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2010 New Distracted Driving Laws
2010 Cell Phone, Texting and Hands Free Driving Laws UpdateArkansas | Colorado | Connecticut | Illinois | Maryland | Maine | New Hampshire North Carolina | Oregon | Rhode Island | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Virginia | *Editor's Note: Each new or pending law on this page has 2 Links. The first link is the State Link on the DrivingLaws.org Website. The Second Link is the bill link that will take you to the Official State Website to read the bill. Keep in mind that The Bill Link may not be the Final Version of the Bill, it may be an introduced version, or an amended version of the original bill. Arkansas - Senate Bill 309 - Addresses issues related to the licensing of youthful drivers, to amend the law regarding restricted driver's licenses, learner's licenses, and intermediate licenses. A driver with a learner's license shall not use a cellular telephone device or other interactive wireless communication device while operating a motor vehicle. Arkansas - Senate Bill 28 - Prohibits a driver under eighteen years of age from operating a motor vehicle while using a cellular telephone device. Arkansas - House Bill 1013 - Establishes Paul's Law, prohibits the drivers of motor vehicles from using hand held cellular telephones to engage in text messaging. Connecticut - House Bill 6410 - Mobile Telephones in the Military - Concerns the use of hand-held mobile telephones by members of the armed forces while operating a motor vehicle, allows a member of the armed forces to use a hand-held mobile telephone or mobile electronic device while operating a motor vehicle in performance of official duties or while operating a military vehicle. Illinois - House Bill 71 - A person may not operate a motor vehicle on a roadway while using an electronic communication device to compose, send, or read an electronic message. There are exceptions and a Hands-Free Device may be used. Illinois - Illinois House Bill 72 - Prohibits the use a wireless telephone while operating a motor vehicle on a roadway in a school speed zone or on a highway in a construction or maintenance speed zone. Maryland - Senate Bill 98 - Prohibits a person from using a text messaging device to write or send a text message while operating a motor vehicle, provides an exception the use of a global positioning system and for the use of a text messaging device to contact a 9-1-1 system. Maine - Senate Bill 15 - Makes failure to maintain control of a motor vehicle a traffic infraction, defines operation of a motor vehicle while distracted. Prohibits writing a text message and using 2 hands to type on or operate an electronic or telecommunications device while driving except under circumstances specified in the bill. North Carolina - Senate Bill 96 - Texting while Driving - effective December 1, 2009 - Makes it unlawful to use a mobile telephone for e-mail or text messaging while operating a vehicle on a public street, highway or public vehicular area, provides exceptions for law enforcement, ambulance drivers and members of a fire department. Oregon - House Bill 2377 - Ready to be signed into law by the Governor (July 2009), Once signed - Prohibits person of any age from operating motor vehicle while using mobile communication device except under certain circumstances. Does allow for Hands-Free operation. Rhode Island - Senate Bill 204 - Makes text messaging while driving a motor vehicle offense, provides fines and penalties. Tennessee - Senate Bill 393 - Relates to motor vehicles, prohibits sending or reading text messages while operating a motor vehicle. Texas - House Bill 2730 - Drivers under the age of 18 and Wireless Communication Devices A driver education course for a student who is under 18 years of age must require the student to complete 34 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction, including at least 10 hours of instruction that takes place at night. A person under 18 years of age may not operate a motor vehicle during the 12-month period following issuance of an original Class A, B, or C driver's license to the person: after 10 p.m. and before 5 a.m. unless the operation of the vehicle is necessary for the operator to attend or participate in employment or a school-related activity or because of a medical emergency. Utah - House Bill 290 - Prohibits a person from using a wireless communication device for text messaging or electronic mail communication while operating a motor vehicle, provides exceptions to the wireless communication device prohibition, provides that it is an infraction for violating the wireless communication device prohibition, provides that a violation of this section is not a reportable violation and points may not be assessed against a person for the violation. Virginia - Senate Bill 136 - (2008) Wireless Telecommunications Devices - Prohibits the use of wireless telecommunications devices by persons operating school buses, handheld or otherwise, except in emergencies, when the vehicle is lawfully parked or for purposes of dispatching. Virginia - House Bill 1876 - Text Messaging and Emailing While Driving - Prohibits operation of a motor vehicle on the highways in the Commonwealth while using any handheld personal communications device to manually enter multiple letters or text or to read a text message, provides exemptions for using global positioning systems (GPS), reading caller identification information, and using a wireless telecommunications device to report an emergency, exempts operators of emergency vehicles. Wisconsin - Assembly Bill 496 - Text Messaging While Driving Relates to prohibiting electronic text messaging while driving and providing a penalty. See our Wisconsin driving laws page.
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