Last updated: March 15, 2024
Cell phone, texting news: A 2023 measure seeks to prohibit drivers from holding pets or other animals in their laps while operating a vehicle. The plan is House Bill 260.
New Hampshire’s hands-free law went into effect in July 2015. It was the 13th state to ban the practice. Fines range from $100 (first offense) to $500. The distracted driving measure cleared the legislature in May 2014 and was signed by Gov. Maggie Hassan, who said it tackles “an increasing danger we must address.” The ban on text messaging went into effect in 2010.
Current prohibitions:
- Handheld cell phone use banned for all drivers. Fine up to $500.
- Text messaging outlawed for all drivers. Fine $100.
- All cell phone use banned for drivers under age 18. “Or other mobile electronic device.” Fine up to $500.
- Viewing of TV broadcast signals prohibited while driving.
Read the laws: Cell phones & driving | Texting & driving | TV viewing
Note: New Hampshire limits routine access to its legislation via Internet links.
Distracted driving notes (2024):
The New Hampshire Department of Safety is asking for $500,000 in federal funds to fight distracted driving. The campaign would boost “the visibility of law enforcement in New Hampshire roads.” 42 people died on state roads and highways in the period of 2014 to 2020, officials say, but the actual number is suspected to be higher.
Distracted driving legislation (2023):
House Bill 260: Would bar drivers from holding animals in their laps. $100 fine. (Rhodes)
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2020 distracted driving legislation:
House Bill 1617: “Clarification” of distracted driving fines. Sets fines at $100, then $300, then a 30-day license suspension. (Gould)
Senate Bill 436: Sets “enhanced penalties” for offenses while using a handheld communications device. Traffic violation would become class B misdemeanor; a class B misdemeanor would become class A misdemeanor, etc. (Chandley)
2020 distracted driving notes:
State Sen. Shannon Chandley seeks “enhanced penalties” for those who commit traffic offenses while using cell phones. Senate Bill 436 was inspired by a resident who underwent a series of operations following a crash linked to distracted driving. The plan would hike traffic violations to class B misdemeanors, and then increase any misdemeanors to one higher level depending on offenses.
2018 distracted driving legislation:
House Bill 1270: Would allow cell phone use while stopped at a red light (traffic control device). (True)
2018 distracted driving notes:
State Rep. Chris True filed 2018 legislation that would permit drivers to use their handheld cell phones while stopped at red lights — aka “traffic control devices.” Current state law does not permit use of wireless communications devices unless the driver pulls to the side of the road. Most recent distracted driving legislation in New Hampshire has sought, unsuccessfully, to water down the 2015 hands-free law.
2017 distracted driving legislation:
House Bill 214: Seeks to repeal prohibitions on electronic device use while driving. Marked “inexpedient to legislate.” Dead. (Schleien)
2016 distracted driving legislation:
House Bill 1435: Would limit restriction on use of mobile electronic devices while driving to secondary enforcement. Rejected by the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee in a 13-5 vote of early March. (Leeman)
Distracted driving notes (2017):
State Rep. Eric Schleien filed legislation seeking to dismantle New Hampshire’s electronic distracted driving laws. It failed to advance in the House. Schleien says the state government should not “be telling people what they can do in their own car” — and using a cell phone while driving is a matter of “liberty.” Rep. Dan McGuire made a similar unsuccessful push in 2015 while in 2016 a failed bill sought to downgrade enforcement.
2016 distracted driving notes:
Despite a significant number of crashes blamed on distracted drivers, there is “absolutely no doubt it is dramatically better than it was” before the hands-free law, a state safety official says. Capt. Matthew Shapiro, commander of highway safety for the State Police, told the Union Leader that he sees a shift “where people start to police themselves and acknowledge this isn’t OK for anybody to do.”
Drivers who were holding electronic devices caused 103 crashes in New Hampshire in the 15 months after its hands-free law went into effect in July 2015, Department of Safety officials said in fall 2016. Four crashes resulted in fatalities.
