Hands-Free Tennessee (starting 7/1/19)

Do you use your phone while driving?

Starting Monday, July 1st, 2019 Tennessee is officially a hands-free state. This means NO TALKING or TEXTING while you are operating a vehicle unless with an approved hands-free device. Your phone can not be in your hand, hints “hands-free“. Citations will be issued starting July 1st, state wide, with fines of up to $200. The first violation will result in a $50 fine. However, on a driver’s third citation or if a phone leads to an accident the fine jumps to $100. Using a phone in a school zone or work zone when kids/workers are present will result in a $200 fine. Hands-free devices are allowed for use while driving. This includes wrist worn (voice-based) devices, headphone devices, dash mounts & earpieces.

Texting was already illegal in Tennessee prior to this new law. This new law takes it the next step making it illegal to talk on the phone as well as to hold your phone while driving. This doesn’t change much for young drivers. They were already prohibited from cell phone use while driving prior to this new law. Overall, remember it’s safer to put the phone down or pull over to a safe place to operate a cell phone.   

AS OF JULY 1ST, 2019 IT’S HANDS-FREE IN TENNESSEE!