Texting and driving laws are on the books in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which makes phone use behind the wheel one of the most consistently banned driving behaviors in the country.1National Conference of State Legislatures. Distracted Driving | Cellphone Use Break one of these laws and you’re looking at a fine, possible license points, higher insurance premiums for years, and, if you cause a crash, civil lawsuits or criminal charges that go far beyond a traffic ticket. The specifics depend on your state, your age, whether you drive for a living, and what happens after you get pulled over.
What the Laws Actually Prohibit
“Texting” in these statutes is a narrow word for a broad rule. Most state laws prohibit any manual interaction with an electronic device while driving: typing a message, scrolling social media, entering an address into a map app, or reading text on a screen. Several states have gone further. As of mid-2025, 31 states and the District of Columbia bar drivers from using a handheld phone for any purpose, including a phone call.1National Conference of State Legislatures. Distracted Driving | Cellphone Use In those states, simply holding the device is enough to get cited.
A common and expensive misconception is that the ban only applies when the car is moving. Under the federal rule for commercial drivers, “driving” includes being temporarily stopped in traffic or at a red light, and the restriction only lifts once the vehicle is pulled off the road in a safe spot.2eCFR. Title 49 CFR 392.80 – Prohibition Against Texting Most state laws take the same view. Checking your phone at a stoplight is a ticket in most places.
Primary vs. Secondary Enforcement
Whether an officer can pull you over just for using a phone depends on how your state classifies the offense. Under primary enforcement, spotting you with a phone is enough reason for the stop. Under secondary enforcement, the officer needs another violation first, like speeding, and can only add a phone citation after you’re already pulled over.
Primary enforcement is now the norm. All but six states with phone bans allow it.3Governors Highway Safety Association. Distracted Driving In practical terms, if you’re in a primary enforcement state, holding or tapping your phone is itself the probable cause.
Fines, Points, and Insurance
A first ticket for texting commonly runs between $25 and $200 in base fines, though court fees and surcharges push the real bill higher. Second and third offenses within a set window can reach several hundred dollars, and some jurisdictions require a court appearance for repeat violators, where a judge can add community service or other conditions.
Many states also add demerit points to your driving record. The usual range is zero to five points for a first conviction, depending on the state. Enough points inside a set period can lead to an administrative license suspension. Some courts order a distracted driving course on top of the fine, with its own enrollment cost.
The insurance hit is almost always the biggest number. A texting conviction raises car insurance premiums by an average of 28 percent, with individual increases running from roughly 9 percent to 51 percent based on your insurer and location. In dollars, that’s an extra $150 to $900 a year. Because the violation typically stays on your record for three to five years, the cumulative premium increase often turns a $100 fine into a $1,000 problem.
Exemptions
Every state ban carves out room for emergencies. You can use your phone to call 911 or other emergency services to report a crash, a crime, or a medical issue. Law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel are also typically exempt when they’re using a device as part of the job.1National Conference of State Legislatures. Distracted Driving | Cellphone Use
For most drivers, the useful exemption is hands-free use. In states that ban only texting or handheld use rather than all phone use, voice-activated features, Bluetooth, and dashboard-integrated systems are legal as long as you’re not physically holding or tapping the device. Voice-to-text dictation, calls routed through the car’s speakers, and spoken turn-by-turn navigation all stay on the right side of the law. Pick up the phone or touch the screen and the exemption is gone. Some states also allow dashboard- or windshield-mounted devices, with the specifics varying.
Stricter Rules for Teen and Novice Drivers
Younger drivers face the tightest restrictions. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia ban all cell phone use by novice drivers, including hands-free use in many cases.4Governors Highway Safety Association. Teens and Novice Drivers These rules usually apply to anyone holding a learner’s permit or provisional license under a state’s Graduated Driver’s License program.
The penalties are quick and consequential. States commonly impose license suspensions, extended permit-holding periods, or delays in qualifying for a full license. Because the restriction often covers all device use, a teen can be penalized for a hands-free call that would be perfectly legal for a fully licensed adult.
Stricter Rules for Commercial Drivers
Commercial truck and bus drivers answer to a separate federal rule. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration prohibits all texting by commercial motor vehicle drivers whenever the engine is running, stops at traffic lights and in congestion included. The only exception is contacting emergency services.2eCFR. Title 49 CFR 392.80 – Prohibition Against Texting A parallel rule applies the same restrictions to handheld calls.
The consequences for a commercial driver are both financial and professional. Civil penalties run up to $2,750 per violation, and a motor carrier that allows or requires its drivers to text can be fined up to $11,000.5Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. No Texting Rule Fact Sheet A second texting conviction within three years triggers a 60-day disqualification from commercial driving, and a third within three years brings a 120-day disqualification.6eCFR. Title 49 CFR 383.51 – Disqualification of Drivers For a driver whose income depends on the license, even the shorter disqualification means months without work.
What Happens If You Cause a Crash
A phone-related ticket is a traffic infraction. A phone-related crash is a different kind of problem.
In most jurisdictions, breaking a texting-while-driving law and then causing a collision gives the injured person a strong negligence per se argument. Under that doctrine, the plaintiff does not have to prove you were driving unreasonably. They only have to show you broke a law meant to prevent exactly the harm that happened, and that the violation caused the crash. The statute does the work that normally takes a jury’s judgment, which makes these cases significantly easier to win.
The damages can go beyond medical bills and lost wages. Some jurisdictions allow punitive damages when a driver’s conduct crosses from negligent into reckless, and courts have treated the conscious choice to look at a phone as meeting that bar. Juries presented with phone records showing a driver scrolling moments before a serious crash tend not to be forgiving.
If the crash kills someone, criminal charges become possible. Prosecutors commonly file vehicular manslaughter, negligent homicide, or reckless driving charges in distracted-driving fatalities, depending on the statutes in that state. These are criminal cases that carry jail time well beyond anything a traffic court imposes.
If You Were on the Phone for Work
When an employee crashes while using a phone for work purposes, the employer can be on the hook under vicarious liability. Texting a client, checking a work email, or responding to a dispatcher at the moment of the crash can pull the company into the lawsuit. This applies whether the employee was in a company vehicle or a personal car, and whether the device was company-issued or their own.
OSHA takes the position that employers have both a responsibility and a legal obligation to maintain a clear, enforced policy against texting while driving. Not having one increases legal exposure and can lead to OSHA citations. The obligation reaches any employee who drives as part of the job, regardless of vehicle or device ownership. A policy limited to “hands-free is fine” may not go far enough, because distracted driving claims cover phone conversations and other interactions, not just typing.
Courts examining employer liability look at whether the company took reasonable steps to prevent the behavior. A written policy, training, signed acknowledgments, and consistent enforcement all factor into whether the policy actually shields the business in litigation. A paragraph buried in a handbook rarely does.