While some states are trying to upgrade their distracted driving laws to primary enforcement, an attempt was made in New Hampshire to downgrade to secondary enforcement. The House bill sought to require police to witness a second violation before making a stop was rejected in committee in early March. A 2015 attempt to repeal the state’s handheld device law also failed.
73 people died in vehicle crashes in New Hampshire in the first seven months of 2016. That’s up significantly from the 48 reported in the same period last year, DMV safety officials said.
In Portsmouth, police are under fire for only handing out warnings under the year-old cell phone law. The police chief agreed, saying the warning period was over and “we have to do more enforcement.” He promised a crackdown in the wake of several major accidents linked to electronic distracted driving.
A House bill seeking to apply secondary enforcement to the state’s distracted driving law “flies in the face of what we are trying to do,” Rep. Geoffrey Hirsch said during debate on the plan in early March.
2015 distracted driving notes:
The new distracted driving law, from State Rep. Laura Pantelakos, also bars all cell phone use by teen drivers. During an April 1, 2014, hearing in the Senate, the state safety commissioner called it “the most-needed piece of highway safety legislation to come before you this year.” An opponent called the law a product of “a nanny state.”
The libertarian state Rep. Dan McGuire filed unsuccessful legislation for 2015 that would have repealed the new cell phone law and replace it with a ban that applies only to drivers under age 18. It was tabled in mid-March.
The education/marketing push for the New Hampshire cell phone law is under way, with the slogan “Hands Free, a Better Way to Be.” A 2015 attempt to repeal the new law was defeated in mid-March.
2015 distracted driving legislation:
HB 426: Would repeal state’s new handheld cell phone ban and replace it with ban on all cell phone use by drivers under age 18. Transportation Committee marked as “inexpedient to legislate” in a 13-3 vote of March 5. Tabled March 11. (McGuire)
2014 distracted driving legislation:
HB 1360: Would outlaw use of hand-held mobile electronic devices while driving in New Hampshire. Includes section that would prohibit “anything which is interfering with or impeding the proper operation of the vehicle” (deleted by amendment). Would ban use of all mobile electronic devices by drivers under age 18. Fines: $100 (first offense) then $250 and then $500. Amended and approved by the House Transportation Committee in a 13-3 vote of Feb. 17. Approved by the House in a 192-133 vote of March 5. Amended and approved by the Senate Transportation Committee on April 10. (Amendment sets July 1, 2015, effective date.) Approved by the full Senate on April 17. The House concurred May 7. Signed by the governor July 25 and takes effect July 1, 2015. (Pantelakos)
House Bill 1117: Would ban use of handheld cell phones by drivers. Specifies holding cell phone near the ear is a violation. Fine: $100. Marked “inexpedient to legislate” by House Transportation Committee on Feb. 14. Dead. (Gale, Schmidt)
HB 1118: Would bar drivers of passenger vehicles and school buses (with children aboard) from using handheld communications devices. Fine: $100. Marked “inexpedient to legislate” by House Transportation Committee on Feb. 14. Dead. (Gale, Schmidt)
2013-14 distracted driving notes:
Gov. Maggie Hassan’s signing message for the hands-free act: “Distracted driving was one of the leading causes of traffic fatalities in New Hampshire and across the nation in 2013, and it is an increasing danger that we must address in order to keep our roads safe. By reducing distracted driving, this bipartisan legislation will help save lives. I thank Rep. (Laura) Pantelakos and legislators from both parties for working to improve the safety of our roads and our people.”
The original House bill envisioned a Jan. 1 start date, but the Senate wanted the delay until summer 2015. A Senate panel also added a requirement for public education. The House went along with the changes without debate.
Rep. Pantelakos, D-Portsmouth, made several attempts to get a cell phone ban through the General Court. “We put a little bit of everything (in the bill) because it’s time to stop texting and to stop talking while driving,” she told the Concord Monitor in late December.
State Sen. Andy Sanborn argued against the cell phone driving ban, saying most people couldn’t afford a new car or even a new phone to meet the hands-free requirement. He was quickly informed that hands-free attachments cost less than a half tank of gas. “This shows we are walking toward a nanny state,” he said.
