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Update on: Can’t Talk Now

January 29th, 2011 · 795 Comments- add yours

The movement is growing. There are now 28 states and D.C. that ban Novice drivers from using a cell phone, hand held or not while driving. There are 8 states plus D. C. and the Virgin Islands that ban all drivers from using a hand held cell phone while driving.

Although many states have bans on hand-held cell phone calling while driving, they exempt incoming, emergency calls, and also some professionals (I would like to think my doctor can be asked for his guidance in an emergency).

Most states have primary enforcement for their cell phone laws, which means an officer can pull you over and give you a citation if he sees a cell phone in your hand while you are behind the wheel. Only Maryland and Utah have secondary offense laws, meaning the officer must pull you over for a driving offense (were you weaving or speeding?) before checking if you were using your cell phone.

California is hoping to reduce the 4,000-person annual death toll from traffic accidents by about 300, but a Harris Interactive poll in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey found that although 72 percent have a hands-free product in their cars, only about 14 percent of drivers use them while driving. Reasons they gave were that the devices were uncomfortable and difficult to use.

A recent study established that young adults talking on cell phones while driving, not only had their reaction time slowed, but that it was the conversation on the phone, especially the listening part, that caused the reaction-slowing distraction.

Current state cell phone driving law highlights include the following:

Preemption Laws: Several states have cell phone laws, but treat cell phone use as a larger distracted driving issue. Preemption laws prohibit local jurisdictions (like cities) from enacting their own restrictions.

School Bus Drivers: In 18 states and the District of Columbia, school bus drivers are prohibited from all cell phone use when passengers are present, except for emergencies.

Text Messaging: 30 states ban text messaging for all drivers, and other states have introduced similar legislation.

The list so far:

State   Banned   notes
Alabama   cell phone   novice drivers
Alaska   texting   all drivers
Arizona   cell phone   school bus drivers
Arkansas   cell phone   novice drivers
    hand held   18-20 year olds
    texting   all drivers
California   full ban   all drivers
Colorado   cell phone   novice drivers
    texting   all drivers
Connecticut   full ban   all drivers
Delaware   full ban   all drivers
D.C.   full ban   all drivers
Florida       preemption law
Georgia   cell phone   novice & school bus drivers
    texting   all drivers
Guam   texting   all drivers
Hawaii       distracted driver law
Idaho       distracted driver law
Illinois   cell phone   novice & school bus drivers
    hand held   school & construction zones
    texting   all drivers
Indiana   cell phone   novice drivers
Iowa   cell phone   novice drivers
    texting   all drivers
Kansas   cell phone   novice drivers
    texting   all drivers
Kentucky   hand held   novice & school bus drivers
    texting   all drivers
Louisiana   cell phone   novice & school bus drivers
    texting   all drivers
Maine   cell phone   novice drivers
        distraction law
Maryland   full ban   all drivers
Massachusetts   cell phone   novice & school bus drivers
    texting   all drivers
Michigan   cell phone   novice drivers
    texting   all drivers
Minnesota   cell phone   novice & school bus drivers
    texting   all drivers
Mississippi   texting   novice drivers
Missouri   texting   novice drivers
Nebraska   cell phone   novice drivers
    texting   all drivers
New Hampshire   texting   distracted driving law
New Jersey   full ban   all drivers
New Mexico   hand held   State vehicles
New York   hand held   all drivers
    texting   all drivers
North Carolina   cell phone   novice & school bus drivers
    texting   all drivers
Oklahoma   hand held   novice & school bus drivers
    texting   all drivers
Oregon   hand held   all drivers
    cell phone   novice drivers
    texting   all drivers
Rhode Island   cell phone   novice & school bus drivers
    texting   all drivers
South Carolina   cell phone   distracted driver law
Tennessee   cell phone   novice & school bus drivers
    texting   all drivers
Texas   cell phones   school zones
        school bus drivers w/passengers
        novice drivers
    texting   school bus drivers w/passengers
        novice drivers
Utah       careless driving law
    texting   all drivers
Vermont   cell phone   novice drivers
    texting   all drivers
Virgin Islands   hand held   all drivers
Virginia   cell phone   novice & school bus drivers
    texting   all drivers
Washington   cell phone   novice drivers
    hand held   all drivers
    texting   all drivers
West Virginia   cell phone   novice drivers
Wisconsin   texting   all drivers
Wyoming       all drivers

From: Cell Phone and Texting Laws (January 2011)

8 states (CA, CT, DL, MD, NJ, NY, OR, WA) plus D.C. and Virgin Islands ban hand held cell phones while driving. In all except MD, law enforcement can cite a driver if they SEE a cell phone being held while driving (primary enforcement).

6 states (FL, KY, LA, MS, NV, OK) have preemption laws prohibiting localities from enacting their own laws.

28 states and D.C. ban ALL cell phone use while driving for Novice drivers. The definition generally includes drivers under 18 and holding learner permits or provisional or intermediate licenses for less than 12 months.

18 states and D.C. ban cell phone use for school bus drivers with passengers.

30 states, D.C. and Guam ban texting while driving. 26 of those states have primary enforcement (an officer just has to SEE a cell phone in the driver’s hand). 2 states prohibit school bus drivers from texting while driving.

An additional 8 states prohibit texting while driving by novice drivers.

Drivers who want to (legally) talk while driving are adapting to the new reality.

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