I’m going to be doing some travelling during the holidays this year, and I never know when I’m out of state if I can answer my cellphone legally or not. Where is it illegal for me to talk on the phone or text message while driving?
Often as we travel, we find the need to take that quick cellphone call while driving. Sometimes it’s work, sometimes it’s family, but all the time we feel compelled to answer the phone. In some states it’s perfectly legal to use a handheld cell phone while driving, in some states it’s only legal in certain circumstances, and in some it’s completely illegal.
Then, there’s the matter of texting. It seems like such a simple, harmless thing — the phone beeps, you look down, you tap out a quick reply. However, texting while driving is also illegal in many states, again, some with circumstances that permit it and some that don’t. So how do you know when you’re out and about and possibly in a different state what the law is? We can help.
A disclaimer from the Finders Free Health and Safety Department: No matter what the law is, and whether you have a hands free device for talking or speech to text for texting, numerous studies have shown it’s not the actual handholding of the device that causes accidents — it’s the distraction of carrying on a conversation. The safest way to take a cellphone call on the road is to pull over to a safe area, then have your chat.
Dialing for tickets
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), as of November 2011 talking on a hand-held cellphone while driving is totally banned in the following ten states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. It is also banned in the District of Columbia. In Utah, the offense falls under “careless driving,” and the driver must also commit another moving violation to be ticketed for talking while driving. For a quick reference, check out this IIHS interactive map.
Additionally, hand-held cellphone use by novice drivers (definitions vary by state, but generally those with learner’s permits of any age or drivers under 18) is restricted in 30 states and the District of Columbia. There are also specific cellphone laws that apply to bus drivers — using a hand-held cellphone while driving a school bus is illegal in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
Expensive text messages
You would think for simplicity’s sake that the laws regarding texting would be similarly enacted in each state. It’s not quite that easy, however texting is banned outright in far more states than hand-held calls are. Driving while texting is banned outright in 35 states and, you guessed it, the District of Columbia (check the link for the full list), and banned for novice drivers in 7 states (Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia). Additionally, school bus drivers are banned from texting in Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Primary offense
If this isn’t all as clear as mud at this point, enforcement of laws against hand-held calls and text messaging while driving can be either primary or secondary. Primary meaning you can be pulled over for talking or texting and no other violation, secondary meaning there has to have been another violation taking place in order for you to be charged with breaking cellphone laws as well.
For example, in New York, the enforcement of the hands-held law is primary — if an officer in New York watches you drive by while chatting with your phone up to your ear, he can pull you over for no additional reason. On the other hand, if you blow past a cop in Maryland while holding your phone up to your ear, you have to be doing something else wrong in order for him to pull you over and ticket you for cellphone use.
Of course, to make things even more fun, in some states enforcement can be primary for texting but secondary for talking, or primary for novices but secondary for experienced drivers, or just primary for bus drivers and so on. Definitely consult the chart found here for your particular state (or state(s) you will be travelling in) for the definitive answer.
Parting thoughts
Really, the moral of the story is pretty simple. If you aren’t sure — don’t. Err on the side of always using your hands-free device and don’t text while driving. Even better, as mentioned above: just pull over to a safe area and make/take your call. And if you can’t do that, well, just let it go to voicemail. It’s much easier to reply to calls and texts when you’re still alive.
Driving hang-ups
Often as we travel, we find the need to take that quick cellphone call while driving. Sometimes it’s work, sometimes it’s family, but all the time we feel compelled to answer the phone. In some states it’s perfectly legal to use a handheld cell phone while driving, in some states it’s only legal in certain circumstances, and in some it’s completely illegal.
Then, there’s the matter of texting. It seems like such a simple, harmless thing — the phone beeps, you look down, you tap out a quick reply. However, texting while driving is also illegal in many states, again, some with circumstances that permit it and some that don’t. So how do you know when you’re out and about and possibly in a different state what the law is? We can help.
A disclaimer from the Finders Free Health and Safety Department: No matter what the law is, and whether you have a hands free device for talking or speech to text for texting, numerous studies have shown it’s not the actual handholding of the device that causes accidents — it’s the distraction of carrying on a conversation. The safest way to take a cellphone call on the road is to pull over to a safe area, then have your chat.
Dialing for tickets
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), as of November 2011 talking on a hand-held cellphone while driving is totally banned in the following ten states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. It is also banned in the District of Columbia. In Utah, the offense falls under “careless driving,” and the driver must also commit another moving violation to be ticketed for talking while driving. For a quick reference, check out this IIHS interactive map.
Additionally, hand-held cellphone use by novice drivers (definitions vary by state, but generally those with learner’s permits of any age or drivers under 18) is restricted in 30 states and the District of Columbia. There are also specific cellphone laws that apply to bus drivers — using a hand-held cellphone while driving a school bus is illegal in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
Expensive text messages
You would think for simplicity’s sake that the laws regarding texting would be similarly enacted in each state. It’s not quite that easy, however texting is banned outright in far more states than hand-held calls are. Driving while texting is banned outright in 35 states and, you guessed it, the District of Columbia (check the link for the full list), and banned for novice drivers in 7 states (Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia). Additionally, school bus drivers are banned from texting in Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Primary offense
If this isn’t all as clear as mud at this point, enforcement of laws against hand-held calls and text messaging while driving can be either primary or secondary. Primary meaning you can be pulled over for talking or texting and no other violation, secondary meaning there has to have been another violation taking place in order for you to be charged with breaking cellphone laws as well.
For example, in New York, the enforcement of the hands-held law is primary — if an officer in New York watches you drive by while chatting with your phone up to your ear, he can pull you over for no additional reason. On the other hand, if you blow past a cop in Maryland while holding your phone up to your ear, you have to be doing something else wrong in order for him to pull you over and ticket you for cellphone use.
Of course, to make things even more fun, in some states enforcement can be primary for texting but secondary for talking, or primary for novices but secondary for experienced drivers, or just primary for bus drivers and so on. Definitely consult the chart found here for your particular state (or state(s) you will be travelling in) for the definitive answer.
Parting thoughts
Really, the moral of the story is pretty simple. If you aren’t sure — don’t. Err on the side of always using your hands-free device and don’t text while driving. Even better, as mentioned above: just pull over to a safe area and make/take your call. And if you can’t do that, well, just let it go to voicemail. It’s much easier to reply to calls and texts when you’re still alive.
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