Hot Report: State Distracted Driving Policies and Practices

OLR Report 2013-R-0438 summarizes how states, including Connecticut, are trying to reduce the incidence of drivers' texting or using cell phones (distracted driving). Much of the following information is from a July 2013 Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) report: “Distracted Driving: Survey of the States,” and a November 2013 GHSA summary of state distracted driving laws.

The states generally address distracted driving by banning specific distracted driving practices, identifying strategies for combatting distracted driving, collecting data on distracted driving-related crashes, and educating the public about its hazards.

GHSA, a nonprofit association representing state highway safety offices, surveyed its members about distracted driving in 2010 and in 2012. In 2012, 43 states said that they had increased their emphasis on distracted driving since the earlier survey. They did this by stepping up public education, tightening distracted driving laws, adding a distracted driving category to the information collected on crashes, reaching out to the public through social media, and other means.

According to GHSA, as of November 2013:

• 41 states, including Connecticut, banned texting for all drivers and six other states prohibited texting for novice drivers;
• 12 states, including Connecticut, banned drivers from using hand-held cell phones; and
• 37 states, including Connecticut, banned all cell phone use (hand-held or hands-free) by novice drivers.

For more information, read the full report.