Cell Phone & Texting in Florida
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Mobile phone use while driving is common, but widely considered dangerous. Due to the number of accidents that are related to cell phone use while driving, some jurisdictions have made the use of a cell phone while driving illegal. Others have enacted laws to ban handheld mobile phone use, but allow use of a hands-free device. In some cases restrictions are directed only to minors or those who are newly qualified license holders.
COST OF DISTRACTED DRIVING
Studies have shown that drivers who text are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash. Distracted driving (talking, texting, etc.) is killing6,000 people every year, with more than 500,000 injured. The State Farm Insurance Company reports that the annual cost of distracted driving due to cell phone use alone is:
636,000 CRASHES
330,000 PERSONAL INJURIES
12,000 MAJOR INJURIES
2,700 DEATHS, AND
$43 BILLION IN DAMAGES
FLORIDA CELL PHONE AND TEXTING LAWS
Cell Phone Restrictions
In Florida, there are currently no bans on cell phones while driving.
Texting Restrictions
In Florida, there is a ban on texting for all drivers, regardless of age and license status (Secondary law).
(For more information on cell phone usage while driving, contact the Florida Department of Transportation.)
REGULATORY LAWS
The laws regulating driving (or distracted driving) may be subject to primary enforcement or secondary enforcement by state, county or local authorities. All State-level cell phone use laws in the United States are of the primary enforcement type, meaning an officer may cite a driver for using a hand-held cell phone without any other traffic offense having taken place, except in some cases involving newer drivers.
In the case of secondary enforcement, a police officer may only stop or cite a driver for a cell phone use violation if the driver has committed another primary violation (such as speeding, failure to stop, etc.) at the same time.
CELL PHONE USE WHILE DRIVING
No state bans all cell phone use for all drivers. However, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia and Washington D.C. prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving. 36 states and Washington D.C. ban all cell phone use by newer drivers; while 19 states and Washington, D.C. prohibit any cell phone use by school bus drivers while children are present.
TEXTING WHILE DRIVING
Texting while driving as been outlawed for all drivers in the following states: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
The state of Texas prohibits school bus drivers from texting while transporting a child under the age of 17. The following states have laws that restrict those who are underage and/or those with learner’s permits from texting while driving: Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Missouri also bans all commercial drivers from texting and cell phone use. Laws that were enacted in Kentucky in 2010, Indiana in 2011 and Ohio in 2012 banned texting for all drivers, as well as those who are under 18 from using cell phones while driving.