The Senate Transportation Committee heard testimony on HB 1360 on April 1. Two families told the panel of their tragedies caused by texting drivers. “We deceive ourselves into believing that it is not risky, and we do it over and over again,” said a representative of the the New Hampshire Traffic Safety Institute.
House Minority Leader Gene Chandler wasn’t happy to see the cell phone bill clear the House on March 5: “The vast majority of drivers have been operating their vehicles safely for years, even before hands-free technology hit the market. We should be enforcing distracted driving laws as they stand, rather than ending the use of cell phones for everyone,” he said after the vote.
Rep. Steven Smith said of the cell phone measure: “I can’t believe that anyone would make the argument that it is so vital that they get that call, right now, this instant, that they can ignore my children.”
Rep. Tim O’Flaherty blasted the 2014 cell phone legislation in a minority report: “This bill was brought to the (Transportation) committee as an attempt to expand the rarely enforced texting while driving ban. However, this overly broad bill goes too far, enabling the nanny state to reach even further into our lives.”
At least three New Hampshire lawmakers filed distracted driving legislation for the 2014 session. Their plans received strong support from police, transportation and safety representatives at a House Transportation hearing Jan. 14, but only State Rep. Laura Pantelakos’ cell phone measure emerged from the panel in its mid-February deliberations.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld the second-degree assault conviction of a man who admitted to reading a text message as his vehicle crossed a center line and hit another vehicle, leaving a teen with brain damage. A justice said Feb. 11 that Chad Belleville’s driving was a “gross deviation from the conduct of a law-abiding citizen.” He is in prison for up to seven years. Read more about the high court texting ruling.
“In the last six years, as many as 28 percent of New Hampshire’s fatal crashes related to distracted driving,” State Police Lt. Matt Shapiro told a House Transportation Committee hearing on distracted driving legislation Jan. 14. “The current law is insufficient and many times unenforceable.” Shapiro heads the state Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit.
State Reps. Sylvia Gale and Janice Schmidt prefiled House Bill 1117, which would ban handheld cell phone use while driving. The fine would be $100, the same as the existing texting penalty. Another bill from the pair of Democrats from Nashua seeks to regulate use of cell phones by school bus drivers as well as taxi and limo drivers.
Gate told HandsFreeInfo that “one or both (of the bills) will likely be amended prior to committee hearings as our goal is to being forward legislation that will enhance driver/rider safety with the optimum of enforceability.” Gale has said she might seek to toughen the penalty.
Fourteen fatal crashes in New Hampshire during 2013 are linked to distracted driving, state officials said early in 2014. Two deaths were blamed on cell phone use. The total number of fatal crashes blamed on distractions appears to be the most on record, the Union Leader reported. In 2012, six fatalities were linked to distractions.
A high-profile distracted driving-related death occurred just before the new year as former Amherst fire chief John Bachman was killed by a driver who admitted texting. Bachman was getting his mail at the time. The driver charged with felony negligent homicide. The fire department asked people to take a pledge not to text & drive, in honor of the late chief.
The DOT has been using its electronic bulletin boards to fight distracted driving. The message says, “Don’t wreck it all with one text or call.”
State Rep. Sylvia Gale’s handheld cell phone bill of 2014 will apply to all drivers, she told the Eagle Tribune: “It’s all ages of people on the highway who are not paying attention to their driving.”
2011 distracted driving legislation:
HB 397: Seeks to contemporize current ban on drivers viewing TV signals with added prohibition of watching “dynamic visual images.” Long list of exceptions such as screen viewing related to operation of vehicle and navigation. Approved by the House on March 15 and then by the Senate on April 27. (Packard)
House Bill 546: Would prohibit use of handheld cell phones by drivers. Primary enforcement. Police would be allowed to examine cell phones to determine if a violation occurred. Fine: $100. Set aside by the Transportation Committee on March 17. (Pantelakos)
Distracted driving notes (archive):
No legislation seeking a ban on drivers’ use of handheld cell phones was approved during the 2011 General Court session.
