It is Officially Illegal To Use Cellphones While Driving in Arizona

On April 22, 2019, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed a new distracted driving bill into law. This law would officially make it illegal for any driver in the state to use a handheld cell phone or device to talk or text while driving.

Happy New Year Texting And Driving Is Illegal In Arizona

This new state law officially goes into effect today January 1, 2021, and it makes using any handheld device while driving a primary offense. Arizona police officers only need to see a driver using any handheld device to pull them over and issue a primary citation and issue a ticket and these fines will range between $75 and $149, with subsequent violations up to $250.

Handheld Device And Driving Fines In Arizona

Be aware police officers were not allowed to issue tickets for using handheld cell phones before the law went into effect today January 1, 2021. Although there are a few exceptions to the no texting and driving law tickets will be issued if you are caught driving with a handheld device. See exceptions below.

This law makes Arizona the 48th state in the united states to ban texting and driving and the 18th state to enact a comprehensive injunction on the use of handheld devices while driving.

Cell Phone Use While Driving?

According to the new law, drivers are not allowed to use their handheld cell phone at all when operating a motor vehicle. The now in effect law includes talking, texting, surfing the internet, watching a video, or accepting a text message. However, you are permitted to use your hand-held devices as long as they have a hands-free option, such as blue tooth enabled devices using voice-to-text or using ear buds.

Arizona Handheld device and Driving Exceptions

There are exceptions to the newly into effect law.

Drivers can perform specific functions on their cellphone while driving, including:

• Using your cell phone to call 911 or report a crime
• Swiping your screen to make or accept a phone call
• Using a cell phone while stopped at a traffic light or stop sig
• Using the device’s GPS navigation

Raul Garcia of the Department of Public Safety has been quoted to say “Troopers here at DPS have stopped and warned and educated more than 15,000 drivers,” prior to the new laws effective date of January 1^st 2021.

Distracted driving is rampant in the US and sadly is on the rise. People who use a handheld cell phone while driving are 4 times more likely to get into a serious car crash. However, even with new distracted driving laws in place, catastrophic and deadly accidents still occur. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), driving a vehicle while texting is six times more dangerous than intoxicated driving. The Transport Research Laboratory found that writing a text message slows driver reactions by 35 percent, while drinking alcohol up to the legal limit slows reactions by 12 percent. Another study stated that texting drivers react 23 percent slower than intoxicated drivers do.

Texting Can Wait

We get it your busy, but your life is also precious to you and especially your loved ones. When you text, the average driver takes their eyes off the road for approximately five seconds. If you are traveling at 55 MPH, when you look up you”ll have covered the distance of a football field. That is ample time to miss seeing a driver hit the brakes in front of you, or for you to drift out of your lane into oncoming traffic. The solution is simple — just don’t text while driving.

If you really can’t wait to read a message, pull over and stop first. If you’re afraid you’ll give in to temptation, put the phone out of reach or ask a passenger to read the message and reply for you.

When driving, safety for you (and your fellow motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists) should always be the top priority. Too many people believe they can multitask while driving, when in reality it’s something the human brain is incapable of. It’s just not worth the risk.

If you or your loved ones have been injured in a distracted driver accident and you are not at fault give us a call today. All of your Chiropractic Treatment is No Out Of Pocket cost to you. We work with all Personal Injury Attorneys. 

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