Cellphone and texting laws

June 2013

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Talking on a hand-held cellphone while driving is banned in 11 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington, and West Virginia) and the District of Columbia.

The use of all cellphones by novice drivers is restricted in 37 states and the District of Columbia and the use of all cellphones while driving a school bus is prohibited in 21 states and the District of Columbia.

Text messaging is banned for all drivers in 41 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, novice drivers are banned from texting in 6 states (Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas) and school bus drivers are banned from text messaging in 3 states (Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas).

Many localities have enacted their own bans on cellphones or text messaging. In some but not all states, local jurisdictions need specific statutory authority to do so.

The table and maps below show the states that have cellphone laws, whether they specifically ban text messaging, and whether they are enforced as primary or secondary laws. Under secondary laws, an officer must have some other reason to stop a vehicle before citing a driver for using a cellphone. Laws without this restriction are called primary.

• Table
• Map: hand-held bans
• Map: young driver bans
• Map: bus driver bans
• Map: texting bans

¹Illinois exempts persons who are reporting an emergency situation or communicating with emergency personnel during the emergency situation.

²In 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. The cellphone ban is secondary for novice drivers age 18 and older.

³In 2007, Utah defined careless driving as committing a moving violation (other than speeding) while distracted by use of a handheld cellphone or other activities not related to driving. IIHS reported this as the functional equivalent of a secondary law. 2012 Utah law states that a person is not prohibited from using a handheld wireless device while operating a moving motor vehicle when making or receiving a telephone call.