Distracted Driving Laws
This chart outlines state distracted driving laws. Some localities have additional regulations. Enforcement type is shown in parenthesis.
- Hand-held Cell Phone Use: 10 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving. Except for Maryland and West Virginia (until July 2013), all laws are primary enforcement—an officer may cite a driver for using a hand-held cell phone without any other traffic offense taking place.
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All Cell Phone Use: No state bans all cell phone use for all drivers, but 36 states and D.C. ban all cell phone use by novice drivers, and 19 states and D.C. prohibit it for school bus drivers.
Learn More About Distracted Driving
What Research Shows and What States Can Do
Published 2011Curbing Distracted Driving: 2010 Survey of State Safety Programs
- Text Messaging: Washington was the first state to pass a texting ban in 2007. Currently, 39 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban text messaging for all drivers. All but 3 have primary enforcement.
- An additional 6 states prohibit text messaging by novice drivers.
- 3 states restrict school bus drivers from texting.
Crash Data Collection: Many states include a category for cell phone/electronic equipment distraction on police accident report forms. Proposed federal legislation would require states to collect this data in accordance with Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria guidelines to qualify for certain federal funding.
Preemption Laws: Many localities have passed their own distracted driving bans. However, some states – such as Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma – prohibit localities from enacting such laws.
NOTE: GHSA does not compile any additional data on distracted driving laws other than what is presented here. For more information, consult the appropriate State Highway Safety Office.
| State | Hand-held Ban | All Cell Phone Ban | Text Messaging Ban | Crash Data |
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| School Bus Drivers | Novice Drivers | All Drivers |
School Bus Drivers | Novice Drivers | |||
| Alabama | 16, or 17 w/ Intermediate License <6 months (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | ||||
| Alaska | Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||||
| Arizona | Yes (Primary) |
||||||
| Arkansas 1 | 18 - 20 years old (Primary) | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Secondary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |
| California | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Secondary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |
| Colorado | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Connecticut | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | ||
| Delaware | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Learner or Intermediate License (Primary) | Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |
| D.C. | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Learners Permit (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |
| Florida | Yes | ||||||
| Georgia | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Guam | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | ||||
| Hawaii 2 | See footnote | ||||||
| Idaho 3 | Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | See footnote | ||||
| Illinois 4 | See footnote | Yes (Primary) |
<19 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |
| Indiana | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Iowa | Restricted or Intermediate License (Primary) |
Yes (Secondary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Kansas | Learner or Intermediate License (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Kentucky | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | |||
| Louisiana | Learner or Intermediate License (regardless of age) |
Yes (Primary) |
1st year of License (Primary for <18) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |
| Maine | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Maryland | Yes (Secondary) |
<18 w/ Learner or Provisional License (Secondary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Massachusetts | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Michigan | Level 1 or 2 License (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Minnesota | Yes (Primary) |
<18 w/ Learner or Provisional License (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Mississippi | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Learner or Provisional License (Primary) |
||||
| Missouri | <21 (Primary) |
||||||
| Montana | Yes | ||||||
| Nebraska | <18 w/ Learner or Intermediate License (Secondary) |
Yes (Secondary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Nevada | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| New Hampshire 5 | Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | |||||
| New Jersey | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Permit or Provisional License (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |
| New Mexico | In State vehicles | Learner or Provisional License (Primary) |
Learner or Provisional License (Primary) |
Yes | |||
| New York | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| North Carolina | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | |||
| North Dakota | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Ohio | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Secondary) |
Covered under all driver ban | ||||
| Oklahoma | Learner or Intermediate License (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Learner or Intermediate License (Primary) |
Yes | ||
| Oregon | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Pennsylvania | Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||||
| Puerto Rico | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | ||||
| Rhode Island | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| South Carolina 6 | See footnote | ||||||
| South Dakota | Learner or Intermediate License (Secondary) (eff. 7/1/13) |
Learner or Intermediate License (Secondary) (eff. 7/1/13) |
Yes | ||||
| Tennessee | Yes (Primary) |
Learner or Intermediate License (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Texas 7 | Yes, w/ passenger <17 (Primary) |
Intermediate License, 1st 12 mos. (Primary) |
Yes, w/ passenger <17 (Primary) |
Intermediate License, 1st 12 mos. (Primary) |
Yes | ||
| Utah | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Vermont | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | ||||
| Virgin Islands | Yes | Yes | Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Virginia | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Secondary) |
Yes (Primary) (eff. 7/1/13) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Washington | Yes (Primary) |
Learner or Intermediate Licence (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| West Virginia | Yes (Secondary until 7/1/13) |
<18 w/ Learner or Intermediate Licence (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | |||
| Wisconsin | Learner or Intermediate Licence (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | ||||
| Wyoming | Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||||
| Total States | 10 + D.C. PR, Guam, Virgin Islands Primary (8 + D.C., PR, Guam) Secondary (2) |
19 + D.C. All Primary |
36 + D.C. Primary (30 + D.C.) Secondary (6) |
39 + D.C., PR, Guam, Virgin Islands Primary (36 + D.C., PR, Guam) Secondary (3) |
3 All Primary |
6 Primary (5) Secondary (1) |
35 + D.C., Virgin Islands |
2 Hawaii does not have a state law banning the use of hand-held cell phones. However, all of the state's counties have enacted distracted driving ordinances.
3 Idaho has a "Distraction in/on Vehicle (List)" attribute as part of its Contributing Circumstances element, and officers are supposed to list the distractions in the narrative.
4 Illinois bans the use of hand-held cell phones while driving in a school zone or in a highway construction zone.
5 Dealt with as a distracted driving issue; New Hampshire enacted a comprehensive distracted driving law.
6 South Carolina has a Distracted/inattention attribute under Contributing Factors.
7 Texas has banned the use of hand-held phones and texting in school zones.
Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.