When was texting while driving illegal

Click on the graphic below to see interactive charts on state cellphone use and texting while driving laws. You can search by state and ban type main categories and sub-categories. States are eligible to apply for a Distracted Driving Grant if they have enacted and are enforcing:. Create Account. Distracted Driving Cellphone Use.

She was a kid at the time, but she remembers the impact of Mothers Against Drunk Driving MADD and the tougher punishments if someone got caught drinking and driving.

People didn't want to go to jail," she said. People don't see the same kind of penalties for driving distracted, she said.

People don't think the consequences are going to be that big," Mucci said. Penalties need to be tougher if you are caught driving distracted, but the punishment also needs to be stiffer if your lack of attention causes a tragedy, she believes.

It was two years ago when her mom, Sheryl Mucci, 71, was driving home from Mucci's sister's house in Pasadena, taking a route she drove all the time, when a driver in her 20s made a left turn and rammed into Mucci's mother's car.

After 15 "excruciating" days in the hospital, her mother died from her injuries, Mucci said. She still doesn't know what the driver was doing before the crash. All the woman would admit is that she didn't know what she was doing at the time. Mucci said police determined that she was not in the middle of a text or a call, but she doesn't know if they investigated whether she might have been using her phone for something else. Driving While Distracted: What can be done to stop it? There was no jail time, no community service, no loss of license, and no having to go around and talk about the dangers of distracted driving, Mucci said.

I know for a fact. No one does that, but that doesn't mean that what she did should be completely unpunished," she said. Something to help. It's so appalling. I still can't believe it. After her mom's death, Giana Mucci, right, hopes to help change laws, which can save lives. Mucci said she thinks an example needs to be made to make people "really wake up and realize, 'OK, this isn't a joke. This is a really big deal.

Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Newsletters Donate My Account. Research Topics. Share this link:. For teens, phone calls are reserved for closer relationships. West Virginia is another state that doesn't have a statewide ban, but prohibits drivers 18 and younger from texting while driving. So, just how much will it cost you if you are pulled over for texting while driving? Texting and driving fines vary in every state, but let's take a look at some of the heftier fines below:.

All states that have a statewide ban impose fines on violators, which are visible here. You can't get around how dangerous texting and driving is. Even if the split-second you look away from the road doesn't cause the accident, other distractions -- like a fight, getting upset with a message, or other emotions -- can easily get in the way. Avoid the dangers, keep the roads safe, and wait until you get home or aren't driving to send or read a text message you've received.

States with Texting and Driving Laws State-law disallow texting and driving in many jurisdictions.