Thirty-one states will implement or strengthen their road safety rules beginning on June 5, 2025. Here, we’re referring to laws that forbid using a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle, even while you’re stopped at a stop sign.
The goal of penalties and the potential for license points is to prevent distracted driving, which was the cause of 3,275 fatalities in 2023.
Naturally, a deluge of false information on social media contains a combination of facts, rumors, and anxieties. For example, is jail time an option? Does this hold true for all touch screens? Is it only a drive to raise money? Below, we describe it.
Known as the “Touch Law,” it seeks to ultimately eradicate a habit as widespread and embedded as constantly using a cell phone, even while we’re behind the wheel.
Radios, GPS units, and any other gadget that could divert a driver’s attention while they are operating a motor vehicle are likewise covered by this rule.
According to social media, the country’s 31 states will enact this law beginning on June 5, 2025.
Not totally; Paul Miller’s Law, which will only be implemented in Pennsylvania, is already in place in the other states that were cited on social media, some of which have had comparable legislation since 2008!
A young guy lost his life in a tractor-trailer collision in Monroe County in 2010.
While driving, the motorist was preoccupied with his phone. In order to enact this rule that forbids driving while distracted, the state and numerous associations took action.
As previously stated, 30 states have comparable legislation prohibiting cell phone use while driving:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
“It is illegal to touch a portable electronic device with your hand while operating a vehicle on a public road, except to make an emergency call,” says the universal standard, albeit each state has its own quirks.
If the behavior results in an accident with injuries, only Missouri and Tennessee consider minor arrests (up to 48 hours). Imprisonment does not apply to the others unless it is coupled with other charges, such as driving while intoxicated or careless.
Nearly all laws permit the use of hands-free voice-activated devices, fixed-mount maps, and 911 calls. Commercial and medical teams that use two-way radios are not included.
Read Also: Frankfort Crash Leaves 2 Dead, 1 Injured After Van Hits Telephone Pole
Check each jurisdiction’s DMV website for the exact regulations if you want to travel across many states this summer.
Turn on voice help after mounting your phone at eye level. Keep in mind that being “mind-free” is not the same as being “hands-free”; talking can be just as distracting as typing.
There are “driving” modes on platforms like Google Assistant, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto that enable dictation and disable visual alerts.
As with seatbelt awareness efforts, everyone has a role to play in the battle against distracted driving. Adapt or perish, as we say here. And never forget that the goal is to save lives—our own, of course, as well as everyone else’s!
