Bluetooth Facts and Answers

March 2010

State cell phone and texting while driving law highlights include:

• Handheld Cell Phones: 6 states (Calif., Conn., N.J., N.Y., Ore. and Wash.), D.C. and the Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving.
  • Except for Washington, these laws are primary enforcement—an officer may cite a driver for using a handheld cell phone without any other traffic offense taking place.
• All Cell Phone Use: No state completely bans all types of cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) for all drivers, but many prohibit cell phone use by some drivers:
  • Novice Drivers: 21 states and the District of Columbia ban all cell use by novice drivers.
  • School Bus Drivers: In 17 states and the District of Columbia, school bus drivers are prohibited from all cell phone use when passengers are present.
• Text Messaging: 20 states, the District of Columbia and Guam now ban text messaging for all drivers. 15 states, D.C., and Guam have primary enforcement. In the other four, texting bans for all drivers are secondarily enforced. Some states limit texting by specific drivers:
  • Novice Drivers: 9 states prohibit text messaging by novice drivers.
  • School Bus Drivers: 1 state restricts school bus drivers from texting while driving.
• Some states, such as Maine, New Hampshire and Utah treat cell phone use and texting as part of a larger distracted driving issue. Utah considers cellphone use to be an offense only if a driver is also committing some other moving violation (other than speeding).

Crash Data Collection: Many states include a category for cell phone/electronic equipment distraction on police accident report forms. Recently proposed federal legislation would require states to collect this data in order to qualify for certain federal funding.

Preemption Laws: In states without comprehensive cell phone or texting bans, many localities have enacted their own distracted driving laws. However, some states (for example, Fla., Ky., La., Miss., Nev., and Okla.) have preemption laws that prohibit localities from enacting such bans.