State Laws

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Cell Phone Laws

as of July 2005

• Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and the District of Columbia each have enacted a jurisdiction-wide ban on driving while talking on a handheld cellular phone.
• Five states (Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ohio and Pennsylvania) allow localities to ban cell phone use. Localities that have enacted restrictions on cell phone use include: Chicago, IL; Brookline, MA; Santa Fe, NM; Brooklyn, North Olmstead and Walton Hills, OH; and Conshohocken, Lebanon and West Conshohocken, PA.
• Seven states (Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma and Oregon) prohibit localities from banning cell phone use.
• Eleven states (Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas) and DC prohibit the use of all cellular phones while driving a school bus.
• Ten states (Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Texas) and DC restrict the use of cellular phones by teens in the graduated licensing system.
• All but three states with cell phone bans have primary enforcement laws. New Jersey’s ban is a secondary enforcement law for everyone except school bus drivers and learner’s permit and intermediate license holders. Colorado and Maryland have secondary enforcement laws. Secondary enforcement laws may only be enforced when a driver has been stopped for another infraction.

State	Cell Phone Restrictions
	Hand Held Ban	All Cell Phone Ban
Alabama	no	no
Alaska	no	no
Arizona	no	School bus drivers
Arkansas	no	School bus drivers
California	no	School and transit bus drivers
Colorado	no	Learner's permit holders
Connecticut	yes (eff. 10/1/05)	Learner's permit holders, drivers younger than 18, and school bus drivers (eff. 10/1/05)
Delaware	no	School bus drivers and learner's permit and intermediate license holders
District of Columbia	yes	School bus drivers and learner's permit holders
Florida	no	no

 

State	Cell Phone Restrictions
	Hand Held Ban	All Cell Phone Ban
Georgia	no	no
Hawaii	no	no
Idaho	no	no
Illinois	By jurisdiction	Learner's permit holders, drivers younger than 18, and school bus drivers
Indiana	no	no
Iowa	no	no
Kansas	no	no
Kentucky	no	no
Louisiana	no	no
Maine	no	Learner's permit and intermediate license holders

 

State	Cell Phone Restrictions
	Hand Held Ban	All Cell Phone Ban
Maryland	no	Learner's permit and intermediate license holders
Massachusetts	By jurisdiction	School bus drivers
Michigan	no	no
Minnesota	no	Learner's permit holders and license holders during the first 12 months after licensing (eff. 1/1/2006)
Mississippi	no	no
Missouri	no	no
Montana	no	no
Nebraska	no	no
Nevada	no	no
New Hampshire	no	no

 

State	Cell Phone Restrictions
	Hand Held Ban	All Cell Phone Ban
New Jersey	yes	School bus drivers and learner's permit and intermediate license holders
New Mexico	By jurisdiction	no
New York	yes	no
North Carolina	no	no
North Dakota	no	no
Ohio	By jurisdiction	no
Oklahoma	no	no
Oregon	no	no
Pennsylvania	By jurisdiction	no
Rhode Island	no	School bus drivers

 

State	Cell Phone Restrictions
	Hand Held Ban	All Cell Phone Ban
South Carolina	no	no
South Dakota	no	no
Tennessee	no	School bus drivers and learner's permit and intermediate license holders
Texas	no	Bus drivers when a passenger 17 and younger is present; intermediate license holders
Utah	no	no
Vermont	no	no
Virginia	no	no
Washington	no	no
West Virginia	no	no
Wisconsin	no	no
Wyoming	no	no

Provided by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

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