The House and Senate voted to liberalize the current ban on driver viewing of video screens, to allow use of dashboard screens that have navigation, traffic and other vehicle-related information.
State Rep. Laura Pantelakos has filed HB 546, which seeks to ban handheld cell phone use while driving in New Hampshire. Pantelakos, D-Rockingham, previously tried and failed to get New Hampshire lawmakers to outlaw the handheld cell phones (below).
Rep. David Welch, R-Kingston, a sponsor of HB 546, expects removal of the provision that allows police to examine cell phones as it “appears that would be very questionable as to constitutionality.”
New Hampshire transportation officials say distracted driving and tailgating account for as much as a third of non-fatal vehicle crashes so far in 2010. As of early November, the state already has topped the number of roadway fatalities compared with 2009. Officials blame the 23 percent increase in fatalities on distracted driving. “We are sliding backward instead of forward,” said Peter Thomson, coordinator for the New Hampshire Highway Safety Agency. “We do have some problems with distracted driving.”
2010 legislation:
HB 34: Prohibits text messaging and any other use of two hands for typing on an electronic device. Fine $100. Approved in the New Hampshire House and Senate. Signed into law by Gov. John Lynch on July 31 and went into effect Jan. 1, 2010.
HB 294: Would have prohibited text messaging while driving and use of two hands for typing on an electronic device. (Retained in committee as HB 34 advanced.)
Legislation notes:
“It is clear that texting while driving poses a serious danger on our roadways,” Gov. John Lynch said as he approved the anti-texting legislation House Bill 34. “This new law sends a strong message that drivers should be attentive to the road, and those around them at all times.”
The new texting law reads specifically: “A person operating a moving motor vehicle who writes a text message or uses 2 hands to type on or operate an electronic or telecommunications device, is guilty of a violation.” That offense brings a fine of $100.
Rep. Richard Drisko, R-Hollis, saw the amended version of his HB 34 approved by the House on March 24, 2009, on a 222-137 vote. The bill advanced to the Senate, where it was approved by the Transportation Committee in a 5-0 vote on May 14 and then by the full New Hampshire Senate on May 20. The governor signed the bill in late July and it went into effect as 2010 began.
Rep. David Campbell, D-Hillsborough, is the sponsor of HB 294.
HB 1222 sought to prohibit text messaging while driving. It was introduced in the 2008 session, passed in the House and was last seen in the Senate’s Transportation committee.
State Rep. Laura Pantelakos’ 2007 bill seeking to ban use of cell phones without hands-free devices was shelved.
Regarding the state’s Live Free or Die ethic, Pantelakos said: “I can live free, too, and die because someone’s not paying attention,” she said of her cell safety legislation. “I don’t want to see someone killed because a driver was not paying attention.”
Many police cars in New Hampshire are outfitted with voice-activated control systems, freeing up officers’ hands.
I think everyone wants road safety. However, there will always be accidents from time to time as driving is inherently dangerous. (just like using a knife or scissors, operating any power tool, skiing, walking on icy surfaces, contracting an illness, and many other “regular” life events)
We are humans and are not perfect. (Heck, neither are computers for that matter!) What we want is to minimize the dangers as much as possible, and do our best when life doesn’t work out the way we expect.
Concerning using an electronic hand held device in a car, what we are dealing with is a suspicion that its use makes driving dangerous. This may or may not be the case. Does it really matter whether one is adjusting the radio, reading the car gages, looking in the rear view mirror, using the car’s touchscreen functions, having a conversation with a passenger, checking on an infant in the rear seat, drinking a beverage or any other similar distractions to driving? (all of which are perfectly legal) No. Any distraction limits vehicle safety. It is our responsibility as drivers to manage this as well as the many other dangers inherent in driving a vehicle.
What we need are generally safe and conscientious drivers. For this we already have laws in place: First one has to prove one is knowledgeable, capable and responsible to even get a driver’s license. Then we have rules that ensure the vehicle is in good operating condition, and that the road cautions (i.e. speed limit, stop signs) are followed. If a driver is obeying all of these and still is considered to be hazardous, they can be cited for being negligent. (with appropriate proof)
I suggest driving laws only concern themselves with the vehicle moving through space (driving) and not with anything else that may or may not be happening in the vehicle.
