Cell Phone Laws - Driving while talking on your cell phone
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| State | |||||
| Hand Held Ban | Young drivers all cellphone ban | Bus drivers all cell phone ban | Texting ban | Enforcement | |
| Alabama | no | drivers age 16 and 17-year-old drivers who have held an intermediate license for fewer than 6 months (effective 07/01/10) | no | drivers age 16 and 17-year-old drivers who have held an intermediate license for fewer than 6 months (effective 07/01/10) | primary (effective 07/01/10) |
| Alaska | no | no | no | all drivers | primary |
| Arizona | no | no | school bus drivers | no | primary |
| Arkansas | drivers 18 or older but younger than 21 | drivers younger than 18 | school bus drivers | all drivers | primary: texting by all drivers and cellphone use by school bus drivers; secondary: cellphone use by young drivers. The law in Arkansas prohibits police from stopping a vehicle to determine if a driver is in compliance with the law. Clearly, that language prohibits the use of checkpoints to enforce the law, but it has been interpreted as the functional equivalent of secondary provisions that typically state the officer may not stop someone suspected of a violation unless there is other, independent, cause for a stop. |
| California | all drivers | drivers younger than 18 | school and transit bus drivers | all drivers | primary; secondary for hands-free cellphone use by young drivers. The law in California prohibits police from stopping a vehicle to determine if a driver is in compliance with the law. Clearly, that language prohibits the use of checkpoints to enforce the law, but it has been interpreted as the functional equivalent of secondary provisions that typically state the officer may not stop someone suspected of a violation unless there is other, independent, cause for a stop. |
| Colorado | no | drivers younger than 18 | no | all drivers | primary |
| Connecticut | all drivers | drivers younger than 18 | school bus drivers | all drivers | primary |
| Delaware | no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | school bus drivers | learner's permit and intermediate license holders |
primary |
| District of Columbia | all drivers | learner's permit holders | school bus drivers | all drivers | primary |
| Florida | no | no | no | no | not applicable |
| State | |||||
| Hand Held Ban | Young drivers all cellphone ban | Bus drivers all cell phone ban | Texting ban | Enforcement | |
| Georgia | no | no | school bus drivers | no | primary |
| Hawaii | no | no | no | no | not applicable |
| Idaho | no | no | no | no | not applicable |
| Illinois | drivers in construction and school speed zones | drivers younger than 19 and learner's permit holders younger than 19 | school bus drivers | all drivers | primary |
| Indiana | no | drivers younger than 18 | no | drivers younger than 18 | primary |
| Iowa | no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders (effective 07/01/10) | no | all drivers (effective 07/01/10) | primary for learner's permit and intermediate license holders; secondary for texting (effective 07/01/10) |
| Kansas | no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | no | all drivers (effective 07/01/10) | primary |
| Kentucky | no | drivers younger than 18 (effective 07/13/10) | school bus drivers | all drivers (effective 07/13/10) | primary (effective 07/13/10) |
| Louisiana | with respect to novice drivers, see footnote2 | with respect to novice drivers: in Louisiana, all learner's permit holders, irrespective of age, and all intermediate license holders are prohibited from driving while using a hand-held cellphone and all drivers younger than 18 are prohibited from using any cellphone. Effective April 1, 2010 all drivers, irrespective of age, issued a first driver?s license will be prohibited from using a cellphone for one year. | school bus drivers | all drivers | secondary; primary for school bus drivers |
| Maine | no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | primary |
| State | |||||
| Hand Held Ban | Young drivers all cellphone ban | Bus drivers all cell phone ban | Texting ban | Enforcement | |
| Maryland | all drivers (effective 10/01/10) | learner's permit and provisional license holders younger than 18 (effective 10/01/10) | school bus drivers (hand-held ban) (effective 10/01/10) | all drivers | secondary; primary for texting |
| Massachusetts | no | no | school bus drivers | no | primary |
| Michigan | no | no | no | all drivers (effective 07/01/10) | primary (effective 07/01/10) |
| Minnesota | no | learner's permit holders and provisional license holders during the first 12 months after licensing | school bus drivers | all drivers | primary |
| Mississippi | no | no | no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | primary |
| Missouri | no | no | no | drivers 21 and younger | primary |
| Montana | no | no | no | no | not applicable |
| Nebraska | no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders younger than 18 | no | all drivers (effective 07/14/10) | secondary |
| Nevada | no | no | no | no | not applicable |
| New Hampshire | no | no | no | all drivers | primary |
| State | |||||
| Hand Held Ban | Young drivers all cellphone ban | Bus drivers all cell phone ban | Texting ban | Enforcement | |
| New Jersey | all drivers | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | school bus drivers | all drivers | primary |
| New Mexico | no | no | no | no | not applicable |
| New York | all drivers | no | no | all drivers | primary; secondary for text messaging |
| North Carolina | no | drivers younger than 18 | school bus drivers | all drivers | primary |
| North Dakota | no | no | no | no | not applicable |
| Ohio | no | no | no | no | not applicable |
| Oklahoma | no | no | school bus drivers and public transit drivers (effective 11/01/10) | school bus drivers and public transit drivers (effective 11/01/10) | primary (effective 11/01/10) |
| Oregon | all drivers | drivers younger than 18 | no | all drivers | not applicable |
| Pennsylvania | no | no | no | no | not applicable |
| Rhode Island | no | drivers younger than 18 | school bus drivers | all drivers | primary |
| State | |||||
| Hand Held Ban | Young drivers all cellphone ban | Bus drivers all cell phone ban | Texting ban | Enforcement | |
| South Carolina | no | no | no | no | not applicable |
| South Dakota | no | no | no | no | not applicable |
| Tennessee | no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | school bus drivers | all drivers | primary |
| Texas | drivers in school crossing zones | intermediate license holders for the first twelve months | bus drivers when a passenger 17 and younger is present | bus drivers when a passenger 17 and younger is present; intermediate license holders for first twelve months; drivers in school crossing zones | primary |
| Utah | all drivers | no | no | all drivers | primary for texting; secondary for talking on a hand-held cellphone. Utah's law defines careless driving as committing a moving violation (other than speeding) while distracted by use of a hand-held cellphone or other activities not related to driving. |
| Vermont | no | no | no | no | not applicable |
| Virginia | no | drivers younger than 18 | school bus drivers | all drivers | secondary; primary for school bus drivers |
| Washington | all drivers | learner's permit and intermediate license holders (effective 06/10/10) | no | all drivers | primary (effective 06/10/10) |
| West Virginia | no | drivers younger than 18 who hold either a learner's permit or an intermediate license | no | drivers younger than 18 who hold either a learner's permit or an intermediate license | primary |
| Wisconsin | no | no | no | all drivers (effective 12/01/10) | primary (effective 12/01/10) |
| Wyoming | no | no | no | all drivers (effective 07/01/10) | primary (effective 07/01/10) |
Information from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Laws current as of June 2010
