PSA on Distracted Driving
Let me start by saying this is not a judgy post. We all do it. Every single one of us has multitasked behind the wheel and convinced ourselves it was harmless. Putting on lipstick in the rearview mirror while cruising down the highway. Cramming a breakfast taco into your mouth while steering with your knees long enough to add salsa. Curling your eyelashes with one of those medieval torture devices while stopped at a red light.
Here’s the truth: while most states do not have laws that explicitly ban eating, applying makeup, or grooming while driving, those behaviors can absolutely get you pulled over and ticketed if they interfere with your ability to drive safely.
And that’s because distracted-driving laws in the U.S. are broader — and sneakier — than people realize.
Depressing statistic alert: texting while driving makes a crash about 23 times more likely to occur. That number comes from national traffic safety studies and it’s one of the most cited statistics for a reason.
We also need to remember what we’re actually doing when we drive: hurling a two-ton piece of metal down the road at high speeds, straight at other people, who are trusting us to have our eyes on the prize. That “quick” text reply? Reading or sending a text takes your eyes off the road for about five seconds. At highway speeds, that’s roughly the length of an entire football field driven blind.
Across the U.S., there are generally no laws that specifically ban eating, shaving, or putting on makeup while driving. But every state has laws requiring drivers to maintain control of their vehicles and drive with reasonable care.
Which means if your multitasking causes you to:
drift out of your lane,
miss a traffic signal,
fail to brake in time,
or otherwise drive unsafely,
a police officer can cite you for careless driving, unsafe operation, or reckless driving — even if the distraction wasn’t your phone.
And yes, people have gotten into real accidents over things that sound ridiculous in hindsight. In one widely reported case, a commercial driver choked on spicy pork rinds, lost control of his truck, and crashed. Thankfully no one else was injured — but that’s not a sentence anyone wants read aloud in a courtroom.
Now let’s talk about cell phones, because this is where the law gets much more specific nationwide. As of today, almost every state in the U.S. bans texting while driving in some form. And “texting” usually means more than just sending messages — it often includes reading, writing, or sending electronic communications. Many states also have stricter rules for young drivers, often prohibiting drivers under 18 from using any cell phone while driving — handheld or hands-free.
A growing number of states — and hundreds of cities — have adopted hands-free laws, meaning you can’t hold your phone at all while driving, even to talk. Other states allow handheld use, but ban texting specifically. Translation: what’s legal in one place may not be legal one mile down the road.
School zones are another common restriction nationwide. Many states prohibit handheld phone use in school or construction zones, especially when children are present.
And commercial drivers and bus drivers? They are typically subject to very strict no-phone rules, regardless of what’s allowed for regular drivers.
Here’s the good news: distracted driving is one of the easiest legal problems to avoid.
Put the phone down.
Eat the taco when you arrive.
Apply makeup at home.
And please — for the love of everyone else on the road — do not let your dog sit in your lap while you’re driving.
#JustDrive