Furthermore, when laws are confusing, contradictory or difficult to enforce, it lessens the ability to communicate, enforce and receive compliance with the laws.
Time to be hard line on enforcement of restricting use of cell phones everywhere. Example: While in Belmont, Mass. today about 10:20 a.m. I looked into my rear view mirror and was shocked when I saw the car that was now directly to rear of me had her cell phone attached with a suction cup type cell phone holder directly in front of her. She had to keep looking around the device (both sides) in between reading her messages. I was never so happy to see her turn on to a different route when she did.
In Nashua, NH, I cannot travel anywhere without being surrounded by people on their phones and I never see law enforcement anywhere near. I have been a victim of a rear ended accident in the past because of cell phone use at a stop light and some near misses when people run red lights/stop signs because that cell phone message is just more important than that life they may take even if its the child they have in their own car!
Lets get real about enforcement NOW
A $100 fine for texting while driving is not enough. The fine should be at least $500. Too many mothers with children in their car are texting and reading messages while driving. If they don’t care about themselves, they should think about how they are endangering the lives of their children as well as other children.
I don’t see how they can ban cell phone use for answering the cell while driving. Our local and state police do it all the time, texting I can agree with . I would rather see people using hands free even tho that can be distracting at times in heavy traffic..
Rob, you have to understand that rural area cops are completely different from metro area cops.
New Hampshire is a very rural area. Crime-wise, cops aren’t off their wits trying to make time to handle excessive amounts of calls. Cops in New Hampshire are more likely to focus on things like the lights on your car and pull you over, because other than house parties, there’s not much else to focus on.
Meanwhile, in New York, Boston, or Philadelphia, cops are more-likely to turn their head to things such as a broken headlight, because they’re more preoccupied with other issues.
Also, understand that New Hampshire cops – even troopers – are A LOT friendlier than cops from other states. We were driving along I90 in New York, and a cop acted as if he was about to pull a gun out on my 50 year old 5’2 RNA mother for speeding (who is so used to the decency she receives from NH police). So while they are more likely to pull you over for tiny things, you should take note that they’re pretty understanding with a lot of things.
A month with a broken headlight is kind of ridiculous anyway.
The Current Texting Law is good but it needs to have more limits. For Example.If you wanna text pull over to the side of the road in a safe area.
So since the law states a person driving cannot use two hands to text, does this mean I can use my on screen key board and text with 1 hand. Or text using my nose????
Its not surprising NH would be passing this law. The state’s motto has got to be the most fraudulent of all state mottos. In truth NH police are breathing down people’s necks more than any other state. Pulled over 9 times in 2 weeks in NH for headlight out, not once in Mass, even though I drove far more there during those 2 weeks. Soon as you cross the line on 93 you see the blue lights flashing like crazy along the breakdown lane. Even though NH has scratched kicked and clawed its way over other states to mantain its 1st in the state primary status, an NH trooper wanted to arrest me for holding a sign in a non designated area. Only in NH would this happen. Its not the police fault. In order for every police dept in the state to be doing its best SS impersonation, it has to come from the top at the state house, another violation of a staple of true live free or die beliefs (decentralizationof power).
Now the statists of NH have a new Orwellian tool at their disposal, police having NEW reason to look into every motorist’s car to see what they are doing with their hands. (Hopefully, they will see more than they bargained for and stop the practice!!!!!) But seriously, how do they prove the violation? I mean can you really prove what someone was doing behind the wheel other than judging the movement of the vehicle? This is soooo big bro. Who wants cops staring into their car under the guise of safety? Does such an encroaching police state really make us “safer”? Safety is the buzz word for give gov more power. It likely will require more evidence to hold up, such as “give me that device, I wanna check the text log to see it u just sent a text”. If refused, it may require contacting the cell provider, more data mining Bushie boy luvs, only at the locoal level. More gov at all levels. How wonderful. From Patriot act to local driving safety, does anyone really believe safety as opposed to control is the real agenda???????