Various laws in the United States regulate the use of mobile phones and other electronics by motorists. Different states take different approaches. Some laws affect only novice drivers or commercial drivers, while some laws affect all drivers. Some laws target handheld devices only, while other laws affect both handheld and handsfree devices.
Regulatory laws
The laws regulating driving (or distracted driving) may be subject to primary enforcement or secondary enforcement by state, county or local authorities. All State-level cell phone use laws in the United States are of the primary enforcement typeâ€"meaning an officer may cite a driver for using a hand-held cell phone without any other traffic offense having taken placeâ€"except in some cases involving newer (or "novice"), drivers. In the case of secondary enforcement, a police officer may only stop or cite a driver for a cell phone use violation if the driver has committed another primary violation (such as speeding, failure to stop, etc.) at the same time.
A federal transportation funding law passed in July 2012, known as the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), provided $17.5 million in grants during fiscal year 2013 for states with primary enforcement laws against distracted driving, including laws prohibiting cell phone use while driving. States with secondary enforcement laws or no laws at all are ineligible to receive this grant funding.
Laws by state
No state bans all cell phone use for all drivers. However, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia (plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands) prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving. 36 states and Washington, D.C. ban all cell phone use by newer drivers; while 19 states and Washington, D.C. prohibit any cell phone use by school bus drivers if children are present.
Preemption Laws
Often, local authorities pass their own distracted driving bansâ€"most include the use of cell phones while driving. Several states (Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma) have prohibited localities from enacting their own laws regarding cell phone use.
Cost of distracted driving
A 2014 report from the National Safety Council, which compiles data on injuries and fatalities from 2013 and earlier, concluded that use of mobile phones caused 26% of U.S. car accidents. Just 5% of mobile phone-related accidents in the U.S. involved texting: "The majority of the accidents involve drivers distracted while talking on handheld or hands-free cellphones."
The U.S. Department of Transportation has established an official website to combat distracted driving, Distraction.gov.
In 2010, the State Farm insurance company stated that mobile phone use annually resulted in: 636,000 crashes, 330,000 personal injuries, 12,000 major injuries, 2,700 deaths, and US$43 billion in damages.
See also
- Texting while driving
References
Further reading
- William Saletan (October 23, 2008). "The Mind-BlackBerry Problem: Hey, you! Cell-phone zombie! Get off the road!". slate.com. Retrieved May 1, 2013.Â
