Maryland Driving Laws | Texting Laws | Cell Phone | Hands Free Law

2010 Update - Governor Signs Hand Held Cell Phone Ban into Law

May 20th, 2010

Maryland Senate Bill 321 has been signed into law by Governor O'Malley.

The new law will prohibit all Maryland drivers from using a Cell Phone without a Hands Free Device while operating a motor vehicle.

In addition the new law would prohibit "a holder of a learner’s instructional permit or provisional driver’s license who is 18 years of age or older from driving a motor vehicle while using a handheld telephone".

The fine for a first offense would be $40 and subsequent offenses would be $100.

The new law would be a secondary offense, meaning that a driver must first be committing a primary offense such as speeding or reckless driving before they could be ticketed for a Cell Phone offense.

The new law is scheduled to go into effect in October, 2010.

To read the bill please go to the State of Maryland Website and Read Senate Bill 321

2010 Update - Text Messaging Law Update

Maryland is considering additional distracted driving legislation in 2010.

In 2010 the Maryland State legislature is considering legislation that would make it illegal to read a text message while operating a motor vehicle.

One of the bills is Maryland House Bill 192 .

Other 2010 Legislation

Maryland House Bill 236 - Prohibits a person from driving a motor vehicle in an inattentive manner resulting in the unsafe operation of the motor vehicle when the inattention is caused by the person engaging in specified preoccupying activities, provides that a violation of the Act is not a moving violation for the purpose of assessing points, authorizes a police officer to enforce the Act only as a secondary offense.

2009 Update - New Text Messaging Laws

Maryland's House Bill 72 and Senate Bill 98 prohibits an individual from writing or sending a text message while operating a motor vehicle or in the travel portion of the roadway. If you are convicted of a misdemeanor of the new text messaging law you will receive a fine of up to $500.

The new laws does not apply to emergency situations (Texting 9-1-1) or global positioning systems. To read the details of the new law please go to Maryland's House Bill 72 and Senate Bill 98.

The Maryland Cell Phone Law For Minors

Maryland has a cell-phone law that was first enacted in May of 2005. The cell-phone legislation know as Senate Bill 50, prohibits drivers under the age of 18 from using a cell-phone while operating a motor vehicle. This includes drivers with a permit and drivers using a provisional drivers license. There are no allowances for hands-free devices under the bill. This cell-phone law is only enforceable as a secondary offense. This means the driver must be pulled over for another primary violation such as speeding or running a red light to be ticketed for the cell-phone violation. Like many cell-phone laws across the United States, there are exceptions for emergency situations.

Currently in the Maryland legislature there is an active bill called Senate Bill 30. If passed this bill will establish the offense of distracted driving and would prohibit drivers with a learners permit, a provisional drivers license, or a driver of specified school vehicle from using a wireless communication device. There is also an allowance for drivers of a motor vehicle to use a hands-free device only to initiate, terminate or turn mobile telephone communication on or off. The bill has not yet been enacted and may be carried on to the 2008 session.