.”