Here are state-by-state statistics on distracted driving and texting while driving safety laws, and a chart 
comparing the Minnesota texting and driving safety law with all 50 states’ cell phone laws and texting while driving laws.
Distracted driving is the same as inattentive driving. Any activity that distracts a driver from the primary task of driving increases the risk of crashing. There are many things to distract a driver: cell phones, texting, music, dashboard controls, navigation, eating or drinking, children, other passengers, and talking on the phone.
In Minnesota, all drivers are prohibited from texting while driving. Actually, it is against the law to send any electronic message, including emails, texts, instant messaging, or accessing the internet. Phone calls are not prohibited.
Mobile devices are everywhere. Cell phones and tablets are in everyone’s pocket or purse. The proliferation of mobile devices has led to a dramatic increase in distracted driving. The distracted driving statistics are terrible. The numbers don’t lie. If you are hurt in a car or truck crash, contact a personal injury attorney. You don’t have to call us, but call someone.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2010 driver distraction was the cause of 18 percent of all fatal crashes – with 3,092 people killed – and crashes resulting in an injury – with 416,000 people wounded.
- Forty percent of all American teens say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger, according to a Pew survey.
- The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted.
- Eleven percent of drivers aged 18 to 20 who were involved in an automobile accident and survived admitted they were sending or receiving texts when they crashed.
Source: Federal Communications Commission, http://www.fcc.gov/guides/texting-while-driving
| State | Hand-held Ban | All Cell Phone Ban | Text Messaging Ban | Crash Data |
|||
| School Bus Drivers | Novice Drivers | All Drivers |
School Bus Drivers | Novice Drivers | |||
| Alabama | 16, or 17 w/ Intermediate License <6 months (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Alaska | Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||||
| Arizona | Yes (Primary) |
Yes | |||||
| Arkansas 1 | 18 – 20 years old (Primary) | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Secondary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |
| California | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Secondary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |
| Colorado | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Connecticut | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | ||
| Delaware | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Learner or Intermediate License (Primary) | Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |
| D.C. | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Learners Permit (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |
| Florida | Yes (Secondary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||||
| Georgia | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Guam | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | ||||
| Hawaii | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Idaho | Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||||
| Illinois | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
<19 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |
| Indiana | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Iowa | Restricted or Intermediate License (Primary) |
Yes (Secondary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Kansas | Learner or Intermediate License (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Kentucky | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Louisiana | Learner or Intermediate License (regardless of age) |
Yes (Primary) |
1st year of License (Primary for <18) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |
| Maine | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Maryland | Yes (Primary) |
<18 w/ Learner or Provisional License (Secondary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Massachusetts | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Michigan | Yes (Primary) |
Level 1 or 2 License (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Minnesota | Yes (Primary) |
<18 w/ Learner or Provisional License (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Mississippi | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Learner or Provisional License (Primary) |
Yes | |||
| Missouri | <21 (Primary) |
Yes | |||||
| Montana | Yes | ||||||
| Nebraska | <18 w/ Learner or Intermediate License (Secondary) |
Yes (Secondary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Nevada | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| New Hampshire | Yes (Primary) (eff. 7/2015) |
Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | |||
| New Jersey | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Permit or Provisional License (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |
| New Mexico | In State vehicles | Learner or Provisional License (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| New York | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| North Carolina | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| North Dakota | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Ohio | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Secondary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Oklahoma | Learner or Intermediate License (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Learner or Intermediate License (Primary) |
Yes | |||
| Oregon | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Pennsylvania | Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||||
| Puerto Rico | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | ||||
| Rhode Island | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| South Carolina | Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||||
| South Dakota | Learner or Intermediate License (Secondary) |
Yes (Secondary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Tennessee | Yes (Primary) |
Learner or Intermediate License (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Texas 2 | Yes, w/ passenger<17 (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes, w/ passenger<17 (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes | ||
| Utah | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Vermont | Yes (Primary) (eff. 10/2014) |
<18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Virgin Islands | Yes (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Virginia | Yes (Primary) |
<18 (Secondary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Washington | Yes (Primary) |
Learner or Intermediate Licence (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| West Virginia | Yes (Primary) |
<18 w/ Learner or Intermediate Licence (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | ||
| Wisconsin | Learner or Intermediate Licence (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Wyoming | <18 (Primary) |
Yes (Primary) |
Covered under all driver ban | Yes | |||
| Total States | 14 + D.C. PR, Guam, Virgin Islands All Primary |
20 + D.C. All Primary |
38 + D.C. Primary (32 + D.C.) Secondary (6) |
44 + D.C., PR, Guam, Virgin Islands Primary (39 + D.C., PR, Guam, Virgin Islands) Secondary (5) |
3 All Primary |
4 All Primary |
48 + D.C., Virgin Islands |
1 Arkansas also bans the use of hand-held cell phones while driving in a school zone or in a highway construction zone. This law is secondarily enforced.
2 Texas has banned the use of hand-held phones and texting in school zones.
Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.
Source: Governors Highway Safety Association, http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html