Figure 5-5 State Laws on Distracted Driving Ban on Hand-Held Devices and Texting While Driving: February 2016
| State | ST | Hand-held ban | Texting ban |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | AL | no | yes |
| Alaska | AK | no | yes |
| Arizona | AZ | no | no |
| Arkansas | AR | no | yes |
| California | CA | yes | yes |
| Colorado | CO | no | yes |
| Connecticut | CT | yes | yes |
| Delaware | DE | yes | yes |
| District of Columbia | DC | yes | yes |
| Florida | FL | no | yes |
| Georgia | GA | no | yes |
| Hawaii | HI | yes | yes |
| Idaho | ID | no | yes |
| Illinois | IL | yes | yes |
| Indiana | IN | no | yes |
| Iowa | IA | no | yes |
| Kansas | KS | no | yes |
| Kentucky | KY | no | yes |
| Louisiana | LA | no | yes |
| Maine | ME | no | yes |
| Maryland | MD | yes | yes |
| Massachusetts | MA | no | yes |
| Michigan | MI | no | yes |
| Minnesota | MN | no | yes |
| Mississippi | MS | no | yes |
| Missouri | MO | no | no |
| Montana | MT | no | no |
| Nebraska | NE | no | yes |
| Nevada | NV | yes | yes |
| New Hampshire | NH | yes | yes |
| New Jersey | NJ | yes | yes |
| New Mexico | NM | no | yes |
| New York | NY | yes | yes |
| North Carolina | NC | no | yes |
| North Dakota | ND | no | yes |
| Ohio | OH | no | yes |
| Oklahoma | OK | no | yes |
| Oregon | OR | yes | yes |
| Pennsylvania | PA | no | yes |
| Puerto Rico | PR | yes | yes |
| Rhode Island | RI | no | yes |
| South Carolina | SC | no | yes |
| South Dakota | SD | no | yes |
| Tennessee | TN | no | yes |
| Texas | TX | no | no |
| Utah | UT | no | yes |
| Vermont | VT | yes | yes |
| Virginia | VA | no | yes |
| Washington | WA | yes | yes |
| West Virginia | WV | yes | yes |
| Wisconsin | WI | no | yes |
| Wyoming | WY | no | yes |
NOTES: A primary law means that an officer can ticket the driver for the offense without any other traffic violation taking place. A secondary law means an officer can only issue a ticket if a driver has been pulled over for another violation (like speeding).
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.
Text Messaging: Washington was the first state to pass a texting ban in 2007. Currently, 46 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban text messaging for all drivers.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, State Laws on Distracted Driving, available at http://www.distraction.gov/stats-research-laws/state-laws.html as of February 2016.