Where is it OK to Talk and Drive?

If you do a lot of intra-state travel, it’s hard to keep track of where it’s legal to use your cell phone while driving, and where it’s not legal. Motorlease Corporation is headquartered in Connecticut, where “hands-free devices” for cell phones have been mandatory since October 2005. In general, we think it’s a smart idea to use a hands-free device. The United States is actually one of the most lenient countries when it comes to talking while driving—using a hands-free device has been required in most countries around the world since between 2000 and 2003. Simply put hands-free devices free up both of your hands for driving—which may not be necessary all of the time, but you never know when you’re going to have to react quickly and need both hands. In addition, if you’re traveling out of state for business or personal travel, not only may you not know the local laws, but also consider that you’re probably traveling on unfamiliar roads—you’re just safer having both hands available. A recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) cites talking on a cell phone as the most frequent cause of “driver distraction”—and drivers who are distracted are three times more likely to be involved in an accident than drivers who are not. According to the report, almost 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of “near misses” occur within three seconds of some form of driver distraction. Reports like these make it easy to see why many states that don’t already have laws in place are currently considering legislation. In addition to Connecticut, the use of handheld cell phones is banned in the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York, and there are partial bans in fourteen other states. These “partial bans” often cover teenage drivers and bus or school bus drivers, and several state that while it’s not illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving, if you’re involved in an accident and it’s determined you were using a handheld, you could be prosecuted and held liable. While it’s still legal to “Talk and Drive” in 28 states, there are bills in debate in the US House and Senate that could result in a federal ban on handheld devices. Of course, new bills are introduced every day, but the states where there currently are no bans on hand-held devices are listed below:
Alabama
Alaska
California
Colorado
Delaware
Hawaii (under debate)
Idaho
Indiana
Iowa (under debate)
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana (under debate)
Maryland (under debate)
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
North Carolina (under debate)
North Dakota (under debate)
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Texas (under proposal)
Utah
Vermont
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin (young driver bill under debate)
Wyoming