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: 14 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving. All are primary enforcement laws—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 38 states and D.C. ban all cell phone use by novice drivers, and 20 states and D.C. prohibit it for school bus drivers.
Learn More About Distracted Driving
- Text Messaging: Washington was the first state to pass a texting ban in 2007. Currently, 44 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban text messaging for all drivers. All but 5 have primary enforcement. Of the 6 states without an all driver texting ban:
- 4 prohibit text messaging by novice drivers.
- 3 restrict school bus drivers from texting.
Crash Data Collection: Nearly all states include at least one category for distraction on police crash report forms, although the specific data collected varies. The Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC) guideline provides best practices on distraction data collection.
Preemption Laws: Some states have preemption laws that prohibit local jurisdictions from enacting their own distracted driving bans. States with such laws include – but may not be limited to – Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Oregon and South Carolina.
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 |
|||
| 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 | Yes | |||
| Alaska | Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||||
| Arizona | Yes (Primary) |
Yes | |||||
| 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 (Secondary) |
Covered under all driver ban | 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 | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Idaho | Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||||
| Illinois | Yes (Primary) |
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 | Yes | ||
| 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 (Primary) |
<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 | Yes (Primary) |
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) |
Yes | |||
| Missouri | <21 (Primary) |
Yes | |||||
| 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 | Yes (Primary) (eff. 7/2015) |
Yes (Primary) |
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) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | 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 | Yes | ||
| North Dakota | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Ohio | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Secondary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Oklahoma | Learner or Intermediate License (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 | Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||||
| South Dakota | Learner or Intermediate License (Secondary) |
Yes (Secondary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Tennessee | Yes (Primary) |
Learner or Intermediate License (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Texas 2 | Yes, w/ passenger <17 (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes, w/ passenger <17 (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes | ||
| Utah | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Vermont | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Virgin Islands | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Virginia | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Secondary) |
Yes (Primary) |
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 (Primary) |
<18 w/ Learner or Intermediate Licence (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Wisconsin | Learner or Intermediate Licence (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Wyoming | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Total States | 14 + D.C. PR, Guam, Virgin Islands All Primary |
20 + D.C. All Primary |
38 + D.C. Primary (32 + D.C.) Secondary (6) |
44 + D.C., PR, Guam, Virgin Islands Primary (39 + D.C., PR, Guam, Virgin Islands) Secondary (5) |
3 All Primary |
4 All Primary |
48 + D.C., Virgin Islands |
2 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.