http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html

The following is an excerpt from the Governors Highway Safety Association. Where does your state stand in this important Safety issue?

Cell Phone Driving Laws

December 2009

Current state cell phone driving law highlights include the following:

• Handheld Cell Phone Bans for All Drivers: 6 states (California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington), the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from talking on handheld cell phones while driving.
  • With the exception of Washington State, these laws are all primary enforcement—an officer may ticket a driver for using a handheld cell phone while driving without any other traffic offense taking place.
• All Cell Phone Bans: No state completely bans all types of cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) for all drivers, but many prohibit cell phone use by certain segments of the population.
  • Novice Drivers: 21 states and the District of Columbia ban all cell use by novice drivers.
  • School Bus Drivers: In 17 states and the District of Columbia, school bus drivers are prohibited from all cell phone use when passengers are present.
• Text Messaging: 19 states, the District of Columbia and Guam now ban text messaging for all drivers.
  • Novice Drivers: 9 states prohibit text messaging by novice drivers.
  • School Bus Drivers: 1 state restricts school bus drivers from texting while driving.
• Preemption Laws: 6 states have laws that prohibit local jurisdictions from enacting restrictions. In other states, localities are allowed to ban cell phone use or texting while driving.
• Some states, such as Maine, New Hampshire and Utah treat cell phone use as a larger distracted driving issue.
  • Utah considers speaking on a cellphone to be an offense only if a driver is also committing some other moving violation (other than speeding).